Chico City Council

So the Chico City Council is currently in the process of appointing a person to the council to fill a vacancy left by one member getting elected to a county position. In the November elections, the people of Chico voted to fill 3 open seats on the council while also knowing that 2 months after the elections, a 4th seat would open up. Instead of just appointing the 4th place vote getter the vacancy, the flagrantly liberal city council decided to waste tax-payer time and money and take applications from people for the seat.

I heard today that they have successfully narrowed it down to just two contenders and have until their next council meeting (next Tuesday) to decide. Brace yourselves for the descriptions of the two finalists:

Finalist #1: A minority with a sob story, but who has never voted in a single election, local, state, or national.

Finalist #2: A middle-class white business owner who knows how to create jobs and was the 4th place vote getter, mentioned above.

Who do you think should get the council seat? Unfortunately, who do you think will get it?

And that's what's wrong with America.

Politics

Haven't posted in a while, especially about politics, so I felt I should make some comments that have been floating around in my brain:


First off, earlier this week, a friend of mine, who's a political consultant, informed me that the campaign he's working on still has a chunk of money and wanted to know if I wanted to work for them until the elections. I would have loved to do it, it would have been a blast, but the campaign is in Modesto and there's no way for me to get work off. Oh well.


Second off, has anyone heard about the Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell, running for US Senate in Delaware? Her big controversy is that a few years ago in an interview she admitted to trying out witchcraft. I don't know how far into it she got but apparently it was in High School. The liberal left is criticizing her for this, insinuating she's still a witch and probably she'll steel your babies for sacrifices. First off, as she said, it was in high school and a lot of kids do a lot of stupid things in high school. Are we supposed to hold that against them forever? Because, last I checked, Obama has admitted to doing drugs, starting in high school and ending in college, including trying cocaine. Does anyone seem to care about that? And Secondly, what ever happened to freedom of religion in this country? Don't elect her because she's Wiccan, don't elect him because he's Mormon?! I thought we, as a nation, were supposed to be beyond this immaturity.


Thirdly, anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty conservative and don't have a lot of good things to say about Obama. If I mention his name, its usually to criticize something he's doing that I think he shouldn't or not doing something I think he should. So it pangs me to admit that he has recently done a couple things for which I have to give him mad props. The United States used to be leader in the fields of math, science, technology, and engineering. Recently, however, we have been starting to drop away, and its partially due to the decreasing numbers of students who are choosing to pursue these fields in higher education. To fight this downward trend an to try to encourage students to pursue these fields, Obama announced last November that he was going to launch what he called the STEM initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, Match education). It is also known as his :Educate to Innovate" campaign. As part of this campaign, President Obama hosted on Monday the first annual White House Science Fair. I really love what he said about the event: "If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.” This isn't about politics, its about education, (which I know can be a politically charged entity) but science fairs are great because these kids weren't spoon-fed information, they had to develop an experiment on their own and carry it out, teaching themselves what they needed to know to pull it off. So there you have it. I actually agree and am impressed by something Pres. Obama has done. No, the sky is not falling, nor is it the end of the world. And I can assure you this in no way is sending me down the path to liberalism. This is purely one geek putting aside political differences to admire an accomplishment to help inspire other could-be geeks to follow their dreams. Way to go Mr. President.

A Thought on ObamaCare

A lot is being said, on both sides of the aisle, regarding this "landmark legislation" that was passed and signed last week. I won't even get started on all the objections that I have heard and hold personally regarding it but I did want to mention one particular part of really irks me on multiple levels:

"Coverage for kids": sounds wonderful, right? How could anyone oppose health insurance for children? Now they can't even be dropped for having a preexisting condition. But there's just a few problems:

1. The part that was supposed to be written into the bill that would make it take effect immediately was "forgotten" so now it doesn't start until 2014 like the rest of the bill. (throw your arms up in uproar, how are the kids going to survive 'til then?)

2. (and more importantly) it doesn't have anything to with children. This is talking about the sons and daughters (i.e. "children") of parents who work and cover their adult children while they are in college. instead of being dropped at the age of 24 or if your not a full time student (whichever is first), now they can't be dropped by the insurance company until they turn 26 (as far as I know, no student requisite). These aren't children. These are Boomerangers: grown adult human beings that, instead joining the real world and getting a real job, return to live in their parents basement's and mooch off of them for as long as possible. grow up and get a life! That it what college is supposed to be about. Now (in 2014), thanks to Obamacare, they can mooch for even longer!

