Do You Hear The People Sing? Be one of them

UDPATE: Things are getting interesting...click HERE.........they don't LIKE it when we speak up! But, we must try to keep it calm, read the article and you'll see what I mean.



CHECK THIS OUT.........and try to go. Come on, America....get angry........SING and MARCH!

Let's turn a new page...I'm tired of POLITICS today..........

What book are you reading now? And do you recommend it?

My bedside table is starting to look like the pile to the left....is yours? Is there a book you think my pile can't do without?

Let us all know! Thanks...

Excuse me, you forgot your child.............

A BOSTON TAXI CAB DRIVER HAS BEEN HELD RESPONSIBLE WHEN A COUPLE LEFT THEIR SLEEPING CHILD IN HIS CAB OUT OF HIS EYESIGHT. WHAT? Read about that HERE.

The police blamed THE DRIVER for not having checked that the whole cab was empty of suitcases and.............CHILDREN when he'd dropped them off at their home? The PARENTS forgot their child and HE is to blame? Have we come to this?

You think HE should have been responsible? More than the PARENTS?!!

What do you think?

That's a LOT of money, Mrs. Obama

From The Canadian Free Press...which is giving us Conservatives a lot of information lately that Americans aren't hearing here in our own country, have you noticed that?

First Lady Requires More Than Twenty Attendants

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, “ Michelle Obama."

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary.

How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz Michele are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public.

Your tax dollars at work. Next up, 34 czarettes?

$172,200 - Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF) $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY) $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY ) $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (SPEC IAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND D IRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY) Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY) $90,000 - Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY) $84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY) $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY) $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY) $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY) Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY) $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY) $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY) Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY) $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY) $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY) $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY) Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,SOCIAL OFFICE) $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE AS SISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY) $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECR ETARY) Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT) Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY) ___________ $1,256,000.+ per year - for what? Z: I found the above piece from Canada curious and wanted to share it after I'd found out the norm for First Ladies....so I asked a dear friend who worked very near the top at the White House under Ronald Reagan; she tells me that First Ladies usually have about 3 working for them directly, with others permanently in the White House overseeing big dinners, etc. The number above is outrageously out of proportion to past First Ladies. I'd not have printed this without that clarification. (I have to admit I like the new Michelle Obama haircut...) oh, I also find the white lines on this post curious, but whatever...I told y'all I'm no techie! xx

So many GREAT BLOGS, and...

More and more, I'm stumbling upon so many REALLY good blogs...it's devastating because I wish I had the time to read every one of them every single day. And, of course, I want their authors all HERE giving their input on whatever piece I hope to discuss. I love to see blogger friends at others' sites giving input I value and always see something good in. It's kind of a great CLUB, isn't it?

It gives me hope, it really does.........We have to put all this energy with which we blog ALSO into writing letters, making phone calls, going to Tea Parties, starting NEW groups (stay tuned..?), seeing to it that good Americans with traditional values get GOOD, CONSTITUTIONAL, SUCCESSFUL AMERICA back.

Maybe we can start helping America by welcoming the Democrats who don't want socialism (see Matt's story below) to our blogs for open discussion, trying to understand their viewpoints on other issues, really explaining our viewpoints better, with less bravado (that would include me, I KNOW)........

I wish Liberals would understand that Conservatives don't deserve the 'all or nothing' label so many in the media and so many of our liberal teachers and writers and pundits accuse us of. Because we're against illegal immigration does NOT mean we hate Mexicans! Because we are totally against the new health care overhaul does not mean we LIKE it that some Americans don't have any health care! Because we support the Second Amendment does NOT mean we want the Wild West back! Because one anti-abortion nut killed an abortion doctor does not mean we who support life condone that! You see where I'm going with this? I hope all our blogs will welcome both sides and that both sides keep it civil. It's TOUGH these days, I know, but a divided America isn't going to cut it. Conservatives should understand that Liberals do love America, they just see it differently than we do. We need to know most Liberals do support the constitution. I long for the days of the O'Neils and Moynihans who we knew and loved America and put her FIRST but only argued in the implementation.

Lincoln said this: "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-stone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." Amen.

The Phantom is angry!

I got this from a friend this morning and wanted to share it with you:

Z: I woke up this morning and I am so upset with Congress and this Obama Healthcare Disaster I could hardly sleep last night. What I am really upset with is the American public. When are they going to say enough is enough? Where are the baby boomers, out golfing or fishing? Where is AARP, I thought they had horse power? This to me is just nonsense. How about a few common sense items? Leave the damn healthcare system alone as it is, it is the best in the world and works for most of us. If you want to help the 47,000,000 non-insured people and all the illegal aliens, then spend your time and money on creating a new system for them. There was a system created for the veterans of the military, so expand this system or create a parallel system. You could call it Medicare clinic and hospitals systems. Keep the damn illegal aliens out of my hospital emergency room, let them go to a special clinic built and operated by the Federal Government. Sure they deserve health care of some level, but I pay $1,230 a month for mine. I am willing to continue to pay this monthly amount. I worked hard my entire adult life and this is one of the perks for working hard, you get a better level of care. Why is this simple concept so hard for people to understand???? Take the billions and billion of dollars to be allocated for a restructuring and create a new health system to address that portion that has a problem, don't bring a good system down to help the masses and average things out.

Another idea, nobody wants to go to medical school and come out $250,000 in debt and then get destroyed because the cost of insurance and business goes up every year and the income from Medicaid and Medicare is not adjusted. So, make a deal with motivated people; the government will pay for your medical school, you will owe nothing when you get out, but you will be required to work 5 years at a decent salary in one of the Medicaid clinics or Medicaid hospitals. I guess something along those lines is just too creative and logical.

