Thoughts On A Sunday

We have survived another Christmas Holiday season, making it down and back to the In-Laws without a single incident. Victuals were excellent and the gifts given and received were as well. About the only “gripe” (and I'm using the term loosely) is the use of the phrase “AS SEEN ON TV!” on a few of the gifts we received.

The gifts themselves were awesome, but I've never seen them on TV. Does that make them any less of a great product? Not as far as I can tell. But I can't see how the overused phrase on the box will induce anyone to buy them as I've seen plenty of products on TV that I would not spend a dime of your money on, let alone mine. Maybe in the earliest days of TV advertising such a claim might have swayed a purchase, but these days we're too cynical (and too connected) to buy something merely because it was 'seen on TV'.

A confession: I am using this neat gift as I write this, set up at an angle to hold the WP Laptop. (Notice the “AS SEEN ON TV” logo on the photo!) Thanks to the WP In-Laws for this gift as it makes writing a whole lot easier.

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Consider this a cautionary tale should we not take back Congress from Pelosi, Reid, and the Teleologist in Chief.

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Cap'n Teach points us to an inside view of how the Leftists are truly living in a dream world, showing their ignorance when it comes to health insurance and particularly when in relation to economics.

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The Senate passed the Health Care Destruction bill and the price for many Senate Democrats will be paying will become evident all too soon, particularly once November 2010 rolls around. Of course the whole thing might come apart should Connecticut decide to sue over Nebraska's 'special' deal in regards to Medicare. Other suits based upon the constitutionality of a number of provisions in both the House and Senate bills are also waiting on the sidelines.

With all the deals (aka bribes) made by the Democrat leadership (meaning Reid) in order to the buy votes needed to pass this steaming pile of manure, it isn't surprising the deals may come apart as other states find themselves holding the bag in order to pay off the other states. The Dems are working overtime to make sure this so-called reform wanted by no one, needed by very few, and paid for by those unwilling to give even more of their hard-earned money to those incapable of being frugal with it, passes.

One thing going for the GOP on this is that the Democrats have to take sole ownership of this g*d-awful legislation. The Democrats cannot lay the blame on the Republicans in any way, shape, or form. Despite Democrat claims that the GOP has put forth nothing for health care reform, it is a false claim. What they won't tell you is that every GOP amendment or bill has been killed in committee or on the floor, assuming they ever saw the light day.

(H/T Viking Pundit)

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The folks in Detroit understand this concept completely: Democrat power corrupts. Absolute Democrat power corrupts absolutely.

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This is a Congress Al Capone would have appreciated.

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Skip Murphy gets into one of my favorite topics: political correctness. It is a concept I have loathed since I first became aware of it, seeing it for what it was: fascism/marxism in disguise. (There really is little difference between the fascism and marxism. Only a few of the terms differ.) Even George Orwell was aware of the dangers of political correctness, as he showed in his dystopian novel 1984. 1984's Newspeak didn't allow any negative connotations, meaning there was no way to express dissent or dissatisfaction with the State.

Politically correct speech is no different, eliminating any negative speech and making it more difficult, if not impossible to express dissent or dissatisfaction with the State. Sound familiar?

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In light of the attempted Al Qaeda bombing of Delta Flight 253 as it approached Detroit, Obama's plans to close the Gitmo detention center are in doubt.

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Even though Obama has been in office for a little over 11 months, the world still doesn't love us.

Big surprise. NOT.

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Are we on the verge of a second American Revolution?

Seeing the heavy move to the Left in Congress by the Democrats, Obama and Pelosi's ongoing violation of the US Constitution, their continual profligate spending of the American people's money, their ever more confiscatory tax policies, as well as the backlash seen as the TEA parties have been growing in number and size, I'd have to say it's a distinct possibility. While it may not entail armed insurrection, the battles will take place in courtrooms, legislatures, town meetings, and polling places across the nation.

