I’m not going to say much, just state my piece. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wants the University of Georgia to replace Uga VII, its recently and suddenly deceased mascot, with an animatronic robot. Apparently, the folks at PETA are upset about the inbreeding of the English Bulldog and the poor care given to these animals.
I can’t comment too intelligently about inbreeding, except to say it’s far more common when the animals are being “miniaturized.” But I can comment on the care these animals receive. You see, I’ve met both Uga VI and Uga VII and his owner. Read the rest of this entry »
I cannot stand to talk with people who insist that Atheism is not a religion. Atheism is the affirmative belief that there is no God. Atheists argue that, because their belief system includes no God figure, it is not a religion. Atheists argue a God figure is a necessity for a religion, and it is true that Webster’s does define a religion as a “belief in a divine or superhuman power or powers to be obeyed and worshiped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary – Third Collegiate Edition. (c) 1994, Simon & Schuster/Prentice Hall General Reference, New York)
However, the definition misses the principle basis for such a belief system: Faith. Such a simple word. Five letters arranged in one syllable. It’s definition is equally simple: “Unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence.”
In this manner, all religions are based in faith. As yet, there is no scientific proof of a God figure, reincarnation, karma, or that our ancestors can hear us in death. There is no scientific proof that the spirits of animals and trees guide us and bind us. Religion is, therefore, based upon faith that such things are real and guide us.
Atheists counter their belief, that there is no God, is the anti-religion. They affirm that because they have no God figure, they have no religion, no religious beliefs, no system of faith.
It seems the writers and editors at Time Magazine can’t comprehend why small business owners would not want to have the Democrat’s House Health Care “Reform” bill enacted into law. Why wouldn’t these small business owners want to increase their regulatory and financial burden? Don’t they realize that we have 5-10 million people who legitimately cannot afford health insurance? Don’t they realize that their profits and the future of their businesses are just gifts given them by our magnanimous Federal Government?
I apologize for the sarcasm, but the article from Time’s website is ridiculous:
When it comes to finding quality, affordable health insurance, few have it worse than small-business owners and their workers shopping for coverage on the open market. They are charged the most per person, have the least amount of choice and, as a result, are some of the most likely to be uninsured.
Lawmakers know this, which is why many of the key elements in the health care bill just passed by the House — and being considered in the Senate — are aimed squarely at small business. A wide array of economists and health-policy experts say insurance reforms (like prohibiting insurers from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions), a new transparent marketplace to shop for coverage and a government-run insurance plan all have the potential to help small business.
Nowhere does the article cite any source for its assertion that “a wide array of economists and health-policy experts” say these reforms will be helpful to business. This is simply presented as accepted common knowledge. Read the rest of this entry »
In all the fuss about the House Health Care “Reform” bill, we have failed to talk about one of the biggest drivers of health insurance costs in the nation today: Insurance mandates.
What insurance mandates do is force these small risk pools together in a negative way: When the risk pool for broken leg is combined with the risk pool for cancer, the risk pool is not more efficient, it is simply more risky. If the likelihood of a broken leg in a given year is 2%, and the likelihood of being diagnosed with cancer is also 2%, combining those risk pools does not result in a larger risk pool of 2%. Cancer and a broken legs are generally exclusive; that is to say, people who get cancer are unlikely to suffer a broken leg at the same time. So the risk index has grown from 2% to a combined 3.99% (after all, some people who break their legs will also develop cancer). The more mandates that are added, the more the insurer is required to cover, the greater the cost of the risk pool.
As unemployment reaches 10.2 percent and another 502,000 jobless claims are filed, President Obama promises swift action:
The announcement came as the Labor Department reported another 502,000 new jobless claims, two high-tech mainstays announced big layoffs and the unemployment rate reached 10.2 percent.
Obama said the White House forum will gather CEOs, small business owners, economists, financial experts and representatives from labor unions and nonprofit groups “to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again.”
I don’t know why this Administration keeps reminding me of Monty Python. Maybe because it’s so apropos. Read the rest of this entry »
In the dictionary next to the word “coward” is a picture of Malik Nidal Hasan.
Yesterday Malik Nidal Hasan opened fire on unarmed American soldiers. He used two handguns to kill 13 people including a civilian police officer and wounded at least 30 more. Today he is himself on a ventilator after being shot during the attack, purportedly by the police officer he killed.