Everyone in this country is suffering because Congress has no financial discipline and gave out credit left and right to people to purchase a home and a disproportionate number of those people simply were not credit worthy. People had phantom equity, so they went out and took out second mortgages. Prices fell and people walked away, leaving the tax payers again to pay the bill. Congress screwed up with Fannie Mae and Freddy Mack, then we pay the bill to clean up the mess. What is wrong with this picture? The people that created the mess need to step up and be accountable. Every time I see that horse's ass Barney Frank on the television I start looking for a brick to throw. Seems like Canada is not having a housing melt down and credit problems. Just makes me sick how the American public sits back and takes this. People have no concept of what a Trillion dollars is. It happens to be over 10% of our GNP and the day is approaching when the U.S. will not even be able to pay the interest on all of this debt. Mr. Z knows a little about the consequences of turning on the printing presses, as they did in Germany.

The end of the story is simple; Obama is and always will be a radical liberal and he got elected because he is a rock star, not a rocket scientist. Naturally, the republicans had a great chance for tort reform under Bush and did nothing so the legal system is still out of control and part of the high cost of medical service in this country. Bush was a train wreck in my humble opinion. Unless this country gets term limits and until there is a balanced budget we are on the path of disaster and in my humble opinion the end is now in sight. I wonder how Ted Kennedy would have fared under Obama's new plan? 465 pages to the plan and they are trying to pass it before anyone reads it.

There are endless stories about Bernard Madoff and his ponzie scheme. Congress is running the biggest ponzie scheme in the world, they were just smart enough to pass laws to allow them to do it. Makes me ill to watch what is happening to this country. I have been writing letters to all the people in Government here in the state of Washington, but it is all for not. There is not a creative thinker in congress, just a bunch of bastards with law degrees who think they are smart. Signed, The Phantom

Z: Well, Phantom, I agree with everything you say, which is why I asked if I could publish this here. I will add, however, that the number of uninsured includes at least 12 million ILLEGALS, so that's to be considered. Regarding AARP, GREAT point.....WHERE are they when you consider that one part of the bill will make a law saying government people will come to the homes of the elderly every 5 years to advise about 'options' in your later healthcare...if you're old and need cancer therapy, "have you thought of just riding it out with pain killers and no chemo or radiation? Those are expensive and you're so old you'll die soon, anyway." AARP goes for THAT or any mutation of that? And, by the way, I know a LOT of doctors who came out of med school with huge debt and they're rich right now, so that story's getting a bit old and needn't be dwelt upon, either.............but, I'm not averse to your idea at all. Some of my readers will find this too liberal; Comment away, folks...The Phantom can take it ! What do you all think of his ideas and opinions? Thanks, readers... and thanks, Phantom!

z

Matt Rose....No longer an Obama fan..........

There's a Democrat commenter named Matt Rose who came by and said 'hello' this morning on my Sunday Faith Blog. Click HERE for his blog, A Voice From The Left. I'd never heard of him before, but I sure have now and I'm so glad I did. One of his fellow Dems challenged him on his having said he doesn't support Obama anymore.........Here's Matt's response:

You have never figured out what I am about?
Why, because i supported Obama in the election and I DARED to say that I have many doubts about him and his policies NOW?

Because I dared to have some regrets about him now? Well Truth, I have some news for you old buddy, I am not a kool-aide drinker or am I a blind follower of ANYBODY! Not for Liberals like myself or republicans or to anybody else. Yes I do have some doubts about Barack Obama now, MANY doubts. You questioned me because of what I wrote about his idiotic interferance to the Professor Gates and the policeman story! Well I still believe he was out of line and that he was wrong to put his big mouth into a situation that the president of the USA should stay out of.
I think that his Health care bill is a disaster as are so many of his other bills. And I disagree with is decision on closing Gitmo. Look at what he has done on an issue-by-issue basis, generally speaking Americans are unhappy with what Obama is doing on a host of issues. As am I. None of it makes sense.
So maybe I WAS wrong in supporting him! So maybe I don’t support him any longer. So what? Am I a traitor because he fooled me? I have only one short life and I kinda like to live it the way I want. Not the way some socialist wants me to. Yes I do think that he is a socialist and that we are headed down that path, and I for one do not like it. And it’s not only me that thinks that way, Obama's approval rating are plummeting daily. If you can’t see that then you go right ahead and write blogs about how bad Bush was. But we can not blame Bush forever. It’s time to be honest with ourselves. As citizens we get the government we deserve.
It is funny how everyone here is either pointing fingers at George Bush or Dick Cheney or at Sarah Palin or at Rush Limbaugh, when we should be pointing fingers at us, we Americans. We created this mess we put Obama in office. George Bush didn't and George Bush as bad as he was did not create this mess we are in today.
Christ, how it pains me to say it, and to admit that I was wrong.

Matt deserves a lot of respect for having written this and for allowing me to publish it here on my Conservative site. I'm hoping you all agree with me and that, maybe, you'll send this to friends who also voted for Obama and are having trouble with that choice today. Ours isn't to ridicule, not to say "I told you so"; ours is to help America in any way we can. Democrats and many Republicans have a lot to answer for in regard to the election of Barack Obama. Many of us weren't really listening or we wrote off warnings or we voted "anything but the other guy" or we didn't vote.