So let me re-iterate: THIS DOES NOT HELP THE CHILDREN!  but helps the boomerangers. In Spanish, little children are translated as "los ninos" while the sons and daughters ("children") of a parent are translated as "los hijos".

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while...

but I've been super busy. (oh, no! I'm turning into one of those people).

I did want to take a couple minutes and give an update on a post I made back in February, you can read it here, containing a prediction based on my rudimentary understanding of Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, (based entirely on what Wikipedia says about the book), that the "men of the mind", o sea, the entrepreneurs would go on strike and refuse to use their talents for the benefit of those that are just looking for handouts.

It appears that this prediction is coming to fruition, as can be read in this article found on American Thinker. But it goes beyond the porculus bill. The article explains that the government running major industries in the economy is creating a hostile environment for business start-ups, which is causing entrepreneurs to take a
wait-and-see" approach, further delaying the recovery from the recession:

...there are few opportunities worth the risk anymore, thanks to Washington. Whether the Congress or the administration will infuse themselves directly into a given industry is not the only point. When government arrogantly claims it can perform impossible slam dunks in the banking industry, the auto industry, the insurance industry, and the medical industry, all the while imposing confiscatory taxes, there is almost nowhere to escape them in any legitimate business.
Businesses need professionals in banking, lending, insurance, and accounting to depend on, and we know now that whomever we hire in these areas will be under the government's thumb. Of course, paying customers are needed as well, and with government causing huge cracks in foundational sectors like housing, lending, and manufacturing, a reliable employed customer base is becoming harder and harder to maintain, much less find.
For many decades, the American dream has been undergirded by the faith that regardless of its current state, the economy would come back around thanks to the greatness of ordinary people being free to do extraordinary things. Thus the bold gunslinger mentality many business owners have had in previous recessions, refusing to participate, and even expanding cheaply to grab market share in the next recovery.
But it's different now, and there is no denying it. The dream itself is being killed by legal and regulatory micromanagement. Washington is determined to employ policies to cure something that can be cured only by government getting the hell out of the way.
A small business summit in the White House will accomplish nothing unless the invitees include unions and lawyers and bureaucrats, in which case it will be devastating. When did a union or a lawyer or a bureaucrat ever start a business? How many times a day do they kill one?
And that's the climate entrepreneurs see. Unions, lawyers, and bureaucrats gain more power and leverage every day. The big opportunity now is to spend government money: an eighteen-million-dollar government contract to create an awful Recovery.org website, SEIU union jobs in ObamaCare, bankruptcy lawyers, and perhaps carbon credit trades coming. There are ACORN-style crony contracts to be had, not to mention all the jobs created by the David Axelrod astroturfing media escapades. If you are connected or if your dream is to enrich yourself by killing the dreams of others, then the field is ripe for you.

Atlas is beginning to shrug.

On a side note, when I recently heard about the student protests @ UCLA and UC Berkeley, it caused some strange feelings I couldn't quite process. The college-student part of me sympathized, being concerned about my own rising tuition costs, but a larger part felt odd about it. I couldn't quite process it until I saw this article. It then made perfect sense. That was exactly how I felt about it.

Let your voice be heard and tell me what you think.

Is That the Best You Got?!

I am really getting sick and tired of people (especially my socialistic spewing Spanish Profesoras) using the excuse that "The USA is the only country in the world that doesn't have socialized medicine. Even third world countries have it..." So now we are suppose to aspire to 3rd World?! Has anyone pointed out other differences between us and the rest of the world? How about the fact that the majority of research and development of for new drugs/medical durable goods/procedures/etc. are developed here in the US? And maybe companies in the US will stop developing advances in medicine just like companies in other countries have when they switched to socialized medicine? The United States is (used to be) the best country in the world. Shouldn't other countries strive to be more like us and not vice versa?

