Random Thoughts for Thanksgiving

This would have been the December Collection, but since I’ll be out of pocket for most of the Holiday, and unable to post much, if at all, I decided to leave it for you early.

I think the House GOP should push through their version of what the Super Committee should have done, with the extension of the payroll tax and unemployment benefits. (Yeah, I know it increases unemployment. Democrats love it, let them run on high unemployment.) It should contain tax reform, reducing exemptions with a lowering of rates. It should contain the revenue enhancements already offered by the GOP, $300B if memory serves. It should reduce spending in high target areas like planned parenthood and foreign aid to enemy nations. And so on. Then let the senate Democrats and Obama run on defeating it.

Support bio-fuels—starve the third world poor!

If a conservative politician stays in a hotel, he may steal the towels. A liberal politician will steal the shower curtain as well—but he’ll call it “social justice,” since the hotel chain has more money than he does.

I heard a good line: Too often, the opposite of talking is not listening. The opposite of talking is waiting to talk.

Am I wrong, or are writers getting lazy and using “that” for people, when it should be “who.” As in, “The player that hit a homerun last night.” Since the player is a person, I think it should be, “The player who hit a home run last night.” But, “The ball that he hit….”

My wife recently had a cab driver from Egypt. He told her he was a Christian, (a Copt I assume) that they were being forced out and destroyed. “Please pray for us,” he asked. He added that he loved the United States and was fearful that this country was going down as well. I wish I didn’t think he was right, or that I had an answer.

“Hope” is not a plan. “Change” is not a program. Unfortunately, those of us smart enough to understand that were out-voted in 2008. And many still don’t, making 2012 no sure thing.

People keep complaining that Barack Obama isn’t transparent. I don’t get why—I saw right through him back in early 2008.

Eternity. (n). The time you spend waiting for your computer to do something you told it to, like open a link or paste a headline you copied. Often modified with an expletive.

People often ask why Congress can’t seem to make even small budget cuts. It’s because every dollar spent is fiercely defended. You and I and everyone else belong to groups fiercely defending spending. Few belong to groups fiercely trying to cut individual items. But the iron laws of demographics, economics and mathematics are going to force massive, painful cuts in government spending.

Friday, November 11^th, was a big day at my granddaughter’s elementary school. It was Pajama Day. We asked her is she knew what other day it was. “Yes, Veteran’s Day. I saw it on my computer and remembered because Grandpa is a veteran.” Did the school mention it? “No.” Ah, well, her school is in Madison, WI. Wouldn’t want to do anything patriotic. Might make the kids pro-America.

My wife doesn’t read my blog very often, so I’m probably safe to say that I’m near a record in The Under Ware Game. Right now I have both a tee shirt and a pair of boxers that have holes. I’ve worn the boxers 22 times and the tee shirt six since I discovered the holes. The boxers have just developed a second hole, making them good for a double score. Once my wife notices, she’ll tear them up for cleaning rags. So far, so good. As Dave Barry says, it’s never okay to throw out veteran under ware.

Gotta feel sorry for those kids who were forced to take out $100,000 loans to go to college and major in Peace Studies, who can’t find six-figure jobs. Of course, if no one forced them to go to college or chose a major that is not economically in demand, they are just stupid.

Wonder how inflated some student loans were for parties and high living?

Notice how phrases like, “we’re screwed,” or “my job sucks” have lost their original sexual connotation and can now be used on TV?

I get it. When OWS says “We are the 99,” they are touting their collective—not average—IQ.

My friend Geoff says it drives him crazy when civilians confuse Veterans Day, a happy day to honor all vets, with Memorial Day to honor the dead. Agreed. But I guess they mean well.

One of the problems with liberals in they think their opinions are facts, just because they believe them, and are angry at you for not believing the “facts.”

Being Offended is a growth industry, very lucrative for those who are good at it, and their lawyers. Hard business to break into for a straight, white male though.

Bumper sticker suggestion going around. OBAMA 2012: because there is still so much more to tax.

Driving in a parking lot is like being a fighter pilot. You have to be alert as you can be attacked from any direction.

Secular liberals react so angrily to challenges to dearly held beliefs like global warming, high speed rail, and government control of the economy, because these beliefs have replaced religion in their lives.

Everyone wants to balance the budget and reduce the debt. But not “on the backs of” the old, the poor, veterans, the military, children, small businesses, job creators, public employees, single mothers, the disabled, union members, teachers or any other group that votes. So we’ll just have to wait for the fiscal collapse and the survivors can start over.

