Plains Feeder

Appeasement Never Satisfies

2010-09-25T19:32:00.000-06:00

A Facebook comment posted by Harold Thompson 9/25/2010. This cat has his head screwed on straight.

A few weeks ago I posted a short history of how Europe tried to deal with Hitler early on. The decision was made to appease Hitler. If he was accommodated, then he would be happy and all would be well.

The appeasement reached its apex when ...Czechoslovakia was forced to cede to Germany a large part of its territory, known as the Sudetenland, in Oct 1938. In March of 1939 Hitler invaded and occupied the remainder of the country anyway. The beginnings of WW II were in place.

Appeasement and accommodation never satisfies an aggressor. The more weakness you exhibit, the more appeasement they demand.

Same situation as which a school yard bully. The more you give in to a bully, the more he demands. Either you totally surrender or you stand and fight.

Eventually Islam will force us to fight or surrender. Then and only then will most Americans realize trying to pacify Muslims is a wasted effort and is futile.

Islam gives infidels (that is us) 3 choices: 1. convert; 2. submit; or 3. die by the sword.

The sooner we understand this, the sooner we will deal with Islam.

Facebook isn't only about what my cat did today.

A Man Never Looks...

2010-09-25T09:30:00.001-06:00

New York Post: Liberal media goes on attack against GOP's Boehner. Keeping it classy.

Catching Boehner with a mistress is the only way to destroy him politically before the election.

A man never looks behind the bedroom door unless he has hidden there himself.
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More: Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Democrats' strategy: Start slinging.

Teresa Lewis Executed in Virginia

2010-09-24T05:12:00.005-06:00

Small Anti-Death Penalty Protest

The death penalty is alive and well in Virginia. It seems Teresa Lewis conspired with a couple of other low-life types to have her husband and step-son murdered in the hope of collecting some insurance money. Hiring someone to commit murder is seen as more nefarious than doing the deed yourself, for reasons that elude me. In Teresa's case, she reportedly used sex to recruit at least one of the actual killers. To look at her makes me wonder how the jury bought that theory, she isn't what I would call a siren. At any event, Lewis was convicted and sentenced to die by lethal injection. Her co-conspirators, the ones that she met in a Walmart and enticed into shotgunning her victims, 'rolled over' on Teresa and got life sentences.

To read most of the news coverage one might get the impression that the execution took place despite a huge public outcry against the enormity of the "machinery of death in Virginia" snuffing out "the beautiful, childlike and loving human spirit of Teresa Lewis". In fact, only about a dozen protesters showed up at the prison, outnumbered by pro death penalty demonstrators and the press.

I think the death penalty serves a purpose. Even though I'm generally an anti-statist, the reality of the situation is that we don't have any other sensible way to get rid of those among us that commit truly heinous crimes. Sure, some folks will whine that executions cost society more than life sentences. If that is true it is only because the anti death penalty busybodies that have put so many roadblocks in the way of the legal process. And there is always a chance that life sentences might be commuted or that the perp might escape. The death penalty is final.

I also believe the death penalty serves as a deterrent, but you never hear of those murders that never happen, so deterrence can't really be proved. Common sense tells us that some would-be murderers consider the possibility of paying the ultimate price and make other plans.

It would be nice to think that common sense is making a comeback in America.

Onward

2010-09-24T04:01:00.005-06:00

Wild Horses in Our New Mexico Orchard

The old feeder has come through a rough winter. I didn't feel well enough to run the Plains Feeder, partly because of cancer and partly due to the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. These times were chronicled on Facebook. If you are curious, just find P. T. Gustan's Facebook account, ask to be my 'friend' and read about the struggle. I don't want to let my circumstances impinge too much upon this old blog any more.

Even though I have moved to New Mexico, I remain a Plainsman at heart. I intend for the Plains Feeder to continue following the Midwest scene at a distance. I'll try to add something of interest to New Mexicans as well as to continue covering national and international news that I consider Feedworthy. As always, I'll try to include some personal anecdotes, minus the tedious expilcation of my own battle to stay alive.

Onward!

The unhealed injury

2010-09-11T07:51:00.003-06:00

Posted September 11th, 2010.
It takes something really important for the old feeder to break from his decision to stop posting here at the Plains Feeder until he has the energy to spare. There will be, no doubt, all the 9/11 memorabilia, photos, videos, remembrances you have a taste for on the intertubes today. I plan to partake sparingly this year.

The day is in danger of solidifying into one of those memorials from which most of the real juice has dried up. Many of us do it for the doing of it, like Memorial Day grave decorating. The 9/11 attacks have never been resolved. Not for me. Osama bin Laden is still free. His people want to build a Mosque de Triomphe on the ruins and remains. The anger and pain are even worse for me now than they were in 2001.

Fellow bloggers, If I don't check in at your 9/11 post today, it is because I can't bear to, not because I don't want to.
ptg
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Reposted:

September 11, 2001: Images I won't forget

Doomed victims above

Smashed WTC jumpers' bodies below

Like the poor victims of the Mohammedan Jihad pictured above, you have a choice to make. Unlike them, one of your options is life.

Life free of the threat of murderous Islamic madness, if you have the guts to choose it. The other choice is the slavery of Muslim dhimmitude or death.

The Spirit of '76

2010-07-04T21:05:00.001-06:00

Anyone still have the Spirit of '76?

The Declaration of Independence is the document that explains the Spirit of '76. The concept is nearly incredible from today's perspective: Americans advocating and fomenting the violent overthrow of their own lawful government. These Patriots offered more than protest, petition for redress, even than resistance. They offered war.

Before I sully this day with my own sour thoughts concerning the "Spirit" of today's American citizen, I'll move on to my real point. I think it would be nice if all Americans made it a tradition to read the Declaration of Independence aloud at least once a year. That day might as well be the Fourth of July. Do it by way of testimony if you are a solitary person. As a family or group, do it as a civilized custom and a lesson to the young. Don't do it if you don't want, but wouldn't it be nice if more of us did?