Response to Mr. Gruendl RE: Walmart Expansion

Dear Mr. Gruendl,

During the city council meeting on 29 September 2009, in which you denied Wal-Mart’s petition to expand, your reasoning seemed to be that, even though Wal-Mart jumped through the necessary hoops required to receive approval, they did not go “above and beyond” like Costco. I assumed this is the major basis for your “no” vote because you repeatedly mentioned it throughout the meeting. You are trying to require them to go above and beyond the minimum requirements, which make it appear that you are changing the requirements. Who is to say you won’t just do it again next time because; once again, they are no longer “above and beyond” what you are requiring of them?

One of the additional requirements you are now attempting to force upon Wal-Mart is a $1 million wood stove swap-out program for low-income families. When you vocalized this, many shouts of “black mail” and “extortion” were heard amongst the audience members. You did correct us, albeit without evidence or explanation, that it is not, in fact, black mail. On this point I will be among the first to agree with you. According to one online law dictionary, black mail is defined as “the crime of threatening to reveal embarrassing, disgraceful or damaging facts (or rumors) about a person to the public, family, spouse or associates unless paid off to not carry out the threat”. Extortion, on the other hand, is defined as “The obtaining of property from another induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right. Under the Common Law, extortion is a misdemeanor consisting of an unlawful taking of money by a government officer. It is an oppressive misuse of the power with which the law clothes a public officer”. So, Mr. Gruendl, my question to you is, how is your stance of “I will only approve the expansion if you do these extra things, including paying $1 million” not extortion?

Thank you,

Dave Hale
CC: Chico City Council members, Chico ER, Chico News & Review, The Orion, KNVN 24 Action News

Obama De-funded by Congress!

Well, yes. I know, I know. Officially it was ACORN that was defunded by Congress earlier this week, but everyone knows... Wait, what?... You mean even though his first job out of law school was working for ACORN as a "community organizer"; later, as a practicing lawyer, he represented ACORN numerous times; after he was elected president, he selected ACORN to help collect the next census data; he earmarked billions of dollars to go to ACORN in his stimulus bill... he has "absolutely no ties" to ACORN? hmmm...interesting.

Congress is a Joke!

That was the seed that germinated into the thought process that has developed into this post. While at work this morning, I was contemplating the congressman who interrupted BHO by shouting "Liar" (or something very similar).

The congressman was obviously really frustrated, as more and more common citizens are becoming, with the flat-out lies and half-truths that has been "The Great Benefactor's" campaign and reign thus far.

Congressman Joe Wilson immediately apologized to the president, who, along with VP Biden, etc., all accepted his apology. I, personally, don't feel he should have apologized for speaking the truth. Most, if not all, of what The Great Benefactor said in his speech to the joint session of Congress was lies. Pelosi, and the rest of the Democrats then proceed to hound Wilson to apologize to Congress as well. Thankfully, he told them no, that one apology was enough.

So then the Dems announce that this week they plan to formally reprimand Wilson for not apologizing to them too. This is what made me think they are a joke and what caused the thought process to initiate. They are so smug and self-righteous that they feel they deserve an apology as well, even though the presidency already accepted Wilson's apology to them and the matter has nothing directly to do with the rest of congress. Also, if Global Warming is such a threat, if Obamacare is so necessary,etc. etc., why would they feel the necessity to waste precious time reprimanding a fellow congressman when they could be spending that time "saving the world". But then,...

I began to think about it a little more and realized something:

Congress is not as dumb as we think they are but they are not as smart as they think they are.

They aren't a joke nor are they stupid for file an official reprimand. That will be on his record as a congressman and can be used against him when he's up for re-election. "don't vote for Wilson, look what he did in September 2009..."

However, they aren't as smart as they think they are because We, The People are on to their little schemes and realize that is exactly what they are trying to do. But their plan is going to backfire on them as they are replaced, one by one, for being so out of touch with reality and the rest of us that belong to this nation. The majority of We, The People also realize that the Great Benefactor is a liar and are fully supportive of Congressman Wilson. Our eyes are opening (well, at least the eyes of those that weren't open to begin with) and we've had enough.

