I Will

No, Sheila Jackson Lee, I will not shut up. I will not go to hell, Maxine Waters. I don't blog about politics often, but I blog about whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like it. If I want to say that people only vote for you out of greed and stupidity, I will. If I want to say that America should come first, and not the color of our skin, I will. If I want to say that I hope the voters kick both of you out on your asses and send you to the unemployment line where your policies have already sent so many, I will. I won't be intimidated by the likes of you.

Thoughts on Schools

I've been mulling over this article by Zombie and accompanying pictures for quite a while. Taking your students out of school for a day to lobby for higher pay for you *cough*andsocialism*cough*? It's awful, and I absolutely believe it is true. I do see it as a bad sign for our country. I just don't see something this extreme happening outside of self-segregated leftist enclaves. YET. My daughter was in no higher than second grade when she informed us that there was now a camera on her school bus. We of course called the school district right away to find out what was going on and why we weren't informed. Is the Musician a little more apt to notice such things than the average kid? Yes. But with all the kids at that rally, aren't the odds high that there would be some child that came home and told mom and dad, "We went on a field trip today?" If the moms and dads weren't on board with this, it couldn't have happened.

I just keep coming back to personal responsibility. Mr. BTEG and I talk a lot to our daughters, not only about what they are learning in school, but about world events, what we watch on television, what we and they are interested in. We are also blessed that in our school district we do get to see most of what they are learning. The Musician can bring any of her school books home, and so can the Dancer. Projects the girls did were proudly displayed before being taken to school. The Dancer's school sent home piles of completed schoolwork. The Musician did find one of her teachers this year seemed to be a little leftist, but it barely came out during the course of the school year. Neither of the girls was ever told to tell her parents to support the local school levies. If they were told that, they would know we as parents make up our own minds about things. They do get the evolutionist line in their science classes, but they're going to get that everywhere even as adults. They're learning the valuable lesson that what adults tell them, even teachers, isn't always true.

Are there socialists at my daughters' schools? Probably. Are all of them socialists? I doubt it. What are the odds? Do I believe that everyone in this town is a socialist? Despite the fact that we are in a suburb of Cleveland, in some ways this really is like living in a small town. Lots of people who grew up here, stay here and have their own families here. Teachers live in our neighborhoods. Some of them are from prominent families in the area. We get to know them. One of the teachers at the high school has a daughter who takes a dance class with the Dancer. I was very shocked when I and another parent were talking about all the chaos done by the teachers' union in Wisconsin, and his reply was that Fox had just made all that up!! But I don't think he's a socialist. He's just an ill-informed man. Other Parent and I were very quick to inform him how good teachers currently have it. Tenure? Guaranteed yearly raises? Health insurance completely paid for? Retirement pay? Ha! Who in the private sector has seen those things in decades? But I got to have face-to-face communication with this teacher, and tell him where I stand. I doubt that the parents of those children at the rally get the same privilege. If they even want it. We do have to fight for schools that actually teach facts and useful knowledge instead of political mantras and slogans. But we aren't all hopelessly lost out here in public school land.

Go Kasich

Our governor gave a very good reply to our president, who likes to meddle in state politics; basically, it was that the president better get his own policies in order before he criticizes anyone else.

Also, the president's remarks about shared sacrifice and the burden not falling on just one group of people, infuriates me. The rest of the people here in Ohio that have to work for a living are already suffering. The people who are fortunate enough to even have jobs are finding it harder to make ends meet, while our president plays golf, throws lavish parties, and jets around the nation to appear on talk shows, and the world to give our hard-earned money to other nations. It's about time that union workers see what the world is like for the rest of us.

Hot Air

Since I mentioned the box of sandwich bags that was partially produced via windmills the other day, I thought I would share this little article about how cost and energy efficient windmills actually are. The sandwich bags box implied that windmills provided about 40% of the energy necessary to make the bags. This article, and several other works I've read on the subject, seem to belie that claim. Ask your liberal friends why "green" proponents hate poor people. Higher prices are harder on those who don't have a lot of money (rather a duh statement but some people don't seem to get this stuff.)

Oh, and we have tried the store brand sandwich bags. They didn't really seal. And of course there are plastic containers that can be re-used, but they also need to be washed in between uses, which uses hot water, detergent and electricity to power the dishwasher. And yes, I use a dishwasher; I have skin issues. Why do you hate people with skin issues?