Click for big

Give the old parchment a read:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration
of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. ——— We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. ——— He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. ——— He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. ——— He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. ——— He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. ——— He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. ——— He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. ——— He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. ——— He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. ——— He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. ——— He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance. ——— He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. ——— He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. ——— He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: —— For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: —— For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: —— For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: —— For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: —— For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: —— For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences —— For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: —— For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: —— For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. ——— He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. ——— He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. ——— He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. ——— He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. ——— He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. ———

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. ——— And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

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Be free.

Cease and Desist!

2010-06-24T21:48:00.005-06:00

That Other White Meat?

Have you ever gotten a "cease and desist" demand because of something you posted on the internet? I got a laugh out of this one that ThinkGeek got from lawyers representing the National Pork Board (The Other White Meat people) demanding the Geeks stop using a similar sounding slogan for their Canned Unicorn Meat. The Pork Board's stodgy lawyers really egg up their faces; I hope they didn't bill the Pork Board anything over the retainer for this brilliant piece of legal work.

I've only gotten one serious "cease and desist" demand from a real lawyer representing a real company with a real beef. I manufactured and marketed adult ant farms on the internets. As it turns out Uncle Milton, who makes Uncle Milton's plastic toy Ant Farms owns the words "Ant Farm".

Uncle Miltie's lawyer agreed with me that I could go on using the words Ant Farm as long as I noted that Miltie was the owner. Heck, I wasn't competing with Milton's cheesy plastic toys. I made the Genuine Bauman Formicarium, a furniture quality ant habitat for the adult enthusiast.
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Such Tripe!
The Pork Board's law firm web site actually features this statement:

Sustainability is a priority for our firm. We also believe environmental stewardship and effective client service are fundamentally connected. When Faegre & Benson participated in a sustainability pledge campaign in April, more than 500 employees promised to add three environmentally friendly actions to their work habits. The result? More Together.

500 more together employees took the pledge. Save us from being PC.

From Texas: Don't Aid the Castro Regime

2010-06-21T11:35:00.000-06:00

Castro Monument

Saw this first at Babalu blog, my favorite anti-communist source, who got it via Capitol Hill Cubans. Its a good, short read by U.S. Representative Mike Conaway of Texas, a Member of the House Committee on Agriculture, in the San Angelo Standard-Times:

After reading the Standard-Times' recent editorial regarding legislative efforts to lift the travel ban to Cuba, I felt the need to respond. This is an issue that my colleagues and I on the Agriculture Committee continue to examine and in the newspaper's analysis of the issue, I believe some pertinent concerns were overlooked.

The U.S. Declaration of Independence asserts with no equivocation that liberty is an inalienable right, granted to us by our Creator. The government of Cuba unequivocally disagrees with us on this point.

Fidel and Raul Castro have erected, as their own sister once said, "an enormous prison surrounded by water." According to the U.S. State Department, Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism, one of only four in the world.

The Cuban government, along with Syria, Iran and Sudan, has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism and engaged in the trade of prohibited materials with other state sponsors. It has allied itself with Hugo Chavez, FARC rebels in Colombia and Basque separatists in northern Spain, and it continues to harbor U.S. fugitives.

Further, the government of Cuba consistently ranks as one of the most repressive, draconian and abusive regimes in the world.

Our relations with Cuba are not merely an economic question, but a moral question as well.

I support our current agricultural export policy with Cuba because I believe that supplying this nation with foodstuffs lessens suffering among the citizens and drains the Castro regime of funds to spend on more belligerent uses. The humanitarian goal of feeding innocent people and the strategic goal of exhausting the funds of a totalitarian government outweigh the moral hazard of trading with a nation as corrupt as Cuba.

Our agricultural producers should rightly be proud of the role they play and the profits they earn in helping to protect the Cuban people.

However, the question of lifting the travel ban presents a different set of moral concerns. Tourists traveling to Cuba to spend their money will enrich the Castro regime, largely without ever seeing the desperate poverty and crushing oppression that the average Cuban faces. The tourism industry in Cuba is, in fact, run by their military and they will, without question, enact and enforce laws restricting the interaction of the Cuban poor with Americans on travel.

The money American tourists would trade for sandy beaches and quaint, old hotels will be funneled into the state-run business and the Cuban government's coffers, where it can be used for malicious activity.

It is possible that this money could be used to buy food from Texans or Georgians, but the Cuban government has a proven track-record of violent political repression, financing Marxist revolutionary movements in Latin America and arming terrorist organizations.

In your editorial, you cited a letter written by 74 members of Castro's opposition who support lifting the travel ban. It is unfortunate that you were not able to also consider a response letter sent to the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Collin Peterson, by several hundred former prisoners of Fidel Castro.

In their letter, they explained to Chairman Peterson: "We are former Cuban political prisoners, who have spent a combined 3,551 years in Castro's gulag. We are living testimony of the unspeakable tortures, cruelty and deprivations of the military dictatorship of the Castro brothers. (E)very dollar (this) legislation seeks to place in the coffers of the Castro regime will only be used to further repress the Cuban people."

The letter is a powerful statement about the true nature of the Cuban government and the lengths to which military dictatorships will go to maintain their grip on power.

As a Christian, I have a deeply held conviction that the oppression of the Cuban people by the brutal Castro regime is morally reprehensible. While I am a strong supporter of existing and improved agricultural export relations with Cuba, lifting the travel ban and opening Cuba to American tourism is an issue separate from those exports. Lifting the ban would strengthen the Castro regime and enrich a state-sponsor of terrorism.

In my travels and meetings in Congress, I have met with many Cuban refugees. I have heard the depths of their suffering and I look forward to the day when all Cubans live in a nation free from fear, repression and retribution.