Thanks, Matt....I'm glad to have run into you and your blog and I'm proud to publish your piece here.....I hope you come back to geeeeeZ and visit some of the other conservative blogs on my sidebar; we can all learn from people who disagree with us when they disagree with reason and kindness and good information. I'd like to think I had your guts if I saw I was wrong.

z

Sunday Faith Blog.......another break from POLITICS!

"Come unto me, ye weary, and I will give you rest
O blessed voice of Jesus, which comes to hearts oppressed
It tells of benediction, of pardon, grace and peace
Of joy that has no ending, of love that cannot cease....
And whatsoever cometh I will not cast him out
O patient love of Jesus which drives away our doubt
Which, though we be unworthy of love so great and free
Invites us very sinners to come, dear Lord, to Thee"....from the hymn

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the lord is kept safe." Provers 29:25

Things are getting tough in America......for all of us..........hymns and Scripture like this really help. Have a blessed Sunday...Mr and Mrs Z

z

But, it's BAD for small business employees..........

Obama: Health care reform good for small businesses

That's the Yahoo homepage headline this afternoon. Does Obama even CARE about the fact that small business employees will be having to give up their private plans because small businesses will be going to GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE!? That might be great for small businesses but.... for their employees? What is it about 'keeping your private plan if you like it?' HOGWASH, and anybody who can think knows that.

And WHY won't the Republicans remind people as to the plan Bush tried to implement, which was co-ops for small business owners...?...into PRIVATE GOOD HEALTH CARE, not rationed, government-controlled horrible messes? Co-ops are a fabulous idea and Republicans on the Hill have other good ideas like that...but who's HEARING THEM?

Do you see what's happening here? OBAMA gets the INK...the AIR WAVES. He says it and people hear it and don't question it with the facts in the bill....and he and his 3 professional TV news producers in the White House now it, too. Why do YOU think he's on television so often even though Americans are noticing and commenting negatively on it? IT WORKS.

We need to stop this but I just don't see how.

By the way, it's too small to read here, but I hope you've heard how they're prohibiting Republicans from getting this information to the public.
Click HERE for the details.

z

Horrible information............hard to take in

It gives me absolutely positively NO PLEASURE to post THIS. I feel it has to be heard. I feel these passages are revelations of what shaped our president and I ask that you hear his tone of voice in those parts where he's reading his book aloud, so 'matter of fact', so sure. No, this gives me no pleasure; as a matter of fact, it scares me for America.

Health care truths Americans are being lied to about

http://tinyurl.com/mcmq6h

Obama just said the reason the Professor Gates situation is in the news still is because there is still racism in America. Imagine...all Gates had to have done was show his ID and thank the police for having come by and Sergeant Crowley is being asked to apologize. Obama feels people are wrong in suggesting he should have stayed out of it because racism is "part of his portfolio". He has invited Professor Gates and the policeman to the White House for a beer. All will be well with the world if we just talk. right. I hope so.

Walter Cronkite and the Fairness Doctrine?

Well, he said something quite prophetic; something I believe in:

In this Sept. 30, 1971 file photo, Walter Cronkite testifies before a Senate sub-committee on freedom of the press in Washington. Cronkite said government control over broadcasting is like a threatening axe hanging over the industry. Famed CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, known as the 'most trusted man in America' has died, Friday, July 17, 2009.

Fast forward to the 21st century: Conservativ radio might be threatened with government control over radio...............I wonder if he still felt that way when he died?
I think you'll like Priscilla and Klaus's exchange below....please take a look and weigh in. z

Priscilla's Post (it's been too long since we had one, right? Well, it was worth waiting for) I have added Klaus's response from this morning

Priscilla writes this to Klaus, our friend in Germany who, with Mr. Z, wrote that post about how Germany would handle czars and health care bills if they happened to have that going on there now (just a few posts down) Also, at the end of this letter, I printed the email I just received from Klaus to Priscillla. Of course, I believe both writers here are speaking to us ALL, so I'm printing as they come):

To Klaus, (THIS PACKS A PUNCH, FOLKS....READ ON!)

What we have at the head of our government are thugs. They're shredding the constitution and the spirit of what is the American way.
We might as well have been taken over by a coup d'etat. The politicians in congress should respond to these tactics with a mutiny.
But, they go along, either because they themselves are physically afraid, or afraid of what information may be trotted out about them or against them. That's called blackmail. Thugs rule. Thugs "make you an offer you can't refuse"!
You should know that the American people elected this man, I believe, in an emotional, well meaning desire to make things right with the making of an historical first in America; A black president who seemed to be the genuine article in terms of wanting the best for America.
They ignored his associations, lack of experience, and could not see what many others of us saw. A man who rose too quickly to prominence from seemingly modest circumstances. A man who, in a substantive sense told us little of what he believed, and what, specifically, he wanted for America.
He repeated his mantra of “change” and “yes we can”, so that I think there was almost an hypnotic call to believe in him, but they did not ask, “change” to what? “Yes we can“, do what? I must tell you, for me, it was rather frightening to see a mindless response of millions of people. It has happened before down through history, and once again has been repeated. Yes it is indeed a truism, history does repeat itself. Not long ago, it happened in Venezuela, before that, years ago, in Cuba. It is nothing new.

But, in America? The land of the free? Yes. The reason being, people believed what they wanted to believe.

There were revealing moments. Many of us took note, many more did not or dismissed the naysayers. They wanted to follow this piper, and follow they did.