How Does This Work Again?

Liberals are at times pretty open about actually wanting higher gas prices. They want to force things on the public that the public doesn't really want, like little impractical gas-saving cars, preferably hybrid. I have a post simmering in my mind that I may put up when I am not too tired, concerning this desire. However, right now I want to make a quick observation about the unintended consequences.

The main reason liberals want us to drive smaller cars and use less gas, is to "save the environment." Product manufacturers are responding to a market for "green" products. However, green products come at a higher price. Part of this is because recycling is not always cost-efficient, and so products using recycled materials tack on the extra cost. I honestly don't know enough about the manufacture of dishwashing or laundry detergent to know why the green stuff costs more, but generally it does.

However, the sandwich bags I saw at the grocery store today really made me laugh at the craziness of it all. There were two types of bags, made by the same brand name company. One was the regular bag moms have been using in brown bags for years now. The second bag is the new and improved "green" bag. It uses less plastic (better for the environment) and real wind-powered energy to produce the bags! (When the wind is actually blowing, that is. Otherwise, they have to use plain ol' electricity off the grid just like everyone else.) Even the cardboard used to make the box is recycled.

Anyway, after checking to see that they were truthful about the windmill issue, since wind technology is nowhere near being able to steadily power a manufacturing plant, I took a look at the price. What I forgot to do is check how many bags came in each box. I do know that the prices for each box were... equal. A quick trip around the internet seems to suggest that you actually receive fewer green bags for your buck than non-green bags. You get less plastic, reused cardboard, no skyrocketing electricity costs, for a higher or equal price.

So here's the kicker. With gas prices, and necessarily food prices, being as high as they are, how many people are going to shell out the extra dollars for a recycled sponge or flimsier sandwich bags? How many people are looking to cut things out of the budget as much as possible, and will just reach for the cheapest item on the shelf? For that matter, how many people will even take the time and spend the money to drive to a specialty store, where a lot of these special detergents and so forth seem to only be located? Can greenies have it both ways, with higher prices for everything? Human nature being what it is, I doubt it. Lower gasoline costs, and a large percentage of the population will go right back to their minivans and SUVs. The only way I can see it working is if they force non-green products out of the market too. But that, well, that would have consequences too intricate to deal with at the tail end of this post!

Now We See the Violence Inherent in the System

Did you think over-aggressive Muslims were the only ones that wanted to blow you up? Well, think that no more, because now devotees to AGW, or climate change, or "Hey look, there's a cloud in the sky," now wish to explode you as well. At least, however, they've given you a head start by letting you know that if you don't reduce your "carbon emissions" by 10%, you're going to get blown up and leave nasty spatter everywhere. And it'll be funny. Or something.

Botox Never Dies

I had to report on this story from The Blaze, since I talked about this ridiculous plan for young people's health care in a previous post. What kind of parents tell their children to take their time following their dreams? If a dream is worth doing, it is worth doing as soon as possible, not just dreaming about it. For that matter, what it is a young adult supposed to be doing if they do have to work for a while towards their dreams, that they still need their parents to provide health care? And if a young adult can't provide his own health care, does that mean Mom and Dad also have to provide food, housing and clothing? I'm sorry; I'm going to raise my children to be better than that, thankyouverymuch.

On a side note, as one of Beck's commenters said, if Ms. Botox doesn't like pledges, does that mean she doesn't pledge to protect and uphold the Constitution? Does her word mean anything?

Tell Us What You Really Feel

Ohio Tea Partiers, if you weren't sure before, now you can know exactly what the Ohio Democratic party thinks of you, straight from the mouth of the Ohio Democratic Chairman. You know, back in the old days, when the economy was good, your kids didn't have to be on your health care program well past the age of majority. They could go out and, you know, get jobs that provided health care insurance. Or pay for it themselves. Or go without. No, I'm not thankful you're "giving" me things I don't want, and worse yet, making me pay for other people's little pweciouses. I will show you how I feel about you and your party in November.

h/t Ace of Spades

We're on the Road to Nowhere

Okay, so this doesn't actually concern roads, but this "stimulus" deal has mostly been used on roadwork, for what it's been worth. And heck, right now it feels like our country is on the road to nowhere! Anyway, I happened to drive by this site where there is an expensive stimulus sign, and... absolutely nothing happening. Not shovel-ready, is it?