However, unilaterally lifting the travel ban, with no commitment from the Cuban government to improve its record on human rights, political freedom and economic openness, will not meet this goal.

Our nation should work toward free elections in Cuba with every tool and resource at our disposal. When that day finally does come, Americans and Cubans alike will enjoy the freedom to travel between our countries; but most importantly, Cubans will finally get to enjoy true liberty, a God-given human right.

Without true liberty all the rum drinks taken in quaint old hotels while being served by quaintly oppressed peasants should taste bitter in the mouths of the thoughtless hypocrites and stooges who think they will be helping. For the ones who know the real score and still support a US policy that will give aid and comfort to our mortal enemies, the Communists: may Castro's rum turn to poison in their mouths.

Flag Day, USA

2010-06-14T12:57:00.004-06:00

Old Glory at the Old Feedlot (click)

Today is Flag Day here in the USA. Fly 'em if you got 'em. You don't have to fly Old Glory today, but it would seem only decent not to mock those of us do. Like Time Magazine does, whose readers are far too cool for anything as silly as Flag Day.

Tea Party Rally in Seward on Flag Day

2010-06-06T22:50:00.004-06:00

York, Nebraska, has an active Tea Party group with plans for a rally on Flag Day (6/16). The local paper, The York News-Times reports:

YORK — Just about two months ago, the Tea Party movement in York County was made up of two like-minded women who said they were sick of high government spending and lack of respect for the U.S. Constitution. Today, the local grassroots group consists of dozens of people, a board of directors and a outreach program that’s assisting their neighbors in Seward County.

Watch the Video Report

Jeremy Jensen, chairman of the York County Tea Party, says the group is partnering with Lincoln Tea Party volunteers to host a Flag Day rally in Seward, June 14.

“Our goal is simple,” Jensen says. “We want to deliver resources for people who feel like us, to take a stand, become informed and provide education about our Constitution. We believe in limited government, free market solutions and fiscal responsibility. We support everything that is in the U.S. Constitution. We do not endorse specific candidates, but rather want to educate the people so they can ask the right questions and make the right decisions when it comes time to vote in November.”

Voting is important — the local Tea Party chairman says they encourage voter registration and are distributing material to help residents be registered and prepared.

“We are not looking to be a third political party,” Jensen said. “We want to provide a platform for the citizens to ask questions of the candidates, on the local, state and federal levels. We believe that if individuals have good information they will make good decisions” in the voting booth. “We want people to study the Constitution and base their decisions on whether a candidate backs it.”

[...]

Jensen said they will also be having an informal event before Flag Day, on June 10, at the York Community Center. “From 1-7 p.m., we’ll have an open house during which we will be giving people complimentary supplies to make signs for the Seward rally. And, if someone wants to make a sign but cannot attend the Seward rally, we can take the signs over for them.”

My friend, Ed, made this short video promotion for the event:

Remember D-Day

2010-06-06T08:04:00.002-06:00

oxycodone zone - recycled

Omaha Beach - Bob Capa photo - click for more

If America loses the spirit that rid the world of the threat posed by national socialism in World War II, or relaxes the vigilance that stayed the threat of international socialism during the Cold War, then the next big war will be lost on our soil.

Don't forget the sacrifices our soldiers and our allies made this day. Don't forget the sacrifices all Americans made to the war effort then. Then ask yourself if today's leaders have the any inclination to resist the infectious spread of National Socialism or the threat of Islamic Jihad.

They say that if it weren't for Americans and Brits like those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, we'd all be eating sauerkraut with chopsticks today. In the future, will we all be slaves of the state?
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Fly your flag today.

Oxycodone Zone

2010-06-05T08:37:00.009-06:00

from the oxycodone zone

The Boss

It is about time I got back to work on the Plains Feeder. As the founder (as in: Bernard Hensley, founder) and no-nonsense boss of the Plains Feeder, there is much that I could explain regarding my absence from my favorite old blog. How I've been ill. The bad prognosis. The move to New Mexico. The cancer treatments. The destruction of the feedlot and the new orchard.

It ought to be easy to get some blogging done. I'm sitting in the shade on the front porch, using our little wireless netbook. I have a cold drink, some day-glow blue electrolyte concoction. It is quiet with only the birds tweeting and a gentle breeze wafting. I ought to be on a blogging roll. Instead, I'm in the oxycodone zone. My doctors have decided that I must take sufficient oxycodone, a synthetic imitation opium, to keep me stupid day in and day out. I'll have to blog on, in spite of my thoughts being clouded, my sensibilities numbed and my typing fingers unresponsive.

So you don't get confused, dear reader, I intend to label all the posts I write while impaired. I will mark them at the top right corner with the words "Oxycodone Zone". You are on notice that the accompanying post will be of low qualty, and may make an informed decision as to investing any time or effort trying to read it. But wait! There is more! No, no.... See what I mean?
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DadBones spotted a Bobcat at the orchard just before he returned to Iowa. Jean sees lizards.

Paul McCartney glued together

2010-06-04T18:49:00.004-06:00

from the oxycodone zone

Persona non grata

He is better than us, that is why I don't like him. He's got some sort of Title. He was a Beatle. He isn't dead from booze or dope. Why does he feel inclined to insult the US on a visit to the White House?

I don't have anything nice to say about England. I've been there and didn't like it. I kept my mouth shut about it. Even now, I could say awful things about the English. But I won't. Unlike Paul, I'm a gentleman. Besides, I know you are already thinking rude thoughts about the English.
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Doesn't it appear from the photograph that Paul looks like his face has been glued up? Stuck in a lovable mop-top Beatle caricature. How old is he, anyhow? His Wikipedia entry says he is just about to turn 68.

It also says: "Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, poet, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, according to Guinness World Records, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music." He is better than us.