This weekend there was a massive march on Washington DC. Local police reported that it was the largest gathering ever seen in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, larger even than inaugurations or Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Local authorities estimated numbers around 2 Million citizens (none of them paid, as the left-wing conspiracy-theorists will claim) all gathered to show BO just what we think of him. His inauguration only had ~1 Million people. Did he listen? Nope, as soon as he caught wind of something brewing, he high-tailed it out of their for the weekend on "vacation". And in true Kool-Aid drinking fashion, his propaganda distributors, the main-stream media, grossly underestimated attendance of the event either in the tens of thousands or around 200 thousand. Quite the difference, no?

To all those that voted for you Great Benefactor, thank you so very much; this is exactly what we wanted for our country (laced heavily with sarcasm). The time for repentance is at hand. Please step away from the Kool-Aid and return to the light.

Kindle

Have you heard about Amazon's Kindle 2.0? Its a super-thin, super-light-weight ebook reader that can hold over 1500 books and uses 3G networks to download anywhere, anytime without monthly fees, or service plans. Sounds awesome, right? I thought so. Being the technophile I am, I wanted to get my hands on one and check it out. One of my professors loves his and says he's even been able to download his textbooks onto the device. It can even read to you and books cost about $9.99 to download. Sounds amazing! Even "Dear Leader" (BHO) seems to think so because I found this item about Barry wanting to give one to every school child. Never mind the fact that, as the blog points out, one minute he says the country is broke, the next minute he says he wants to spend $299.00 (retail price on Amazon.com) each for EVERY school child.

It forced me to start thinking why he thinks this contraption is so important that he wants every school child to have one but not a word about every child having a calculator (Even a TI-89 Titanium graphing calculator costs half that much on Amazon.com and a graphing calculator of that ability is over kill for any school child. The much more likely TI-30X IIS is less than $15 each at Walmart.) Then I figured it out, and all my worst fears about this administration (or should I say reign?) started coming back to the front of my mind.

Now, I like to think I'm a pretty optimistic guy, a little cynical, but optimistic. These last seven months have really been changing that. I also enjoy entertaining a conspiracy theory every now and then but the one I stumbled across and figured out seems so plausible, and likely, that it's scary. Have I piqued your interest, yet? Think along the lines of 1984, We, and Fahrenheit 451 all rolled into one. Have you figured it out? (btw, I have read all three of these and recommend them to everyone)

According to the articles you can follow from this page, Amazon, or any entity (i.e government) with access, can add, delete, or change content on the Kindle at any time without telling you or asking permission. Furthermore, "Amazon knows what books you have on your Kindle, and, in theory, it can even know the book you are currently reading, and even the last page you’ve read on each of the books you own."

If Dear Leader has his way, not only will everyone in the coming generation be forced into Universal Healthcare (which, might I add, will pay for abortions and outlines mandatory counseling for senior citizens concerning "alternatives to end of life care" i.e. a counselor trying to convince you to refuse treatment because you're old instead of fighting for your life and seeking medical treatment) but the White House (or wherever he decides to move his capital city when he takes supreme command) will have a direct line of access to our school children via the kindle. They will decide what content is downloaded and when. The only hope against it would be for parents to manually delete content themselves. But whose to say that the government won't just put it right back on, or, in the future when dictatorial intentions are more overt, if we will even retain any ability to control the content on the Kindle. "But Obama isn't that sinister" you say? My only response is that he is left-handed.

Nephite Pride Cycle

On our way back to Chico from Sacramento last night, Corrina and I were discussing many things and Corrina had an epiphany that we were then able to elaborate. She said something along the lines that we can see parrallels between events in the Book of Mormon and what is happening to the USA today, specifically regarding Heavenly Father's promise regarding the land. IT was an amazing moment of clarity and understanding that I thus expanded on it with regards to the Nephite pride cycle. What we came up with follows:
=============
In innumerable places within the Book of Mormon, the Lord promises the prophet at the time "inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land, but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." (cf. 2Ne. 1:20) That promise isn't exclusive of the Nephites or even of antiquity. The Book of Mormon, remember, was written for OUR day.

Additionally, the term "Nephite Pride Cycle" is a misnomer. There is nothing uniquely Nephite about it. What it should be called is "The Curse of the Promised Land". Just as it says in the Book of Mormon:

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things (emphasis added). If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
15 And to bring about his eternal purpose in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.