We have checks and balances in our form of government, but because there is one party in power, in two branches of our government, they hold sway, and the most powerful among them are of like minds with the President. So, they trample over our system and the American people with breakneck speed, before we can absorb information and engage in debate. We are lied to, misled, and overwhelmed. They are thugs.
More and more though, we see resistance to this leadership, and signs the people are waking from their apathy. I hope and pray it’s not too late. Our children deserve the same legacy we inherited from our mothers and fathers.
And that is simply, to be a free people, unencumbered by those elected representatives we have given the honor of not ruling us, but, serving us, and respecting us.

I have a request of you and your people. Pray for us. America as we have known her, is in jeopardy, and we are in need of strength, and God’s grace.

Thank you, Priscilla. Thank YOU, Priscilla.......I know you speak for a lot of us. Here is Klaus's email I got this morning, Thursday:

Dear Priscilla:

I read your detailed comments with great interest. Thank you so much. Here, from Germany, I'm obviously not as close to the daily political events in the U.S. Nevertheless, I also recognize from here what political hazards the people in the United States have to deal with at present.

However, I am of the opinion that with all the disastrous events, a distinction should be drawn whether they are GOVERNMENT-caused or SYSTEM-caused (existing law, constitution, rules, guidelines etc). System-caused dangerous and fundamental errors and deficiencies, established, approved, or at least tolerated by all political parties , cannot be simply dismissed by the voters, a dismissal the voters can do to political parties and its leaders through their votes, of course.

That is why I was even more afraid when I had to learn from Z and what I read here in the German papers about how laws are sometimes passed so quickly and unread, and undebated, in congress.
As long as we "merely" have to deal with political leaders and parties we will ALWAYS have the chance for change (but different to the BHO style- ergo a re-change !). As I said before ( with the limited insight of an alien, but one who does read a lot and consider a lot of the American news here) the most important issue is to wake up more of those people who are BH-mesmerized and to help to reduce the percentage of voters which ignore matter of facts and are too lazy to think, preferring to "let think" by others.
It is wonderful and deserving of thanks that there are people like Z , you, and others who take care of such needs.
Good luck and success, Klaus

Z: I just got this in an email and felt it fit: "It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a People always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence." --George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

Thanks, Klaus and Priscilla, I've enjoyed this exchange and hope our readers did, too! z

Please see my UPDATE on the Professor Gates situation according to Mr. Obama, just 2 posts down. Then please read Mr. Z and Klaus Lewin's information below...I thought it was really interesting.

Germans on czars and a very interesting lesson on how the German government would treat a bill as big as HEALTHCARE OVERHAUL

From our friend Klaus Lewin who wrote the terrific piece on having survived the Berlin Blockade of the Russians.
"For me, the U.S. system is difficult to understand. That a government can delegate tasks whose execution has been entrusted by the voters in such a way as to have people (czars) acting outside of congress, particularly people with such flagrantly odd backgrounds as having started communist organizations or have other clouds over their heads (like Van Jones, Browner, Carrion), is outrageous. That means that the system there (independent of the government) overlooks, out of hand, the checks and balances it should have.

PHOENIX TV has reported today (heard on a German cable station) that the approval rating for Obama has gone down to 57%. Hopefully, that will continue to fall. He must cash more and more uncovered checks, and slowly even the biggest idiots will notice something."

This information from Mr. Z and Klaus Lewin might interest you: How Germany would handle such a huge overhaul of any part of their country's laws......

A lesson in democracy relative to passing laws in the Parliament (Congress) described for the case of Germany: (It might be worth noting that the U.S. had major influence on the German Constitution, aka BGB, which lays down the rules for parliamentary actions).

The “Bundestag” (or lower house) has a President (who normally comes from the largest party) and several Vice-Presidents. They agree about the agenda of the parliament, and about schedules for drafts of laws etc. Every party (or member) has the right to present draft laws. Obviously, the governing coalition has normally enough votes to get a law through the parliament or to refuse others – but that is done in a democratic procedure which intimately involves both houses, the “Bundestag” and the “Bundesrat” (which consists primarily of members of the States – so the States have substantial influence on the laws of the land). Here is the procedure:

After a draft of a law has been generated, it must be transmitted for a first review to the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat has several WEEKS time for the review. That means that States even if they are governed by the party which is in the opposition in the lower house, receive knowledge and influence on the laws BEFORE the draft law is brought to the parliament. The Steering Committee of the parliament (President and the Vice-Presidents) then agree on a schedule for the “Lesungen” (discussions) in the parliament. There are always several dates in order to allow changes to be made. Each member of the parliament receives a copy sufficiently before the readings in the parliament.

After having passed in the parliament, the law goes again to the Bundesrat. There are always both houses involved in the process.

A process as it is practiced in the U.S. (example: Stimulus Bill) would be illegal in Germany and would immediately be referred to the Constitutional Court, and/or there would be blocked in the Bundestag and/or the Bundesrat.

Laws in Germany are concentrated on the subject (no ancillary subjects (PORK)), and are generally very brief. One of the most voluminous ones (revision of the social system in Germany with very far reaching consequences, implemented by the Schröder government in 2003, called HARTZ IV) was 47 pages. That law would in its complexity be comparable to what Obama tries to do with the Health Care System....in more than 1000 pages.

Our friend Klaus’ additional comment to Mr. Z: “The practice as described by you [how laws are run through U.S. congress] has very little to do with a normal parliamentary legislative, i.e. democracy. I cannot comprehend that something like that is possible in America which is here considered as the “beacon of democracy”.

Is he bashing America? Is Mr. Z? Heck no...they love America. They just don't get what's happening, how fast things are trying to be moved, how people aren't even reading the bills, etc. etc.

z (thanks, guys)

"A Personal Inequity"...an AMERICAN INEQUITY

Thomas Sowell writes about INEQUITIES HERE....please take a look. He's such a good thinker and I URGE you to send this to friends, it's important that more and more Americans see and understand his point.