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T01:05:00.002-06:00

Arlington National Cemetery
“Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

New GMLTV Show

2010-05-22T13:13:00.000-06:00

We have a new Give Me Liberty TV episode running on Lincoln's Time Warner Cable public access channel. There are three segments in this show:

The conclusion of the interview with Tea Party leaders Shelli Dawdy (Grassroots in Nebraska) and Laura Ebke (Red State Eclectic / Campaign for Liberty) hosted by GML-TV’s Patrick Tarr. The discussions cover the Federal Reserve, local grassroots organizations for limited government, citizen efforts to report on legislation in the Unicameral, and the new movie, “A New America.” If you missed the first part of the interview, you can check it out here.

The second is an interview I did with Lory Storm of the Nebraska 912 Freedom Project about their Initiative petition to allow recall of elected officials in Nebraska. The Initiative process in Nebraska allows citizens to place amendments to the state constitution on the ballot by collecting signatures throughout the state in support of the amendment. The purpose of this particular amendment is to increase government accountability by adding a mechanism for the people of Nebraska to remove a politician from office before the end of his/her term. If the amendment reaches the ballot and is enacted, it would apply to Nebraska officials at all levels of government: federal; state; and local.

Finally there is a video of a speech about Repeal and Replace that former NY Governor George Pataki gave in Lincoln recently. It's a good speech, but I'm not a big fan of Pataki based on what I saw of him when I lived in Connecticut. The Governor appeared through RevereAmerica, which seems to be mainly a vehicle for promoting him for the 2012 presidential race. That seems like a pipe dream to me.

Prayer for the Nation

2010-05-06T11:00:00.002-06:00

Prayer for the Nation
by Franklin Graham

Lord,

We are thankful for the abundant blessings You have bestowed on America. Our forefathers looked to You as Protector, Provider, and the Promise of hope. But we have wandered far from that firm foundation. May we repent for turning our backs on Your faithfulness.

We pray that this great nation will be restored by Your forgiveness. From bondage, You grant freedom. Through Your own sacrifice, You offer salvation. From the state of despair, You offer peace.

From the bounties of Heaven, You have blessed - not because of our goodness - but by Your grace. You have given us freedom to worship You in spirit and in truth as Your holy Word instructs. May our lives honor You in word and deed. May our nation acknowledge that all good things come from the Father above.

President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that our nation should set apart a day for national prayer to confess our sins and transgressions in sorrow, "yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon ... announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."

"We have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our own hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own ... we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us! It behooves us then ... to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."

Help us to pray earnestly for our president and leaders who govern, that they will humble themselves and seek Your guidance so that everything we do will shine the light of Your glory in a darkened world.

May our prayers as a people and a nation be heard and blessed for such a time as this. We make this please in faith, believing in the mighty Name of Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

Prayer For Such A Time As This

2010-05-05T19:45:00.000-06:00

In 1952 the U.S. Congress set aside the National Day of Prayer as a time to intercede for our nation and its leaders.

The Bible commands us to regularly and fervently pray "for kings and all those in authority" (2 Timothy 2:2, NIV). It also informs us that the initiative for national spiritual healing and renewal lies with followers of Christ (see 2 Chronicles 7:14).

I believe our nation is in a perilous spiritual state. We must pray. We must call on God to heal our land, forgive our sins, and lead us in the path of righteousness. Please join with believers across this great nation on Thursday, May 6, and the days following as we cry out to the Lord for His mercy and help.

I will be on my knees. I hope you will be on yours. Thank you, and God bless you.

"Prayer is the most important action any of us can take for the cause of Christ in this world."

Franklin Graham
2010 Honorary Chairman
59th Annual National Day of Prayer

New Show at GMLTV Site

2010-05-02T17:25:00.003-06:00

The Give Me Liberty TV group, of which I am a member, has a new show up on the site:

The Tea Party Movement consists of hundreds of small groups operating independently around the country. Of course, GMLTV itself is such a group, but there are many others just here in Nebraska. Laura Ebke, who blogs at Red State Electric, is the leader of Campaign for Liberty in Nebraska. Shelli Dawdy of Grassroots in Nebraska is another local Tea Party leader. Recently GMLTV's Patrick Tarr hosted a discussion with Shelli and Laura. Topics ranged from the Tea Party Movement to the Unicameral's resolution on state sovereignty and the Constitutional balance between state and federal power.

[View the video segments at GMLTV]

Comments on any of the shows are welcome here, there, or at Don't Let Me Stop You.

Tea Party in Lincoln NE Today!

2010-04-13T10:48:00.000-06:00

There’s a Lincoln Tea Party Today!
April 13, 2010
5:00pm-7:00pm
Lancaster Event Center
84th & Havelock Ave.
LincolnTeaParty4132010@yahoo.com
HT: Domestic Divapalooza: Lincoln Tea Party Today!

Easter, a different perspective

2010-04-05T08:14:00.006-06:00

The Feedlot

As readers who are familiar with the Plains Feeder (some readers have been following since 2004) may know, the old feeder, ptg has been ill for the last couple of years. As a result, ptg hasn't been adding much to the blog. The other fine contributors, Abe of Lincoln, Dad Bones and Angela have been carrying the ball and keeping the old feedlot viable. In addition, ptg, whining and complaining about the weather on the Great Plains, has moved away to the high desert of New Mexico.

The Plains Feeder Board of Directors has, in light of the foregoing, decided to give the old feeder his walking papers, pending final approval by the Federal Blogging Commission. You won't see that bum around here no more.
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Important Update from ptg!
Wait a minute! The Plains Feeder is still my blog and I can do whatever I please around here. See: Plains Feeder Terms of Use. I never heard of any Board of Directors. Nobody is going to kick me to the curb just because I'm not feeling 100% and don't live in a wretched old feedlot office building on the Great Plains. I'm in charge here, and will continue to run this show from ~~jail~~, New Mexico or anywhere else.

