Penn Jillette

In my healthy opinion, Penn Jillette is a tremendous entertainer as well as a very thoughtful man. He is a thinker!!! If you have never watched Penn and Teller "Bullshit" on Showtime, you have truly missed some funny and informative stuff! Enjoy this video...we all need to think more and not accept everything we see or hear.
Dave

We Are Now Second In Kidnappings For Ransom

Yesterday, I was watching the news, and this question was asked as a teaser right before the commercial break. The question asked what city, in the United States, did the most kidnappings for ransom take place? While the ads were running their course, I turned to my wife and guessed either El Paso, Texas or San Diego, California. I was incorrect! Phoenix, Arizona the newscaster revealed, and then went on to explain why. He stated that although 150 miles from the Mexican border, the drug gangs would send their runners to Phoenix in order to kidnap and hold their captives hostage for as much as a million dollars!

In my healthy opinion, this does not surprise me! I wrote earlier about my close friend Denny, who lives on the Mexican border. He had said this was beginning to happen. I feel it is about time to get serious about protecting ourselves from these slugs! Our leaders still just ignore the problem. By the way Phoenix was second in kidnappings only to the leading city...Mexico City! Mexico City is the world leader in kidnappings now followed by one of our own! This is a tragedy and a crying shame.

Dave

Let Us Learn From History

Since we are cruising along, and listening about how great the stimulus package and the bailout of our financial institutions will be for our country, let us keep a stiff upper lip while we have a history lesson. I know, I know how everyone says they hate history, because the subject is about boring old men and institutions from the past, but we shall forge on through our lesson.

Having minored in History during college, and having taught the subject many years, I learned early about all the valued lessons waiting to be scooped liked ice cream from the past! Let us begin scooping and learn...learn...learn!

I feel, that since our printing presses are burning from turning out so much paper money, our first lesson should be about acquisition! Since our money is not based on anything valuable other than our Countries reputation, we need to acquire some stuff that is valuable. The way we could do this is learn a lesson from the Romans. The Romans learned early in order to pay for their great army, building of great Coliseums, and lavish parties was simple! They just invaded another country! The took all the wealth, property, and made the people slaves which provided the workforce to create a greater Rome.  You say we the United States would never do as Rome did, because we do not invade other countries!  We only help when we are asked!  Well, my little chickadees, there is a precedent for such actions!  Strain your brain and think all the way back when former President Bush had our great forces invade Iraq, searching for weapons of mass destruction.  We actually did invade!  With this precedent set, what country could we invade?

I say Mexico would be a great beginning, since a large workforce of Mexicans is already in our Country!  We could invade and plunder all their valuables and keep our great Nation strong. We probably could rest our printing presses, therefore saving energy for the Green crowd! 

We could use all the people of these countries to rebuild our infrastructure.  We could use the Roman history lesson to solidify our Countries future!

If the Rome plan is not palatable, we could go to lesson number two.  We could stop our money presses, and follow our Constitution.  What I mean is we could just let all the companies begging for money, go out of business.  Throughout history, companies have actually gone broke with out the United States going under!  Let me explain.

Studebaker was an automobile company that just could not compete.  They were not rescued, but allowed to simply go out of business!  What an idea!  The United States kept operating!  If companies were allowed to go broke, others would take their place!  This has happened over and over in our great Country!  Businesses went broke during the Nineteen Thirties, and others seized upon the chance to take their place.

The last historical lesson we could learn from is the myth that everyone deserves to own a home!  In the past or shall we say in our history, we rented and saved money to secure housing. We did not give loans to people who had terrible credit, no job or low paying job.  Loans were not given just because we thought certain people deserved home ownership.  Let me ask this question.  Where in the world did the idea that everyone deserved ownership of a home?  Obviously, our leaders or lenders did not study their history or they are just trying to revise the facts! 

Think about these short history lessons.  What do you think would be a way of learning from history and not head down a very bleak path?

Dave

We Are From The Government And We Are Here To Help

In my healthy opinion, one of the most dreaded statements we can hear our Government make is "We are from the Government and we are here to help!". With the new stimulus package President Obama signed into law, our Government arrived noticeably and loudly on the scene ready to help! Government helps by throwing lots of money at any problem! Bless our Legislators hearts, this is the only way they know to help! You can bet your last dollar, that our President will have a ready pen to sign bills into law. What about trying a new tact? Let's sail a new course by actually passing laws that would actually help?

How about stopping the flow of companies out of our County? These companies lay (fire) workers in order to move to Mexico or some other third world nation where they can get cheaper labor and more profits. This practice has come about with the help of our Country signing into law NAFTA. The North American Free Trade Alliance! If free trade exists , then why stay in the United States and pay higher labor charges? If we do not have free trade, then we could charge tariffs which would level the playing field. Companies would then stay.

Another proposal might be enforcing our immigration laws and installing more protection on our Mexican border! I live in Texas...luckily I do not live near the border of Mexico. This area is a war zone where people are getting killed daily by the drug outlaws. Apparently, our Government chooses to ignore this problem. I wonder, if our Legislators lived in towns like Laredo, El Paso, Del Rio, or any of the other small Texas border towns whether they would be carrying guns and clamoring for protection? Oh, yeah! If you disbelieve what I am writing, just visit Rio Grande City, Presidio, or Eagle Pass.

There are many more situations like above where our Government could actually accomplish good, but I am saving those for later.

By the way, the following is the current stimulus law. I just don't see any of my ideas listed? Do you? I guess, I had better buy another gun, because in Texas and other border states, life is going to be pretty rough!

Dave