Dear Nancy Pelosi

I oppose an Islamic worship center, under whatever name, being built in that particular location in New York City. To make it easier when you investigate me, I am eagerly awaiting my big check from Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated any day now. Now get out of this country, you traitorous, Botoxed hag.

Watching a Train Wreck

While I don't hide from bad news, I don't like to talk about it very much. I've never been a huge optimist, but neither do I want to dwell on the negative. However, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what changes to the tax code for increasing government run programs will mean, not only for me and my family, but for those who we help support financially. The first things to go would be our daughters' extra-curricular activities, dance and horseback riding. However, there's the sticky problem that while these activities are a nice bonus for us, for the women who teach these classes, it is their livelihood. Going one step further, if enough families could no longer afford such classes, not only would the dance teacher be out of a job, but the building she rents would be empty and no longer bringing in income for the landlord. If enough young people could not take horse riding lessons, not only would the family that lives on the property have a hard time paying the taxes, and possibly a mortgage, on it, but they'd have a stable full of horses that would be difficult to care for.

On the other side, for higher taxes for mandated health care, what is gained from it? Anecdotally, I've read tens of stories where doctors plan on getting out of their chosen profession if government-run health care comes to pass. Since this has happened in other places where government health care became the only option, I can well believe them. So what would our money, which is now helping to provide jobs and tax and rental income to the economy, provide? Not more jobs, if there are likely to be fewer doctors. Not much of any sort of contribution to the economy. Just more money for bureaucracy. How sad and scary that the government could have such control over all our lives.

How Long Before This Is Mandatory?

So they're offering a free gym membership and discounts on healthy food. Who's paying for this? Mr. BTEG's law of economics says that the end consumer always pays for everything. So I suspect in the end the long-suffering taxpayers of Cuyahoga County will be forced to pay the bill. If public, single-payer health care becomes law, I'm also wondering when stuff like this will become mandatory. You know, they force you to go into the gym three times a week, you get measured once a week, grocery stores are only allowed to stock "healthy" food. Welcome to the end of the world as we know it.

Saddened and Confused

I was reading a thread on German royals who were active in the Nazi movement and I had to quit fairly quickly in as I was so disgusted. Over and over, the theme was, "How could people be involved in something so horrible, like killing babies and innocent children?" This coming from people who are cool today with innocent unborn babies being ripped out of their mother's wombs. Who are probably okay with Planned Parenthood telling women that what's inside the uterus "isn't a baby" and that abortion is so much "safer" than childbirth. Well, Nazis were able to do the same sort of moral gymnastics when they killed off Jews and minorities. Never mind that minorities are disproportionally represented among abortion statistics today.

These are people who praise the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany for not hiding away their daughter with Down's Syndrome, while Down's Syndrome is becoming practically unseen today because so many unborn children diagnosed in the womb (it's not 100% accurate) are being aborted. And believe me, these people are not shy about their politics, so either they agree with these things or they're stupid; that is, the politicians they support are definitely not shy about utter and absolute support of abortion at all times. That princess would be lucky to be born today, forget about being hidden from the public. How do people manage these contortions with a straight face?

Give Me Something to Believe In

Silly me. I used to think people could be persuaded through facts. That you could provide evidence, and unless the opposite side could refute the evidence, their side would be proved wrong. Now I'm starting to see the world like C.S. Lewis' Wormwood: "At that time the humans still knew pretty well when a thing was proved and when it was not; and if it was proved they really believed it. They still connected thinking with doing and were prepared to alter their way of life as the result of a chain of reasoning. But what with the weekly press and other such weapons we have largely altered that. Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn't think of doctrines as primarily "true" of "false", but as "academic" or "practical", "outworn" or "contemporary", "conventional" or "ruthless". Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. Don't waste time trying to make him think that materialism is true! Make him think it is strong, or stark, or courageous—that it is the philosophy of the future. That's the sort of thing he cares about."

There are those who are using "climate change" to obtain power. They can control how people live their lives and accumulate a tidy profit through "carbon credits" and so forth. They can tell everyone what is and what is not allowed (except for themselves, of course!) Our "betters" will still be tooling around in private planes and limos and munching on caviar when we are heating our homes with dung and scavenging for food. Why everyday people can't figure this out when it has actually happened already in Communist countries (that is, the ruling class gets everything while the vaunted "working class" gets nothing) is beyond me but then there's that whole problem with reason and evidence again.