Now that I have that cleared up...
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An Old Feeder's Perspective on Easter
Angela, a fine Christian lady, has done a tremendous job of celebrating Easter in the preceding posts. I sometimes wish I could enjoy such clarity of faith. I must admit that, having spent much of my adult life studying the evidence we have of Jesus and his teachings, I still don't get the soteriological aspects of Christianity.

I have no problem believing that there is a creator that cares about his creation. I have no problem with the miraculous. To me, creation itself is a miracle, and every little thing that appears before my eyes is miraculous. It is obvious to me that I've been saved from damnation. I just don't see how it works.

The last thing I'd ever want to do is to cause another to doubt their faith. I like to think that I could and would endure anything without renouncing my own. I don't doubt that the events that gave rise to Easter could have happened. I've seen enough to know that nothing is necessarily impossible. I simply can't see how these events have saved me from anything.

Sorry if I seem like less of a Christian for this. Since I'm not in charge of any church, the Board of Christian Directors and the Federal Religion Commission may see fit to give me my walking papers. There is nothing I can do about that.

I will continue to follow the line of Jesus' teachings. I trust that your faith will sustain you as much as mine does me.

Luke 24: 32-53

2010-04-04T08:00:00.002-06:00

32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 33 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34 who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.[a]”

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

35 Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread. 36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 37 But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

38 “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? 39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” 40 As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

41 Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he ate it as they watched.

44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations,[b] beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.

49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

The Ascension

50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.[c] 52 So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53 And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

HT: Bible Gateway: Luke 24:32-53 (New Living Translation)

Luke 24: 13-31

2010-04-04T06:30:00.001-06:00

The Walk to Emmaus

13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

19 “What things?” Jesus asked.

“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat,[b] he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

HT: Bible Gateway: Luke 24:13-31 (New Living Translation)

Luke 24: 1-12

2010-04-04T04:45:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection

1 But very early on Sunday morning[a] the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man[b] must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.

HT: Bible Gateway: Luke 24:1-12 (New Living Translation)

Luke 23: 44-56

2010-04-03T20:15:00.003-06:00

The Death of Jesus

44 By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!”[a] And with those words he breathed his last.

47 When the Roman officer[b] overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.[c]” 48 And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.[d] 49 But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.

The Burial of Jesus

50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, 51 but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. 54 This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation,[e] as the Sabbath was about to begin.

55 As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.

HT: Bible Gateway: Luke 23:44-56 (New Living Translation)

Luke 23: 32-43

2010-04-03T18:30:00.001-06:00

32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to a place called The Skull,[a] they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”[b] And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.[c]

35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. 37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

HT: Bible Gateway: Luke 23:32-43 (New Living Translation)

Get Ready to Rumble Nebraska

2010-04-01T10:35:00.000-06:00

The Tea Party Express is stopping in Omaha today for a Rally! Who's Going? I can already tell you that I will be there! It starts at 5:00 PM. Lake Zorinsky Shelter #5 (Boatdocks). I've scoped it out and know where I plan to park too! Who's Going?

There is a group on Facebook called Nebraska Tax Day Rallies. If you are on Facebook you'll want to be sure and join that and share it with your friends in Omaha and surrounding areas.

Here is the Nebraska Tax Day Rallies Schedule of Events

Thursday, April 1st
10am in North Platte
Hosted by Tea Party Express
Cody Park - 1402 N. Jeffers Street

Thursday, April 1st
5:00pm in Zorinski Park in Omaha
Hosted by Tea Party Express
Zorinski Park - Shelter #5 near the boat ramps, use entrance at 156th and F Streets

Tuesday, April 13th
5:00pm – Lancaster Event Center (84th and Holdrege)
Hosted by Lincoln Tea Party
An opportunity to hear from great speakers, like constitutional scholar Glenn Freeman, and meet like-minded friends.

Thursday, April 15th – Tax Day
5:30pm – North side of the State Capitol (Centennial Mall)
Hosted by LCGOP
Speakers include Gov. Dave Heineman, Sen. Tony Fulton and Councilman Adam Hornung.
This is an opportunity to directly interact with your elected officials and make your voice heard.

Thursday, April 15th
5:00pm in Omaha at Lake Zorinski (same location as April 1st in Omaha)
Hosted by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom
There will be speakers and opportunity to get plugged into the limited government, free-market movement

Thursday, April 15th
6:30pm – North steps of the State Capitol
Hosted by Grassroots in Nebraska
There will be music, grassroots speakers and an opportunity to interact with people just as concerned as you are about the direction of our country.

Thursday, April 15th
6:30pm – Ridnour Room in the Haymarket
Hosted by We the People-Nebraska; FREE viewing of The Tea Party Movie
Ridnour Room – Above the Apothecary in the Haymarket.
809 P Street
A fun event to bring the family – there will be free food and drinks.

I like what that sign says: MY CHILD IS NOT YOUR ATM. Big Thumbs Up for That One! #tcot #sgp #rmln

You know I already posted this on my political blog too. If you are in Omaha and surrounding areas help spread the word.

Tea Party Panel Discussion on GML-TV

2010-03-27T13:21:00.008-06:00

If your only view of the Tea Party movement has been through the prism of CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and national newspapers, you may think of the protesters as a mob of angry people with pitchforks and torches, looking to tar and feather everyone who disagrees with them. If you get all your news from Nancy Pelosi, you may think the protesters are violent, neo-Nazis. To hear the Leftists tell it, dissent against "Chimpy McBushitler" was the Highest Form of Patriotism, but dissent against the unprecedented expansion of federal government currently underway must, obviously, be due to racism.

In fact nothing could be further from the reality of the Tea Party movement. The vast majority of participants are simply regular people, patriotic citizens trying to restore respect for the Constitutional principles of limited government. We know there's no such thing as a free lunch. All these "free" things the government gives us will have to be paid for, one way or another, in higher taxes now or on our children.We know that a government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.

