So I was at my local downtown coffeehouse Friday evening, to get my weekly dose of caffeine and liberal propaganda thought, and I see that they have a pumpkin painted pink on the counter……”that’s odd….” I say to myself….

So I ask the proprietor why they have a pumpkin, carefully painted pink, on display.

“It’s our support for Breast Cancer something or other”, she replies…

“Should have used melons”, I replied, without conscious thought.

The guy at the table nearby nearly passed his cup of coffee through his left nostril.

I may not be able to return there…

And that is sad, because I have finally trained the staff how I like my coffee.

What he said.

Since the LEO in Vegas seem to (by all reports) overreact to any report of “a man with a gun“….

If I lived in Vegas (thank god I don’t) every time I saw an officer, uniformed or not, I think that I would call it in….Being a good citizen and all.

“Hello, 911 operator? Yeah, I am at the corner of 9th and Sycamore and there is this guy acting kinda….well, different….He’s kinda tense…and he’s watching everybody closely and acting kinda suspicious…..He seems to be looking at everyone in a kinda calculating manner……like he is evaluating every person he sees. He’s kinda intimidating though….. …yeah, and he’s wearing some kind of uniform…..he has a gun! OMG he has a gun!…….No, he’s not threatening anyone….yet…..But I thought you might like to know and maybe have someone check him out……I mean, it could be nothing….but you never know.”

Imagine the chaos, and the lesson that the LVPD might learn from this…..Let us hope they don’t shoot any of their fellow officers….

Seems that tomorrow is the beginning of the federal case between Delphi non union workers and the feds.

Seems that the UAW folks got the golden parachute via TARP funds, but the non-union folks got the shaft. And they want fair treatment. Who can blame them?

While the issue of underfunded pension plans is one of great magnitude, and will become greater in the next few years, the fact is that the TARP funds used in the Bailout of GM were used to pay for the UAW folks pension benefits….no doubt as a payoff for all their help in getting Mr. O elected. I personally think that the bailout should not have happened, and all pensions should have been treated as the non union Delphi workers pensions were….Part of a bankruptcy.  But if the union folks get the bennies of the government bailouts, so should the rest of the workers.

And I hope they win their case.  
 

After all, it must be, ’cause the government said so…Kinda reminds me of the public information officer for Iraq during the opening phases of the war…..

except, of course,  for a lot of folks in places like this.

For them, it is just starting.

If not then, of course, it’s ALL BUSH’S FAULT

Heh

For gods sake, BE CAREFUL OUT THERE. Not all police are as stupid as these officers appear to have been, but some are. And no matter what, if they are that stupid, you’ll be dead, and after the paperwork is forged finished, they’ll likely congratulate him/her and your family friends will be grieving your loss (and your enemies will be dancing in the streets).

And no, no, no…. this is not an indictment of all police officers. I personally know cops who are on both ends of the spectrum…..there are Heroes and Scumbags in all departments.

But which end of the spectrum you are on won’t matter afterwards.

How poor are today’s “poor” in the USA? ?

Lets see:

“Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family’s essential needs. While this individual’s life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, liberal activists, and politicians.“

and:

“As a group, America’s poor are far from being chronically undernourished. The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms. Poor children actually consume more meat than do higher-income children and have average protein intakes 100 percent above recommended levels. Most poor children today are, in fact, supernourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than the GIs who stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.“

Not to mention:

“The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)“

Read the whole thing.

I have seen poor people. I have yet to see such abject poverty here in the US. While life for many at the bottom of the economic ladder may not be as easy as they would like it to be, for most “poor”, their lives are materially better than their ancestors were in 1940.

And let us not forget that most “poverty” in the US is the result of continued bad decision making ( ’cause there are few negative consequences to the individual for those bad decisions) and often just plain laziness. Not in all cases, but in most.

And the continued redefinition of “poor” will not change that fact.

Today is the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. The one document which makes this country stand out from all others. The rules by which we are supposed to run this country……The rules which make the country a beacon  and destination of home and freedom for nearly all other peoples on the world.

What would the original signers who wrought this document think today of what we and our ancestors have made with it, and how we are ignoring it? How might they comment upon the country which exists today and the network of laws which violate the rules laid down in that document 223 years ago today?

I think that they’d be checking their powder and knapping the flints on their muskets, preparing for another revolution. They’d be buying rope in 10 yard lengths and looking for sturdy trees.

If you haven’t read the Constitution lately, do so.

And if you really want an education, take the time to read the Federalist Papers also. Link at the sidebar.

Then think about the country as it exists today compared to what was envisioned 223 years ago, by those men who fixed their signature to a document,and in doing so, laid the framework for the greatest, most free country in the world, and created the Land Of Opportunity for those willing to come here.

And be thankful that you live in country where, although somewhat tattered, the Constitution is still (mostly) the law of the land.