Any time a people is given the blessing of receiving a promised land, the curse that follows inevitably with is is the pride cycle. You are given a land just for you, you get prideful about it, you get slothful, you get destroyed, you repent, it starts all over. The Nephites weren't the only ones that this happened to. It happened to the Jaredites thousands of years before Lehi. It may have even happened to the Mulekites, although they kept no records so we're not really sure. It happened to the Israelites when they were given their Promised Land. The author of the Proverbs said it succinctly:

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

And we would all be very naive if we thought that we, as citizens of the United States, are immune from this curse. Nephi saw our day and received a revelation of the colonizing and founding of this country. Could we not then say that we were given this as a promised land?

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.

16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.

We have become prideful and slothful and are letting the central government take more and more power away from the citizenry. And what has the government been doing with this power? sowing the seeds of destruction: spending money it doesn't have, bowing down to dictators, refusing to admit that we have enemies, shirking its responsibility to be a force to be reckoned with on the global stage. The list goes on and on. Let me know what you think. Am I right? Am I off base? Let me know

Fooled by the Media

We parked next to this car at our local Costco and when we noticed the bumper stickers, Corrina said "Now that's something to blog about." Boy is she right. Either this lady has drunk so much of Obama's Kool-Aid that she doesn't realize exactly how fooled by the media she is, or she is just as evil and socialist as the current administration. I'm not sure which is worse.

Three Things:

First:
As a preface, I know this is old news and nobody cares about it anymore. I'm untimely in my reporting, etc. But who cares. This is my blog and I'll write about anything I want to.

Second:
Why did the Mainstream Media (MSMspend so much time reporting the type of dog the Obama's were going to get and from where they were going to get it (breeder vs. pound)? Was that really the most important information we, the people, needed to know? I expected that type of buffonery from the tabloid news shows like "Extra!" but not the MSM until I realized they are so entranced by the Man, the Body that they are practically reading the scriptthat B.O. has written for them. Especially ABC who recently decided to broadcast a special about Obama's universal heathcare plan straight from the Blue Room of the White House without letting opposing views take part in the spectacle (can we say PRO-PA-GAN-DA, children?). Hey Charlie (Gibson), did B.O. let you use his own personal teleprompter? Why don't you just climb up on good ol' Barry's lap and let him whisper in your ear?

Third:
If B.O. can't even keep his campaign promise to get his dog from a pound, what makes anyone believe that he will keep any of his other campaign promises?

The Strike!

The following comes from a wonderfully insightful and timely blog called "Atlas Shrugs"
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The Strike!
The exploitation and enslavement of the producers by the looters and moochers will not go unanswered. I find more and more, in talking with people trying to manage the over taxation and overwhelming government regulation in their lives, that they are minimizing their exposure. The producers will go on strike.
Every action Obama is taking will decrease revenues, not increase them. Free markets need to be free. This has been proven time and time again. As Obama's communist measures take effect and the economy sinks further into a financial abyss, expect the government to take even more dangerous measures. Michael Z wrote:
The best practical legal way for America to go Galt has already begun and that is for privately owned businesses to downsize their operations and not make any new or very limited new capital investments. They would then cut back on expenses to try and maintain a profit and lower revenue levels. This would necessitate layoffs, which most small businesses can do without a problem because they are not unionized. This would reduce peoples income and that along with Hussein's new credit card law will further reduce consumer spending and further shrink the economy.
This will continue to raise the unemployment rate (I expect to see at least 10% - 12% or maybe even higher unemployment before then end of 2010) and the Republican Constitution party should be able to take power from the Socialist Democrats in Congress in 2010.
OT but related: Anybody else get a bill by the IRS or US treasury for previous years? I did. A pretty hefty sum bill for 2004. Outta the blue. Of course I gotta start digging to find those financial docs. But I was wondering if folks have been getting billed suddenly for previous years. Purely anecdoctal.
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As some of you might recall, I blogged on this very topic back in february (looking back, it happened to be my birthday). It appears that Rush hit it on the nose and that is exactly the direction we're headed.

Axis of Evil

From 1939 to 1945, the Axis of Evil consisted of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan.

In 2002, the Axis of Evil consisted of Iran, Iraq, and Communist North Korea.