To give you a direct look at some members of the Tea Party movement we offer this panel discussion featuring three Nebraskans who became politically active in the past year: Bryan Van Deun; Joanne Elliott; and Dan Draney (i.e. Yours Truly, Abe). This is Show #7, and it is hosted by GML-TV’s inimitable W. A. Mitchell.

[I'm sorry for the embedded videos being a bit too wide for the column. You should have seen this problem before I "fixed" it. :) You'll probably want to view them full screen, or click through to watch them on YouTube, or follow one of the links below. - Abe]

[Cross-posted at GML-TV and Don't Let Me Stop You]

I called Congress

2010-03-22T18:51:00.002-06:00

Loser's Cathedral

I called Congress. I don't think they were listening. Perhaps I should have called the Politburo instead.

Did You Call Congress Yet?

2010-03-19T15:39:00.001-06:00

This bill is not about health care. These politicians have taken real life stories of suffering from real people and have wrapped them up with red tape, strings attached, and special deals for different states. The govt. attempting to mandate health care is beyond ridiculous! It goes against everything our founding fathers fought to preserve. All those states out there scrambling to protect their citizens from govt. mandates – Kudos!

The other day I watched with my own eyes Paul Ryan attempt to introduce a motion that would hold our govt. accountable for the money they cut from entitlement programs like Medicare. What the motion said in a basic way, is that if you cut money from an entitlement program like Medicare that govt. is responsible to use those funds to make that program fiscally sound first before attempting to throw those same dollars into a brand new entitlement program. Every single democrat voted NO. Why is it ok to run Medicare into the ground in the name of a new entitlement program? Does our govt. believe that they don’t owe us any explanations? Do they think they can just do whatever it is they want to with our money? Why is any of it ok?

Another motion was introduced the same day that basically said they were going to vote on whether or not Americans would have the right to choose their own healthcare. Every single Democrat on the panel voted NO. Why would they vote NO against something that the President of the United States himself promised when he was campaigning? He promised that if we like the healthcare that we have we could keep it. In a nutshell, he lied and every democrat that day voted NO against my right to be able to pick my own healthcare or to keep the plan that I have. In other words, they are trying to mandate healthcare onto the American People. This is something that a great majority, including myself, does not want!

I’d like to see pre-existing conditions go away. I’d like to see the life time cap disappear. I’d like to see people able to purchase a health insurance policy based on their needs. Open up state lines so we can be competitive! I do not want govt. controlling the entire healthcare industry. I don’t want the govt. telling me I can’t have a mammogram if I feel a lump in my breast today and want to have another mammogram tomorrow.

Let’s talk about abortion for a minute. Is it right for the government to force me to pay for your abortion? No, I don’t think so! Abortion is not birth control. Abortion is not healthcare. The way I see it, those that will suffer the most from this healthcare bill in its current form are the unborn and the elderly. Heaven forbid you are diagnosed terminal. What then?

Who’s going to pay for this nightmare of a bill? The CBO report came out today stating that it was going to cost $940 BILLION over the next 10 years. On top of that, democrats were rejoicing at the $940 BILLION dollar amount as if that was something we would be able to sustain!? Huh!? On top of that, they want this thing jammed through and it’s not supposed to kick in for another few years!? How does THAT work?? Then the CBO peeps came back again today and said that it was going to cut our deficit if taxes are implemented using their formulations, etc. COME ON. WAKE UP. Everybody knows that these are just ESTIMATES and that it’s really going to cost MORE than $940 BILLION. Everybody knows that it’s not going to reduce our deficit because our elected officials are NOT going to raise our taxes if we have anything to say about it. Our taxes are already SKY HIGH.

If this bill in the name of health care is passed, you can bet it’s going to face legal challenges for years to come, especially if it is mandated and forced on us. The govt. has never required anyone to buy goods or services. States are gearing up! They are ready to pass legislation that protects its citizens from being forced to carry something that they do not want.

They need to scrap this bill and go back to the drawing board. They need to bring up each problem one at a time and focus only on that problem. No special deals for states. No bribes. And no special rides on Air Force One on my dime thank-you-very-much! If this bill were strictly about health care and helping people in dire straits it would have passed last year. Unfortunately it is jam-packed full of all sorts of stuff to take our Liberty and Freedoms and toss them out the window.

If I were diagnosed with something terminal that was going to bankrupt my family I would prefer to have a grassroots fish fry fundraiser than to have the govt. step in and strip the rest of my countrymen of the basics: Liberty, Freedom & the ability to CHOOSE their own healthcare!

You know, it’s so ironic. This govt. wants to force me to pay for abortion – you know, take somebody’s right to LIFE away from them AND they want to strip me of the ability to receive quality healthcare. When did they change the idea of making healthcare more accessible to controlling all of it? I don’t understand what on earth they are doing!? And now the late breaking news is that the CBO has made a mistake about their previous cost estimate. Uh Hello!? Really!???

HT: Domestic Divapalooza: Did You Call Congress Yet?

Laying Blame

2010-03-16T13:45:00.004-06:00

Losing the war in Viet-Nam

In my opinion, the United States has been damaged more severely in the last year than any time I can remember. American status as a world leader has been degraded, the economy is nearly destroyed, the national coffers have been emptied and our debt has multiplied to the point that we must borrow abroad like poor relatives.

Previously, I had thought that the US nadir of my lifetime was the time after our disastrous defeat in Viet-Nam. Today has those grim times beat, hands down.

Who do I blame? I'll start with the Republican Party, the last years of George Bush's administration and John McCain. These three crippled our ability to fight off the poison of Marxist thought. The source of that poison gets the rest of the blame. The Democrat Party, the Democrat controlled Congress and, most of all, the Obama administration. The poison has gone systemic and there is no clear antidote.

It is going to take decades to restore our nation. I don't think I will live to see America recover. I am plagued with the thought that we don't have what it takes to make a recovery at all.