Thanks to Namaste for her excellent blog piece and the article.
Z

Is it RACIST to ask for ID?

UPDATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
I did not watch Obama's healthcare speech....no way...there aren't enough martinis....but I digress.
I DID see his response to a question about this incident here with Professor Gates: Mr. Obama said he understood that this professor did nothing wrong, implied it's a typical profiling case, smiled sadly, and said the police there "acted stupidly". Article HERE.
Howard Feinman from Newsweek was on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow and they showed the statement by Obama on this....Feinman actually SAID..."what's important is that you could see Obama BECOME THAT MAN....." I swear he did. The implication being that Obama is so empathetic and has suffered from racism so much that he actually BECAME Professor Gates and ISN'T THAT WONDERFUL OF HIM? What struck me is that OBAMA HEARD WHAT HE WANTED TO HEAR, FOLKS, and got it WRONG. This president is such an angry man. If he didn't have the facts, why didn't he say so; he got it all wrong and had no problem giving his version as if it just had to have been that way. This was BAD.

Tuesday evening UPDATE FOLKS: HERE is a NEW ARTICLE on the subject, extrapolating on your comments..... OH, BROTHER, is this amazing. IS AMERICA INSANE?

Tuesday afternoon: There are so many aspects to this story HERE that I don't know where to start, really.

A Black Professor at Harvard University was on a trip....he had a driver get him from the airport and drive him home. The driver and this professor walked up the front steps and found that the door wouldn't open so they pushed against it long enough to arouse the curiosity of a caring neighbor who decided she should call the police and alert them that someone was obviously breaking into her neighbor's home. ...for more, see the link.

The upshot is that the professor didn't like being asked to present identification to prove that was his home. WHY NOT? Instead, he accused the cops of RACISM. But......if they had NOT come to this Black professor's home and 2 guys WERE trying to bust their way in the front door, then what? Racism for not coming immediately to a Black man's home?

Of course, JESSE JACKSON says "The charges have been dropped, but the stain remains. ... Humiliation remains," Jackson said. "These incidents are so much of a national pattern on race."

What are your thoughts on this? Should the woman who called not have mentioned that what appeared to be two burglars were Black? Then, perhaps the police wouldn't have known what they were looking for, right? It sounds like it might have a happy ending (especially for Jesse Jackson, who got a chance to get his name in the limelight again), the cops are dropping charges, but HAVE WE COME TO THIS? Shouldn't the prof be HAPPY they were on the job? A cop can't ask for ID because, if you're Black, they must be RACIST? WOW

Unrelated..but related......There is this story HERE about kids being turned away from a private pool in Pennsylvania, remember? This story HERE, today, implies this was all about racism....That makes me grieve. NO RACISM SHOULD BE ACCEPTED!!! But, it's not helping America when things are twisted and mischaracterized. Some of the kids couldn't swim, the pool was too crowded for the amount of lifeguards and it hurt the children's feelings...why? Couldn't they be told THAT instead of the implications of racism? Remember that little boy crying that "this is America and this shouldn't be happening here"? You think a 7 year old would say that on his own? .... that's my take, anyway. Now these poor kids learn a lesson I'm not sure helps them...or America. Do I think it's marvelous they have a free trip to Disney World? YOU BET. But, this? Notsomuch. (and, do I need to add that if ANY member of that club DID say anything about those children simply because of the color of their skin, that there's a very special place in hell for them?)

z (thanks for the tip on the top piece, Mustang)

This says it all

Too bad Obama won't be able to tax Madoff to death to pay for the health care of the poor, huh?

The LIE about health care....a specific, obvious LIE, folks

PLEASE read this article...Click HERE. A part of that article says this:

"Obama has said he does not favor a government-run health care system. Legislation taking shape in the House envisions private insurance companies selling coverage in competition with the government." OH, REALLY, Mr. Obama? Well, JIMINY CRICKET.

Now click HERE and read:

UHOH! Page 16 of the BILL says describes the provision making individual private medical insurance illegal. "It turns out we (Investor's Business Daily) were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the "Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states: Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law."

Thanks, Heidianne and Mustang for the links......Mr Z noticed the disparity (i.e. LIE) when he read the two articles they sent us and he thought everyone ought to know this........AND PASS IT ON TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY. EDUCATE, PEOPLE.............. We are being LIED to. And HURRIED ...everything is so "URGENT"!

WHAT IS THE HURRY? WHY can't we all discuss this like any Democratic country would? These are ENORMOUS changes! WHAT IS THE HURRY!?

AND: I'm watching a little of the news this morning and sad to see that most of what the Blue Dog Democrats are only complaining about the COST of the obama Health Care Plan.....I'd like to see them care about the constitution, self-reliance, against rationing, etc etc etc etc..


Mr and Mrs Z, Heidianne and Mustang! (a group effort!)

Look, why don't we just STOP SPYING and BLAME BUSH?

We've got this and this, and so much more. So, the deal is........what did the Bush CIA have to gain with these programs but the gain of keeping us safe? Is a congressional hearing in public that's being suggested by leftwingers going to help America move forward and continue to protect herself? Will our CIA continue to attract good people when they read things like this? Do leftwingers have anything better to DO right now than to drudge up information like this and expose it to the world? Does any leftwinger REALLY believe there are enemies around the world seeing this and saying to themselves "Gee, aren't those Americans super guys? They're SO TRANSPARENT.....they're slamming the agency that's responsible for keeping them safe from us and, you know, it might be a great idea if WE stop being bad guys and stop our covert terror programs, too"? YA THINK?

z

“Hide nothing from the masses of our people?" Why are you hiding?