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The 9-5 New England Patriots played the 7-7 Jacksonville Jaguars in Foxboro this afternoon. Despite a failed first drive (a fumble at the goal line and a poor call by the officials, in my opinion) they managed to score two touchdowns in quick succession to make up for it. At the end of the first half the Pats were up 28-0.

The Patriots won, 35-7, clinching the AFC East division.

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At least one town in New Hampshire is making use of 21st Century technology, adding lasers to their snowplow trucks. The new lasers aid the plow driver in spotting where the edge of their wing plow will pass, meaning it's less likely the plow will strike mailboxes, road signs, and telephone poles. (To those of you living in more temperate climes, a wing plow is mounted on the passenger side - and sometimes the driver's side - of the plow truck, allowing it plow two or even three lanes at a time.)

If I were more of a cynic I'd be looking at these lasers as part of a precision targeting system, assuring maximum mailbox damage with minimal contact with the wing plow.

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The bald eagle population has rebounded here in the Lakes region of New Hampshire, with sightings becoming quite common.

I've seen more than one bald eagle in the area over the past few years, with six sightings just this past summer while I was out on Lake Winnipesaukee.

My first bald eagle sighting was about 18 years ago when I was still living just north of the capitol city, spotting a pair of eagles along the banks of the Merrimack River at a place called Sewall's Falls.

As an aside, I've seen the World Wildlife Federation's polar bear ad, with Noah Wyle explaining the plight of the polar bear and how it might “disappear in our children's lifetime.” Too bad the ad is based upon a false premise considering the population of polar bears has increased by a factor of 5 since the early 70's and is still growing.

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The New Hampshire Supreme Court will be hearing a tax cap case, where the city of Manchester voters passed a tax cap article, limiting how much the city can raise taxes and limiting spending. But the article, which is slated to go into effect July 2010, is being challenged on constitutional grounds.

Of course the ones challenging the tax caps (a number of other New Hampshire municipalities also have tax caps) are the usual suspects: the tax-and-spenders. At a time when New Hampshire taxpayers are dealing with stagnant or falling incomes and higher costs and taxes, it seems counterintuitive to push for even more spending and higher taxes. But then the state legislature has been on a tax-and-spending spree over the past 4+ years, which in turn has motivated the municipal tax-and-spenders to ignore the economic conditions we are all dealing with and to push forward with budgets and taxes that are crushing far too many residents and even forcing some out of their homes.

Let us hope the New Hampshire Supreme Court makes the right decision and decides in favor of the taxpayers.

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After a 'Year of Obama Love', it appears the reality the O-bots and the MSM are now faced with will be devastating. It turns out their 'god' has feet of clay, is not the Alpha and the Omega, and is seen by other leaders of the world as an out-of-touch weakling with delusions of adequacy.

Welcome to the real world.

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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As if we need yet another reason to hate unions, there's this story from Michigan (where else?) telling how over 34,000 day care providers are now 'members' of a union they didn't even know existed nor that they voted to join. What's worse is that the state of Michigan was complicit in this bit of racketeering. (Yes, racketeering, for that's what it is when the state conspires with the unions to create an 'employer' that by any stretch of the imagination shouldn't be.)

How is it someone who is self-employed with their own business (day care) can also be a union member forced to pay dues to a union that is nothing more than a means to collect someone else's money for a corrupt and criminal organization? Yeah, let's heap even more insult and economic injury on small businesses in a state with high unemployment, high taxes, high spending, a hostile business environment, and a population shrinking at an ever increasing rate.

And people wonder why Michigan is such an economic basket case.

I figure Michigan will end up being just like Detroit in short order if this madness continues: no jobs, decaying towns/neighborhoods, shrinking population, increasing crime, poor or non-existent services, a failing education system, and taxes rates that make paying 'protection' to the Mob cheap by comparison. At this rate Michigan will end up resembling a large number of Third World nations suffering from the same type of political corruption.

As one of the commenters to this WSJ piece wrote, “Let the last businessperson leaving Michigan turn out the lights on [their] way to Texas.”

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather has temporarily turned warmer, the woodpiles are getting smaller, and where really cold weather is on its way.