Reports came fast and furious after the shooting. Two other men were brought into custody as suspects, then released. Reports were intiailly that Hasan had died of his wounds. The President called the killings a “horrific act of violence.” Local schools remained locked-down until 6:30pm local time, and the base was finally released from lock-down about 45 minutes later according to televised reports at the time. Read the rest of this entry »
FAMILY HOTLINE: (254) 288-7570 or 1 (866) 836-2751
At least twelve are dead and thirty more wounded after between one and three gunmen opened fire on US Army soldiers at Fort Hood Texas. Initial reports are that one gunman is believed to be a US Army Major (who may or may not be dead) and there are two more soldiers in custody on suspicion of being accomplices.
Information is sketchy at the moment, but the base has been locked-down.
Fox News is reporting that a man named Maliq Nadal Hassan Malik Nidal Hasan has been killed ws the shooter. He was is a 39 year old Major who worked on the base. Televised reports are that he was vocal in his opposition to being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. UPDATE: The latest reports are that he is alive, not dead as previously reported.
Fort Hood is the largest military base, by population, in the United States military. Approximately 70,000 people work on the base, including 9,000 civilians plus the families of the soldiers. It is home to two US Army divisions and III-Corps headquarters.
My prayers and heart are with the soldiers and their families.
It takes real cajones for government employees to go on strike for more pay during a recession, when most people are losing their jobs or being forced to take pay cuts to keep their them. Leave it to the employees of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, or SEPTA, to do just that.
The strike by Transport Workers Union Local 234 will all but cripple a transit system that averages more than 928,0000 trips each weekday. The union represents more than 5,000 drivers, operators and mechanics of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
“There will be people waking up this morning needing to commute into work. And unfortunately, there’s not going to be service for them,” said SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams.
[snip]
Union workers, who earn an average $52,000 a year, are seeking an annual 4 percent wage hike and want to keep the current 1 percent contribution they make toward the cost of their health care coverage.
Maloney said SEPTA was offering an 11.5 percent wage increase over 5 years, with no raise in the first year, and increases in workers’ pensions.
The average SEPTA employee earns almost as much as an average Pennsylvania family just on their own, yet they want the taxpayers to foot the bill for an average $2,000 per year pay increase. Meanwhile most Americans are worried about keeping their jobs and falling wages as the recession continues, despite the wishful thinking of Congress, the President and certain media outlets. Read the rest of this entry »
The United States delegation to the ongoing crisis in Honduras has negotiated an agreement between Manuel Zelaya’s supporters and the de facto administration in that country. All that remains is for the nation’s Congress to approve the deal.
Never mind the fact that the United States is on the wrong side of the issue; that we have essentially forced the legal government of that nation to accept its Constitutionally ousted former leader.
[Interim President Roberto] Micheletti later joked with his aides that [United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton] stuck so close to her message it appeared she had a limited vocabulary. “I kept trying to explain our position to her,” he said, according to officials close to the talks, “but all she kept saying was, ‘Restitution, restitution, restitution.’”
Speaking on Friday in Pakistan, Mrs. Clinton called the deal a “historic agreement.”
“I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order, overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue,” she said.
I cannot think of another example in history where a nation was so blatantly forced to violate its own Constitution and surrender its sovereignty by a nation that holds up its own Constitution so highly as ours as an example for others to follow. Read the rest of this entry »
A former cashier believes his rights were violated by The Home Depot when they fired him for wearing an openly religious piece of flair. The Home Depot counters that it does not permit non-approved buttons, pins and other regalia on their store associate aprons.
“I’ve worn it for well over a year and I support my country and God,” Trevor Keezor said Tuesday. “I was just doing what I think every American should do, just love my country.”
This is the problem with America today: We think our rights overrule the rights of others.
Home Depot spokesman said Keezer was fired because he violated the company’s dress code.
“This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button,” Craig Fishel said. “That’s not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons.”
Fishel said Keezer was offered a company-approved pin that said, “United We Stand,” but he declined.
In other words, he got away with breaking the rules for a year. When he was caught and asked to follow them, instead of complying to keep his job he refused. He was fired. It should have ended there.
Trevor Keezor doesn’t seem to understand this his right to expression does not supersede the right of The Home Depot, its owners and managers to control the message that is disseminated to its customers. Allowing him to wear the pin could be seen by some as an endorsement of his religious views. Read the rest of this entry »
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