History is like a city—usually a lot prettier from a distance. The historian can write that “Rome lost 70,000 legionnaires at Cannae,” and the reader doesn’t get a picture of an olive farmer who joined up to repel the invasion of Italy, crawling around, begging for water, with his entrails dragging behind him after being disemboweled by one of Hannibal’s swordsmen.

They want to use the “saving” from the Iraq war for another stimulus. Say, we aren’t fighting the Civil War any more. It was very expensive. So let’s use the Civil War savings to fund, oh, maybe Cowboy Poetry. When you have the highest deficit in history, and “savings” from anything isn’t real money, just less you have to borrow.

If you are planning to push your luck, first be sure you have some luck to push.

The leftist road to prosperity. Find any organization or person who creates wealth, and destroy them through taxes and regulations.

The law, in its majestic impartiality, forbids both the 1% and the 99% from defecating in city parks.

There is no consensus. There is only coerce or do not coerce. (Apologies to Yoda.)

Is it just me, or is it getting darker earlier? Colder, too.

Is it just me, or does getting old really suck?

Want to help Obama get re-elected? Take some policy or rumor and exaggerate it into a huge lie. Throw in some foul language, ad hominem attacks and a touch of racism. Circulate it on the Internet to gullible or unethical people who will forward it or put it on blogs. Yes, it’s completely unethical and scummy, but when it is exposed it will hugely help Obama and the liberals by discrediting those who oppose him on real policy issues. If you aren’t creative enough to create something, you can still help Obama by forwarding racist jokes or lies, thus making him look good and the opposition bad.

If requiring citizens to buy health insurance is constitutional, so is requiring them to buy guns.

Child-proof medicine blister packs are designed to keep the elderly—that would include me—from being over medicated.

My wife watches the light intently in traffic, so that as soon as it flicks to green, she can say, “You can go now” before I can touch the gas. I have no idea why.

If a bank or credit card company lent me money, they wouldn’t need me to sign a paper or use the power of government to be sure they would get it back, to the best of my ability. There are still millions of Americans whose word is their bond. That is why Occupy Wall Street is not the 99%.

I’m so old, I remember when union leaders were patriotic.

If things turn violent, as I expect, OWS will be surprised to discover how many poor folks with guns are not on their side.

Recently read a good quote; Many a beautiful theory has been murdered by a ruthless gang of facts.

There are some skills only men have. For example, I’m apparently the only person in my household with the necessary skills to clean out the cat little, clean up cat throw-up, or dispose of a sounder.

Everything in Washington, from both parties, isn’t about fixing our problems. It’s too late for that. It’s about positioning and spin so that the other party will be blamed for the pain in the next election. The “Super Committee” is only the latest manifestation of this phenomena. The time is fast approaching when there will be a great deal of pain, and both parties will be blamed, but it will be too late to fix.

Who says Obama and OWS are socialists? Here’s the economic definition of fascism from Wikipedia: Fascists present their ideology as that of an economically trans-class movement that advocates resolving economic class conflict to secure national solidarity.^[17] Fascists advocate: a state-directed, regulated economy that is dedicated to the nation; the use and primacy of regulated private property and private enterprise contingent upon service to the nation or state; the use of state enterprise where private enterprise is failing or is inefficient; and autarky.^[3] They are hostile to finance capitalism, plutocracy, the "power of money", and internationalist economics.^[3]

If my net worth had gone up as much as Congress’s over the past four years, I’d be comfortably retired.

Boy, I can’t wait until Occupy Wall Street wins, and all debts are forgiven, thus all banks and credit card companies collapse, and everyone loses their life savings and investments, bonds (being a debt) become worthless, no one will lend money for fear debts will be forgiven again, everything is cash because there are no checks or credit cards, there is hyper-inflation, capitalism is destroyed so all companies close, no one has jobs, there is no food grown or delivered by closed capitalist food companies, and only those with guns can eat. Won’t it be great? And the debt forgiveness is just one of their demands. Wait until they win everything.

Opportunity may only knock once, but temptation kicks the door in.

Bumper Sticker Suggestion: Mexican Drug Cartels—Now Armed by Obama.

We should pinpoint the large homes of OWS supporters like Michael Moore, then go “occupy” them until the Occupy protests end. Yeah, I know, we believe in rights, including property rights.