I see our only hope being in a fundamental change in our election process. A large minority of Americans aren't fit to vote and should be stricken from the rolls. We need to make the right to vote something of value again. Being able to breathe simply isn't sufficiently exclusive.

Do I think the nation has the wisdom or the cojones to implement voter reform? I'm not optimistic, given that so many of today's voters haven't a clue about our Constitution or its historical context. What will I do about it? I'll try to live free in an unfree world. The rest of you are on your own. May the devil take the hindmost.

Give Me Liberty TV

2010-02-28T21:05:00.002-07:00

I'm working with a small group of "cats" (as PTG would say) to produce pro-freedom videos. These are carried on the Community Access Channel of Lincoln's Time Warner Cable affiliate. We also post the shows on the GML-TV web site. Here's a post about our most recent effort, an interview with Tony Fulton on the 10th Amendment resolution in the Unicameral.

We were also able to get an interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano during his recent visit to Omaha.

We'd like to get our shows onto the Omaha cable system, too. If you are in the Omaha area and interested in helping with this, send me an email at my GMail account (where I'm AbeLincoln81). Or just add a comment on the GML-TV site or the new Don't Let Me Stop You site.

- Abe

Future News: Election 2010

2010-02-23T22:31:00.002-07:00

It's the Morning After in American, and boy are the Dems hungover. My satirical take on where the current path of the Democrats may lead them is now posted at the new Don't Let Me Stop You blog. Now fortified with even more unnecessary syllables to help build strong vocabularies 12 ways. Just a taste to get you hooked:

The morning after voters issued a historic rebuke to the Democrats, party officials struggled to comprehend the magnitude of the loss. Two years ago the Democrats appeared to have established a permanent grip on the Washington levers of power. Yesterday, every Democrat in the House lost, and the only Senate Democrats to escape the electoral tsunami were those who were not up for reelection. A party operative, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to trash his colleagues, conceded that the party’s legislative strategy might have been an error. “By ramming a series of huge, costly, unpopular measures through the Congress on party-line votes, we lost many moderate voters. When your agenda is opposed by over 80% of sentient voters, using parliamentary shenanigans to pass it makes you appear a little arrogant.”

More at the source.

Thanks to PTG for allowing this shameless self-promotion. :)

MSNBC: The Place for Idiots

2010-02-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

HT: Domestic Divapalooza: MSNBC: How many Black Faces do you see?

A wise man wouldn’t fret about whether a terrorist had been read his Miranda rights.

2010-02-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

Please Visit KeepAmericaSafe.com

HT: Domestic Divapalooza: A wise man would not give the mastermind of 9/11 a platform in civilian court on American soil from which to preach jihad.

Old Plains Feeder Comments Restored

2010-02-12T15:22:00.002-07:00

As you might recall, our old comment system was handled by Haloscan. That company was subsumed by a new one, JS-Kit that insisted that we change over to their Echo comment system. The changeover did not go smoothly, the old feeder screwed around trying until it seemed that everything was hopelessly wrecked. Angela, bless her heart, spent a great deal of time getting things to work again, but it seemed all the years of comments (over 7,000 of 'em) were lost to the big bit bucket in the sky.

Today, with a great deal of assistance from Igor at Echo, all the old Plains Feeder comments are back. We are now using the Echo system. I think the comment interface needs a bit of tweaking, but I'll wait for some feedback from our readers.

Thanks for 'bearing' with us.

Former Mob Leader

2010-02-12T10:54:00.002-07:00

At Brookside Church
February 14th
9:00 and 10:30 AM
www.brookside.net

A Story of Crime. A Story of Love. A Story of Hope.

Michael Franzese grew up as the son of the notorious Underboss of the feared Colombo crime family. He quickly rose within the ranks of organized crime and generated an estimated $5 to $8 million per week. His life was filled with power, luxury...and crime. When a young woman walked into Michael's life, her beauty captivated him, but her faith in God brought him home.

HT: Domestic Divapalooza: Former Mob Leader Michael Franzese

New Type of Identity Thieves?

2010-02-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

These rascals will pay your bills!

The old feeder has a gasoline company credit card. I got it to keep track of my fuel expenses, and have used it for more than 20 years. It is a commercial card, issued in the name of a business. Once I got situated here in New Mexico I tried to change the billing address on the card. I paid the most recent bill (in full, as always) and checked the little box on the statement stub indicating that I had printed my new address on the back.

The other day I got a letter from the card issuer demanding that I formally request the change of address on my 'letterhead' and confirm the new address by enclosing a utility bill showing the same. The letterhead would have been easy. It's just a Word document that I can edit any time. For a number of reasons, I've never had my utilities in my own name. Not the telephone, the gas or the electric, and as long as the bills were paid on time, nobody seemed to care. I decided to call the card issuer by phone and get this straightened out.

The customer service person was most helpful and the address was changed after I identified myself to their satisfaction. No need for the letterhead or utility bill. The incident left me wondering, what kind of shenanigans was the original request designed to prevent?

Is there some new type of identity thief who is willing to pay your bills just to use your name? One that changes the billing address on your credit cards so that the bills come to their house instead of yours? Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see the advantage to the thief or any great risk to me.

Strategic Air Command reaction to movies - 60's

2010-01-31T09:30:00.017-07:00

Slim Pickens with old-style H-Bomb - Dr. Strangelove

The old feeder grew up under the threat of imminent nuclear war. Folks reacted to the situation differently. Some families installed bomb or fallout shelters, some joined 'ban-the-bomb' pacifist outfits and some just grew ulcers. Many good Americans, like my Dad, myself and my wife Jean worked to prevent nuclear holocaust by fighting communism and helping the cause of "mutually assured destruction". Other cats made great movies about the threat. Especially in the 1960's.