The people who are still clinging, shrieking and kicking, to the idea of "climate change," that I don't understand, are the ones who will receive no benefit from it. These people are willing to bow to their so-called superiors and do everything they say. Why are they willing to greatly reduce their standard of living just because someone tells them they should? That is, why are they willing to listen to one set of people and close their ears to the rational arguments of anyone else?

AGW has been described as a religion, because you need faith to believe in it. I agree with this premise, but I want to take it one step further. It has often been posited that people that natter on about "saving the planet" and "social justice" and so forth want to feel good about themselves. And why do they want, or need, to feel good about themselves? From the Christian point of view, it seems obvious. Nobody in reality can feel good about themselves. We all mess things up; we all make mistakes; worst of all, we will all continue to mess things up. We may conquer one flaw only to have three others rise up. Christians, though, can say, no, we can't feel good about ourselves, but we trust in One who took care of things for us. We are not good, but God is, and Christ has wiped out our sins and our messing things up, with His death and resurrection.

For the non-Christian, though, what is there? Without Christ, you have to do for yourself. You need to believe that you are "making a difference." And if something as simple as changing your light bulb or driving a different car makes you feel self-righteous, hey, it's all good. Little old you can "save the planet." It's probably a very powerful and addictive feeling. Too addictive to let yourself be confused by the facts.

Neo-neocon says it takes a very long time for people to admit that they were wrong. I suppose it can be very hard to realize and accept that you were wrong about something for years. I hope enough people will be willing to look at the facts and not just how good something makes them feel.

Nanny-State Nonsense

This story breaks my heart. A newborn baby in Great Britain taken away from her parents, along with six other children, because of "concerns" about their weight. The precedent this sets scares me, but what scares me just as much is most of the comments at the end of the story. Most of these people are cold and judgmental and have no idea about weight gain or loss. I say this because there is a girl in one of the Dancer's classes who is, frankly, obese. She takes three dance classes a week, and I believe she assists for at least one other class of younger students. She has been taking dance for years. Her conditioning is good; she is never out of breath or even sweating hard after a dance class. Yet some of the commenters at the original article think sticking the kids in the story in some sort of activity like dance class for the *three month* probation period would have magically cured their weight problems. Now, I don't know. Maybe this girl from dance goes home and stuffs herself with Twinkies in front of the television when she's not dancing or at school, like so many people insist fat people must do. It seems more likely to me that, just as there are people who need to have a 3,000 calorie diet to even maintain their slender figures, there are other people who have the opposite problem and will struggle with overweight all their lives, just as the comment at the top from the article pointed out. The prejudice upsets me and the fact that these kids' lives will probably be completely ruined for nothing is a sad commentary on what happens when we let the state control our lives.

And as NRO's The Corner points out, a little state control can easily lead to a lot. The current administration is against gun-owning, Bible-believing Christians like us. When will they come to take our kids away to keep them "safe"? Will those who look down their noses at this poor family find the government coming for their kids next?

What Are We Saving?

One of my daughters' favorite shows is Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman. Ordinarily it is a very good show, incorporating history, science and other topics in an entertaining format. Today, though, it irked me. Half of the show's focus was on saving electricity, which is a good thing in and of itself. However, the reason purported for saving energy was to release less CO2 in the atmosphere, and CO2 was tied to "global warming." Come on. As time goes on how much evidence do we really have that this is occurring? Even many global warming champions have switched to "climate change" as a safer explanation of why we must follow their plan.

Two of the kid contestants measured the amount of electricity in watts it took to do certain tasks, such as blowing leaves to using the blender. A high number was greeted with dismay. I wonder how many watts it uses to provide the bright lighting for their filming studio, the cameras, the computer-generated dog, and the televisions kids use to watch the program all across the country. Yes, it's a bit snarky, but seriously! I'm tired of being lectured by television shows and actors when their livelihood is based on using huge amounts of electricity.

Of course, they did give us an alternate method of powering the television: pedal power. Practical to a certain point. They also showed a good option to using the blender: mashing guacamole yourself. Okay. They showed a solar-powered radio and fan, but I think the current drawbacks of solar power were displayed by the fact that the panel needed to run a small table-top type fan was about the size of the Dancer. And when one of the kids stepped in front of the panel, the fan sputtered. We get very few cloudless days here in Ohio.