You'll want to read this HERE and maybe send the information around. (New Zealand had to tell us this, of course)

THIS is the kind of person, an avowed Communist, that Mr. Obama has in the White House advising him. This is the kind of input he's getting. I think we all should be informed about all the czars and people they say "have his ear", don't you? Here's a highlight from the article linked above: "The communist organization Van Jones went on to lead was called Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM).

Returning to Van Jones, with all the shimmer associated with a rising star, many forget that a man now advising the president was a member of a revolutionary organization in the SF Bay Area called STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement). Throughout the group’s history, Van Jones was seen as a public figure within the Bay Area left and a leading member of STORM.

STORM had its roots in a grouping of people of color organizing against he Gulf War in the early 1990’s and was formally founded in 1994. The group’s politics had a number of influences, but evolved towards what could be best characterized as third worldist Marxism (and an often vulgar Maoism). The group grew in influence until its disbanding in 2002 amid problems of internal dynamics and especially controversy around the leadership roles that members played in the youth movement (such as the fight against Proposition 21). Nearly the entire membership of the organization was staff members for various social movement non-profits in the Bay Area, many linked to the Ella Baker Center, which Van Jones steered."

This man himself, Van Jones, says "Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories....Our experience has shown us that in the general framework of daily struggle this battle against ourselves, this struggle against our own weaknesses...is the most difficult of all."

I'm starting to wonder if he or Mr. Obama would include US in "the masses of 'our people'..." because we're sure not getting the truth or having people listen to us.

"Tell no lies"? But, your new job, Mr. Jones, is a position about "GREEN JOBS"...your ilk doesn't even invite opposing views regarding CLIMATE CHANGE to symposiums! Or, maybe that's your idea of "mask no difficulties..."? KEEP THEM OUT. Is THIS the 'battle against' yourselves? Is this your 'weakness'?

Please, don't let it become America's.

This article is from New Zealand, of course. And DARNED if Wikipedia left off some of the info. about Mr. Van....Isn't that a coincidence? (ya, right)
z

BAGGAGE

Emotional BAGGAGE....EVERYBODY's got some, right? Whether you go to your Christian faith to help or not, I thought the concept of BAGGAGE illustrated in such a clear, compelling way was important for everyone to at least consider. I hope you'll be blessed by the video. Help a teenager who might need it. Be a blessing! z

Sunday Faith Blog....Notice your beautiful day

"We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1
But, oh, the sights we see can remind us of our Creator...can they ever. Remember, especially in these terrible times for America, to really see and appreciate a beautiful sunrise or sunset, walk in your garden, watch a nearby ocean or a lake...........have faith. Do you have a favorite line about faith? Please share it with us! Be blessed. Mr and Mrs Z

Zack's Political Correctness...Islam and OUR Political Correctness

If you're not familiar with Zack's DIVERSITY LANE, you SHOULD be! Check it out HERE.
After I published this cartoon, my friend and blogger Always On Watch sent me this video of Robert Spencer on Political Correctness and the threat of Islamists in America BECAUSE of political correctness...PLEASE WATCH HERE ....
Thanks, Zack and Always

Go HERE and see Mustang's latest INFORMATION ON HEALTH CARE.
We have GOT TO STOP THIS. WRITE YOUR SENATORS, FOLKS...CALL, WRITE, BESIEGE THEM WITH YOUR PLEAS. This will be a NIGHTMARE and they're LYING (See his information!) HERE IS THE LINK YOU NEED. PLEASE DO IT! z

Glenn Beck ...off the hook

Yahoo Homepage found this important enough to HEADLINE there this morning. It's a phone call where Glenn Beck yelled for a caller to hang up..........the headline is "Glenn Beck's Screaming Fit". He did scream. Once. Other than that, he straightens the woman out and shows later how wrong she is. But, Yahoo has to HEADLINE it.

Good thing there isn't anything important going on....like the fact that more and more people are learning what the new health bill will do to America, how small business owners are saying they're going to have to downsize or close because of what's coming.........

Glenn Beck yelled. See Yahoo for details. It's really important to them. The poor Left...they have EVERYTHING right now and the threat of Glenn Beck is MONSTROUS, huh? :=) Come to think of it, I guess it's more important to the Left to focus on a Conservative finally losing his temper than to have Americans focus on the truth about health care. Ya, I get that. Sad.
Just saw THIS.... The Yahoo title is "Senate Can Pass Health Care Bill DESPITE 'WHACKY' Cost" You can't make this stuff up.

z

I don't know if this REALLY happened, it's supposed to have.........but

.. ...it makes me smile EVERY TIME I read this and I hope it gives you a lift today, too! :-)

From a guy who overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai . It is too good not to pass along.

The conversation went like this....

Iranian Air Defense Radar: 'Unknown aircraft you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.'

Aircraft: 'This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.'

Iranian Air Defense Radar: 'You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!'

Aircraft: 'This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 fighter. Send 'em up, I'll wait!' Iranian Air Defense Radar: (no response ... total silence)

Z: OH, yaaaaaaaaaaa

Muslims over Christians (or Jews)? WHY?

I saw the video I'm posting below at Carol's blog (see info at the end of the post) and couldn't help wondering about something else I'd heard about that I thought fit in with it...a curiosity I think you should consider, too.