In 2009, it appears Obama believes the Axis of Evil consists of US military veterans, pro-lifers, and supporters of the US Constitution.

Does anyone else see anything wrong with this?

The Truth About ObamACORN

It looks like Barry's Boys are getting nervous about his association to ACORN. Finally we're making some headway. If only the MSM would actually pick this up and run with it. Unfortuantely, in perfect dictator style, Barry's goonsuad tries to strong-arm anyone into silence that tries to investigate and report. Read the story below.

(via Perspectives)

The Truth About ObamACORN
by Michelle Malkin

Left-wing groups in Washington, DC, are panicked. The New York Times and other Team Obama whitewashers are downplaying the connection between the Obama presidential campaign, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and Obama's old employer Project Vote (ACORN's nonprofit canvassing arm). Alas, the truth keeps seeping out. At a closed-door powwow hosted Thursday at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, activists discussed how to combat a relentless stream of corruption charges from ACORN/Project Vote whistleblowers. But it's too late for a reputation bailout. Former Project Vote official and whistleblower Anita MonCrief has harnessed the Internet to crowd-source a massive cache of documents showing ties between Obama staff members and the supposedly "nonpartisan" ACORN operations.

Last fall, The New York Times abandoned an investigation into whether Obama had shared donor lists with Project Vote, a 501(c)(3) organization that is prohibited from engaging in political activity. Public editor Clark Hoyt earlier this month called it "the tip that didn't pan out." Critics suggested the donor lists could have been compiled through public records. But I have obtained the lists -- not only of Obama donors, but also lists of Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry contributors. The records include small donors to the Obama campaign, who are not disclosed in public campaign finance databases. It's information only a campaign could supply...

(read full report here)

Poltics

So lately it has seemed that I have been devoting increasingly mroe space on this blog to political ramblings as opposed to other ruminations and I've been wondering if I should stop resisting the stemming tide and let it be. With everything that "Barry's Boys" (BO himself & his administration) and the left-wing "Statists" (as Mark R. Levin calls them) in Congress are doing to this country, I feel its my obligation to do what ever I can to fight for the cause of Conservatism.

Given my current status, I feel unable to devote any time or means (in the form of tea-bagging, etc. or dontaing money, etc.) But I do have my freedom of speech (so far, who knows when BO will try to change that) As such, I have even formed a Facebook group called Conservative Armchair Activists that I would like to invite all my readers to join, if you have a FB profile, obviously. Just recently I have started exploring the Conservative blogosphere and have linked to some of the ones I've found in the sidebar.

The same day that I added a couple of them, I discovered that one of them, The Founding Bloggers, linked to the Steven Crowder video about Gitmo and Torture that I posted a few days ago, and even gave me credit. How awesome is that. I'm just an amateur political blogger and I've been noticed by a major one. How crazy is that?!

I've also been more active posting videos and links on FB so if you want to see some of those, find me and befriend me. Thanks

Way to Go, Jimmy

So last night I was watching Jimmy Fallon and he made a comment that ticked me off. And at the same time, I realized I should just laugh it off, it's his job to my humorous comments on current events in his opening monologue, and that they all do similar things. I think the problem is, I'm not that big of a fan of his, I don't think he's as good as Leno or Conan, whom he replaced.

As you all should know, North Korea tested a nuclear weapon yesterday, detonating it underground to contain the explosion and fall-out, etc. Underground detonations of nuclear devices is standard MO and has been done for many years. I happen to think its a big deal that North Korea is testing one. Kim Jong Dill-weed is a psychopath and I don't think he's afraid to use it on anyone at anytime. Jimmy Friggin' Fallon says: "Have you heard about North Korea? They detonated an underground nuclear weapon today. So I guess they'll be ready if they're ever attacked by gophers."

Jimmy, you're an idiot...

What do you think? I'm I wrong in being upset? Should I laugh it off? Or am I right that Jimmy was down-playing the importance of such an event? Let me know.

Five Messages from the People of California to Sacramento

This was copied in its entirey from an email sent to me today by Assemblyman Dan Logue. Enjoy.