They also switched to one of those bulbs containing mercury, which in my mind is still controversial. The funniest thing was washing clothes by hand in a metal pail. I know many of my readers like hanging clothes on the line to dry, but how many of us would like washing all of our laundry by hand? Even the Amish wringer washer uses a gas or electric engine. Made in Saudi Arabia! Even if I lived someplace where I would not get stoned by my neighbors for hanging up clothes outside, I would still use the dryer 1)for things like towels that get nasty air-dried and 2)in the winter. Heck, I'd like to see the rich and famous in Beverly Hills have their servants start hanging laundry outside to dry. Or would they get too many people trying to steal the bedsheets of a famous actress? :)

So, yes, there are ways to cut back on electricity. But can't we do it just for the monetary and resource savings, or must we do it to "save the planet"?

Evil But Not Alone

Surfing around the internet I find I was not alone in wanting to have all the lights and the appliances in the house on non-stop yesterday. Do these environment-lovers not realize their shrill and self-congratulatory proselytization is the Christian equivalent to the guy standing on the street corner telling everybody they're going to hell? It just makes you want to do the opposite of whatever they propose. Honestly, I try not to waste gas or electricity just because they cost money! Not like some who tell us we should cut back while they use more fuel in one month than we use in a year. I'm fed up with being preached at.

When Murder Becomes an Ideal

This is a chilling article that really brings home the devastation that China's one-child policy is visiting on that country. It also ties in how curtailing the human population has become almost an obsession with certain groups in society. The human sinful condition does mean that there are no depths to which our fallen natures cannot go, yet it is frightening to realize there are those who find the deaths of millions to be something praiseworthy and to which to aspire.

What is also chilling is that in our country we are about to get our most abortion-friendly president ever, who is comfortable even with babies, born alive through an accident, being left on shelves to die. One of his friends, who has admitted since the election that he is indeed a closer friend than they would admit to before the election, has called in writing for concentration camps to be set up to dispose of those who can not be coerced into their way of thinking. History has proven time and again that fellow human beings can become nothing more than liabilities to those whose ideology becomes a fixation, who decide they will literally stop at nothing to achieve their ideals.

What also diminishes the worth of human beings is the elevation of other life forms. I listened briefly to Glenn Beck's show yesterday while he played a quote from a television show on the Animal Planet channel called "Whale Wars." A young man who is part of a group actively fighting, on the front lines as it were, the killing of whales, stated in essence that he was happy he had found something worth dying for. Whales, part of God's creation, yes. Whales, worth dying for? As you can see from my previous post, I adore my pets. The loss of one of our feline friends has torn up my heart as well of those in my little family. But I do not understand putting animals above human beings. Why is the death of a whale worth more than the death of millions of human beings, even if you only see them as "fellow animals"? How is it that the lives of animals can become *more* important than the lives of our fellow human creatures?

Kick the Wretches Out

George Voinovich, Ohio Senator, wants an automaker bailout. Hardly surprising, on the face of it, since the auto industry is *huge* in Ohio. There's a Ford plant just down the way from us, and the GM Lordstown plant is one of the biggest employers for my husband's hometown of Youngstown. The problem is, where does it end? I was against the bailout to banks; I'm against the bailout to automakers. First of all, because I don't want to pay the bills for these companies that mess up. Second of all, because when do I get my share? I mean, really. We're not living in a cardboard box but we're not exactly living the high life here. No big house, no flashy cars, not a single luxury.... Oops, got carried away there. Okay, I don't really want a spot on the government dole. I'd be ashamed, not to mention that accepting a handout means you are beholden to the hand, and I'd rather be free and independent. But being free also means being free to decide how to spend your money, not have our supposed leaders just give out oodles of "free" money which is really ours.

So, how do the residents of Ohio get rid of "Cryin' George"? The answer is not a Democrat, as the Democrats in Ohio have plenty of corruption of their own. Not to mention the Democrats are largely supporting the automaker bailout as well, since they're best buddies with the autoworkers unions who have their own share in the woes of American auto companies. Will no one rid us of this meddling Senator?

Hat tip to IB for the automakers article.

Points of Interest

Orson Scott Card, sci-fi god, wants to have a Constitutional convention and sees homeschooling as a way to get around government subversion. Apparently it's rocking the world of sci-fi geeks. He also asks, Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn on the Lights?