You might have heard about this, too, though most of the news venues did not carry it: HR1388 passed on June 2, 2009

By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of $20.3 million in "migration assistance" to the Palestinian refugees and "conflict victims" in Gaza .

The "presidential determination", which allows hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States, was signed on January 27 and appeared in the Federal Register on February 4.

Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order provides a free ticket complete with housing and food allowances to individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.

Click HERE for the Federal Register Information, if you're curious.

Then there is THIS very troubling information:


Anybody else wonder why Mr. Obama doesn't help the Christians in Muslim countries to come here? They're really facing persecution, death, etc. There are 2 young women awaiting execution in Iran (click HERE) for having come to Christian faith. Maybe we should register some political outrage? Or, maybe there just isn't the sufficient outrage. WHY NOT? I know that, though 85% of us are Christians, we're aren't a Christian country (Click HERE), according to Mr. Obama, but..........?!

Thanks to Carol for the video tip.

La Raza........Sotomayor membership and the Supreme Court

Thursday afternoon UPDATE: I wonder what you think of THIS INFORMATION: Yahoo Homepage calls the Republicans "frustrated" and Sotomayor "calm"...a bit from the article says this: "Outnumbered, often frustrated Republicans launched a last-ditch effort Thursday to heighten doubts about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's judicial temperament, grilling her hard on a key affirmative action case, gun rights and other volatile issues."

Um...are they just stupid, obfuscating, or have they REALLY forgotten the miserably nasty treatment of the Republicans' nominees? Or do they not understand what hearings are about? Aren't hearings to test temperament, grill on important issues? I just wish the Republicans had given a smidgen of what the Dems did to Bork, Thomas, Alito and Roberts.

But, this piece is about LA RAZA and I hope you chime in with your opinion:

I was curious, so I checked into La Raza; Here's a bit of information from the NCLR, National Council of LA RAZA

Overview: Driver's Licences

In recent years there has been much legislation and other activity in the states which impose harsh restrictions specifically on immigrants’ access to state-issued driver’s licenses and identification documents. These proposals go well beyond denying undocumented immigrants access to driver’s licenses and have the potential to exclude legal immigrants and even U.S. citizens from state-issued identification documents. Moreover, they are of great concern because they prohibit drivers from being properly licensed and insured, discriminate against immigrants and other groups, and make entire communities less safe......There are legitimate and sound avenues for individuals to prove identity which would allow state Departments of Motor Vehicles to fulfill their mission of ensuring safe roads without creating new licensing requirements that would make the driver’s license a de facto proof of legal residency in the United States.

Overview: Racial Profiling

Racial profiling tactics not only violate civil rights, they also undermine the ability of law enforcement to enforce the law effectively. Specifically, when an individual’s race or ethnicity is used to establish a cause for suspicion of a crime, then that individual – along with family members, friends, and neighbors – loses trust in the integrity of law enforcement.

Overview: Home Ownership

Homeownership is the “American Dream” because of the many benefits it provides families. Homeowners tend to have access to better community services and schools, and to more stable neighborhoods, and their children tend to be healthier and do better in school. Moreover, owning a home is the primary way to build wealth in American society. Homeowners are able to leverage their home equity to send their children to college, open new businesses, save for retirement, and enjoy significant tax relief. Unfortunately, Hispanic families have not enjoyed the same access to homeownership as other Americans. Untraditional sources of credit, lack of affordable units and information about the homebuying process, and other market barriers keep many families from becoming homeowners.

NCLR Position

Latino families must have equal access to mortgage financing. To increase Hispanic homeownership substantially, all sectors – public, private, and non-profit – must work together to craft flexible mortgage products and outreach activities that will increase access to the mortgage market. This includes making the increase of Hispanic homeownership both a business and policy priority, demonstrated through strategic planning and allocation of resources. Latino families stand to represent a significant portion of new homeowners in the coming years; their financial needs cannot be ignored.

Overview: Criminal Justice

Like all Americans, Hispanics are concerned about crime and the effects it has on youth, families, and communities. Unfortunately, Latinos do not always feel confident that our criminal justice system properly and fairly addresses crime. Many have negative perceptions of the system because they observe ineffective responses to violent crimes, public offenses, and substance abuse. Some Latinos have been treated unjustly by the system or have been arbitrarily disciplined. Others recognize the disproportionate number of Latinos serving long – and in some cases unjust – prison sentences for nonviolent offenses. In addition, Latino youth are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system and receive harsher punishments than their peers, even when they commit the same offense.

Z: This article, click HERE, has some informative and very interesting videos and quotes about La Raza and concerns about Sotomayor's membership. La Raza has a very negative reputation here in Los Angeles, you don't hear anything positive about it at all, though our Mayor is, or was, a longstanding member..... people have always been quite fearful of it......so maybe I'm a bit biased (can I be without sounding racist myself? Is that allowed in our society these days?!) I'm not positive that La Raza membership should disqualify a Supreme Court Justice nominee like Sonia Sotomayor, who apparently is still a member, what do you think after reading more about La Raza? Should Sotomayor's membership mean "CASE CLOSED"?

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: I JUST FOUND THIS:

From the June 17 Washington Times article:

Gender politics have proved a minefield for male Supreme Court nominees. The wife of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. broke down in tears after aggressive questions at his 2005 Senate confirmation hearings about his reported involvement in a Princeton alumni group that opposed affirmative action.

Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy quit all-male clubs when they were being considered for the Supreme Court in the late 1980s, and Justice Harry Blackmun resigned his membership in the exclusive Cosmos Club in 1988.

The only two women to have sat on the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, were members of the women's networking group, the International Women's Forum, but their memberships did not become a major issue in their confirmation hearings.