-Dave


Five Messages from the People of CaliforniaTo Sacramento

By Assemblyman Dan Logue

The people of California have spoken, and from where I stand, they have given us a mandate to reel in State Government. There is no doubt the people of California have had it with billions of dollars of GM Bailouts, Chrysler Bailouts and Bank Bailouts. And now the people of California have said NO to the California government's tax-and-spend bailouts.The message was clear.

Message One. Don't raise taxes. We know the economy is bad and that government doesn't have all the money it hoped to have to fund its special projects, but we are hurting too. Those unemployment numbers, that 11.2%, those numbers have faces and names. Those numbers are my neighbors. They don't have jobs because our companies can't afford to keep them employed due to over taxation and over regulation. We don't have the money we used to have either. And you want to take our money to pay your bills? I don't think so.

Message Two. Own up to your own problems Sacramento. California government has become famous for passing the buck when it gets in a crunch. You will sell income generating assets for a quick buck today. Rather than face up to your own addiction to spending, you raid funds from local governments to feed your newest feel good pet project. Stop looking elsewhere to fix your problems. Look in the mirror and get to work.

Message Three. We are angry. Stop floating fake solutions. We know you don't think we are smart enough to see it, but we're telling you, we see it. The economy is forcing every industry to correct, government should be no different. Just like the housing market is undergoing a pricing correction, Sacramento needs to undertake a spending correction.

Message Four. Cut the size of government now. You threatened us with promises of massive cuts to government. Good. That's what we've been asking for. Shrink the size of the behemoth bureaucracy. Government isn't the solution to all of our problems. Government is the problem. Stop over-regulating us - telling us what kind of light bulbs we have to buy, what food we have to eat, and micromanaging every part of our lives. Stop driving jobs out of the state, stop the over regulation of septic tanks and auto emissions, and stop holding our water hostage!

Message Five. The greatness of California is not the government but it is the people.Do us all a favor - take these concrete government boots off of our feet and let us thrive. We did it before, we can do it again.

ASSEMBLYMAN DAN LOGUE
P.O. Box 1504 Chico, CA 95927
Not paid for or sent at taxpayer expense

Torture & Gitmo - Steven Crowder

There's just too many gems to choose from by this guy...So I just went with the first one I saw. Wes sent me the link in an email. After watching it, I couldn't get enoughof his videos. He really gets the message across well.

A Letter to the President

Dear Barry,
I hope you don't mind that I call you Barry. I assumed it would be OK because you seem to be trying to do away with old stuffy traditions and be the new, young, hip president. Case in point, refusing to let the Marine Corp Band play "Hail to the Chief" when you enter a room. I definitely think "Desert Rose" is a way better song any way.

I am writing to you in regards to your recent announcement regarding healthcare reform and universal healthcare for all. This concerns me deeply because I like my current healthcare plan. I like what my private insurance is willing to cover, I understand and accept what they won't cover, I like my premiums/co-pays, and I like being able to choose the best doctor/healthcare provider for me. I also like the fact that I can usually get an appointment within a couple weeks and I am willing to wait that long, because I know my doctor is working hard and doing his best. I also understand that I might not always be so fortunate to have the same level insurance that I have now. But my point is, I like private insurance. I like being able to choose who to see and when to see them. I don't want to lose my private insurance and be forced into government administered healthcare because, sure I may have to wait a couple weeks to see a doctor right now, I still think that's better than waiting months to see an underpaid medical profession that no longer enjoys his work because of all the mandates and restrictions placed upon him.

Have you even been paying attention to the rest of the world? Europe, Canada, and Cuba: they have ll proven that universal healthcare doesn’t work. Even look within to the great state of Massachusetts. They have tried universal healthcare on the state level, and now it’s projected that the state will go bankrupt in just a few short years because of increasing costs. They are even asking for and receiving stimulus money to keep it running. I don’t see how it would be any different on the federal level.

also don’t like the thought of paying an even larger portion of my salary for the government to spend on the healthcare of those that haven’t paid their fair share. Call me stingy and selfish if you must, but I don’t think its fair to rob from the rich and give to the poor. The receiver’s of his pillaging may have treated him like a hero, but Robin Hood was still a thief, plain and simple. I bet if they were on the other end, they wouldn’t feel the same way about him. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
A. Citizen