Z: Scalia and Kennedy dropped all-male clubs WHEN considered.....Blackmun, too. Looks like Sotomayor is still a member of La Raza.........and Alito's grilling made Mrs. Alito cry with its inferences. WHY NOT SOTOMAYOR, folks? Don't make her cry...just ASK. Some reports are Sotomayor stopped being a member in 2003, some don't. That she'd BE a member is suspect.

(then, I'm curious about the post below...COULD YOU DO THAT? Let me know..thanks!)

Tight quarters in that Endeavor!

Could you be at a space station for 3 MONTHS? Or in a Mars simulation flight experiment for 105 DAYS? Cut off up there on a space station without really knowing you'll make it back safely, let's face it. .........or in a simulator away from family, away from everything, for all those days...........? Could you float on a tether that far up in outer space?

Looks kind of 'tight' there in the picture, doesn't it? For days on end?

What's that kind of personality LIKE? It's not mine, I'll tell you!

z

Shifty Powers.........a true American hero

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer. There was no parade.
No big event in Staples Center . No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.
No weeping fans on television. And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.
"A nation without heroes is nothing."
Roberto Clemente
Z: I don't know who wrote this, I wish it had been me. I wish I'd have had the pleasure of meeting Shifty. God bless him and his family and all American soldiers. So, I believe we should only vote at 21.......do I leave this guy out? :-) PLEASE WEIGH IN BELOW.......

I want to raise the voting age to 21 again

Tell me why we shouldn't.

Thanks.

This is just TOO GOOD not to share...

AL GORE, BILL CLINTON, OBAMA

Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama go to heaven, God addresses Al first.

''Al, what do you believe in?''

Al replies: "Well, I believe that I won that election, but that it was your will that I did not serve. And I've come to understand that now.''

God thinks for a second and says: "Very good. Come and sit at my left.''

God then addresses Bill. "Bill, what do you believe in?''

Bill replies: "I believe in forgiveness. I've sinned, but I've never held a grudge against my fellow man, and I hope no grudges are held against me. ''

God thinks for a second and says: "You are forgiven, my son. Come and sit at my right.''

Then God addresses Barrack.
"Barrack, what do you believe in?''

He replies: "I believe you're in my chair."

heh! (thanks, marie!) Z

GREEN SHIRTS? Get ready........if we don't drown from arctic icecaps, it'll be death by leftist fascists

UPDATE: SARAH PALIN WEIGHS IN HERE....worth the read.
(thanks, deaner)

Green Jackets, Brown Shirts
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY From Tuesday, July 07, 2009


Cap And Trade: Al Gore has likened his crusade against global warming to the world's struggle against Nazis. He said this while speaking in a country that is organizing a team of environmental storm troopers.

Gore didn't come right out and call global warming skeptics Nazis while addressing an audience at Oxford University in England. But then, he didn't have to. By simply violating Godwin's Law — which essentially says that an argument dies the moment someone makes a comparison to Nazis — in the way he did, Gore labeled anyone who opposes his agenda a fascist.

While the former vice president was delivering his sermon, the British were busy creating a para-police squad that will enforce government-imposed carbon dioxide emissions limits. Take a good look, because the formation of this team could well be a preview of what we'll get if the Democrats' climate change bill becomes law.

So far, the cap-and-trade global warming legislation — known as the Waxman-Markey bill — has been passed only in the House. The Senate still has to take it up, and then a conference committee would write a version that both chambers would agree to vote on should the Senate approve legislation that has differences.

Any bill passed will of course have to be signed by President Obama. But the only question there is not whether he'll sign it but whether he'll turn the event into a circus bigger than Michael Jackson's memorial.

What comes next is the legalized extortion of the American people. Some analysts estimate that this scheme to save us from ourselves could by 2030 cost each American family as much $4,300 a year and destroy 2.5 million jobs. That's even counting the "green" jobs the bill's supporters claim it will create.
In return for that sacrifice, people living in our world a century from now will experience a global temperature that is projected to be one-tenth to two-tenths of one degree Celsius cooler than it would have been without the legislation.

While the loss of economic liberty is chilling enough, how much more freedom will be lost if Washington follows London's lead and establishes a cap-and-trade police force?

The United Kingdom's Carbon Reduction Commitment, which applies to nonenergy-intensive businesses, goes into effect next year. Ahead of that, the government's Environment Agency is establishing a squad of 50 auditors that will be charged with catching companies that exceed their CO2 emissions limits.

If news reports from Britain are to be believed, this will not be a collegial staff of ordinary green-eyeshade auditors riding desks. This group will be armed with warrants and have the power to search private grounds, snoop through energy bills, carbon-trading records and receipts from suppliers, and seize evidence.

The auditors will be granted the authority to spy on businesses without their knowledge as well as to show up at a company's doorstep for what is likely to be an intimidating visit if, the London Times reports, the company's numbers "do not add up."

It's not clear if the auditors — who are to wear green jackets — will be able to charge private businesses that overstep their carbon output allocations with criminal offenses. But no one should be surprised if they do.

This sort of crackpot scheme is yet another case of foolishness that makes it seem like the world has gone mad. It hasn't. Still, enough pockets of hysteria and second-rate thinking are out there, especially in places of influence, to cause us concern.

When we see benign behavior, such as emitting CO2, become an offense worthy of the attention of a national government, we know we are in a dangerous era. We hope enough rationality remains in the Senate to keep this madness from spreading to the U.S. (Z: too late?)

if you need a smile now, see the WONDERFUL video below..! z