My favorite nuclear war movie has always been Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. I never gave it much thought, but the folks at the Strategic Air Command, headquartered at Omaha, Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base were concerned that movies like Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe would give Americans the wrong idea. Sometimes such films made it appear that nuclear weapons could just 'go off' the way gun control nuts think handguns are apt to do.

To counter this notion, the US Air Force made a film to show how safe and secure our nuclear weapons systems really were. That movie, for one reason or another, was never made public and remained classified until recently. I caught an AP story about it in the Omaha World Herald* with a link to the movie and decided to check it out. You can watch it here.

JSTPS office door - from the SAC movie - click

It brought back memories. Jean used to work at the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff, (JSTPS) which is featured in the government movie. The cats in her shop referred to their outfit as Nukes R Us. I remember going to one of their Christmas parties. The mood was macabre, but fun. The theme of the party was "We're making a list and checking it twice" from the Christmas song Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I'll leave you to make the rest of the analogies to the song that were bandied about that night.

What great folks those service men and women were. Dealing with the most deadly weapons systems ever in the history of mankind, 24 hours a day, day in and day out, they still had a sense of humor about their mission. They never forgot, however, that their real mission wasn't world scale destruction, but peace. In those days the entrance to SAC carried this motto: Peace is our Profession. For the entire time SAC existed, from 1946 to 1992, there was no nuclear war, thanks in large part to the vigilance of these troops and their leaders.
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The mission of maintaining the peace with nuclear weapons is now carried on by the U.S. Strategic Command, based in the old SAC buildings at Offutt. It isn't just an Air Force job now.
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* The Omaha World Herald has a goofy notion that folks ought to pay to read their old news, so if the link is kaput, try this one.

Budget Deficit vs. Spending Freeze

2010-01-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

HT: Domestic Divapalooza: Sarah Palin: Send Us a Glacier or Two

Metal Storm Weapons

2010-01-27T18:00:00.002-07:00

The Basic Metal Storm

When the old feeder was young, he thought the .45 ACP MAC-10 Ingram machine pistol was the cat's meow. Its 1200 RPM cyclic rate was impressive and the heavy telescoping bolt banished the muzzle-rise problem inherent in other machine pistols. It could be held on target for the 1.2 seconds it took to empty the 30 round magazine, the same configuration could also be had in .380 ACP MAC-11, and Mitch Werbell's nifty Sionics suppressor kept everyone guessing. What more could anyone want?

How about adjustable cyclic rates up to one million RPM? Perhaps the capacity to fire multiple calibers and loads from the same weapon? What if the system came in numerous configurations, from handguns to big vehicle or aircraft mounted hardware? How about if it could shoot the bad guys autonomously? Now that cat is really meowing. Such weapons are either available, or in development thanks to a goofy Australian inventor, J. Mike O'Dwyer and a company named Metal Storm.

The technology that Mr. O'Dwyer uses to attain the fantastic features of his weapons systems is, surprisingly, based on the ink jet printer. Click here to watch a fascinating video of how it is done. This technology can apparently be applied to any size or type of projectile.

Metal Storm Handgun

The handgun seems a but clunky for everyday carry, but the grenade launcher looks useful and is much cooler than the old M79 bloop tube. Mounted on an assault rifle, it makes a nifty multi-shot version of the M203. A lightweight carbon fiber model is described here.

Rifle Mounted Repeating Grenade Launcher (click)

The boxy versions pictured at the top of this post seem to be the type intended for aircraft in the ground attack mode. They shoot straight down, so the pilot doesn't need to point the aircraft at the ground when moving mud. Aiming is done by satellite designation, as the video depicts. Of course there won't be much of a civilian market for these big box super machine guns unless one could hook a few up to motion detectors to keep intruders out of the yard. But Metal Storm already offers Area Denial versions.

Metal Storm also produces what they call Unmanned Robotic Platforms and Asset/Perimeter Protection systems. I would be interested in seeing if these could be mounted in a pickup truck bed to create a mean technical. Better yet, used to replace the old .50 BMG in a slick conversion like the Ibistek Viper for that suburban look.

Robot Creepy Crawly with Big Metal Storm Gun

I don't know who is buying these weapons systems, but the company just this month secured a 20 million dollar equity line of credit from a UK investor. Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Global Yield Fund wants to help "commercialize" Metal Storm technology. Sounds like a mutual fund. Hmm?

So what if there is no sound suppressor available for the Metal Storm family of weapons. With this kind of firepower, who cares if anyone can hear you?
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More cool Metal Storm videos.
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Hat Tip: Dad Bones
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Now, for something you might actually enjoy: I Like Guns by Steve Lee. Via Duane Lester, the All American Blogger.

Ban Everything You Don't Like

2010-01-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

Banning is Tyranny

I've often been amazed at how folks who seem to have an otherwise normal appreciation for freedom and liberty can be so quick to want anything they don't like made illegal. I suspect that some of this authoritarian facility is greased by a subtle semantic distinction. They don't want to throw smokers in jail, they just want smoking banned. See the difference? Somehow the idea of banning something is more palatable than making the same thing a crime. Case in point:

My brother in law and his wife are hippy types. Laid back and easygoing in most respects, they once told me they were on their way to a demonstration to ban convenience stores from displaying soft porn on shelves where kids could see them. Who wants kids looking at dirty pictures for free, right? But if you love liberty, you won't be so quick to ban anything but your own kids from going to the offending store. Why not let everyone else do as they please?

I asked my hep cat relatives why they were so tyrannical. They couldn't see it; they were just banning offensive behavior. I suppose if the demonstration organizer had instead said he wanted to see convenience store owners why wouldn't comply with a new law hit with stiff fines and jail time, maybe even put out of business, they would have reacted differently.

When an action or thing is banned, the implication is that it will just go away. Criminalization makes the would-be tyrant think of continuing offenses and a raft of institutions (cops, lawyers. judges, juries, jailers, parole boards, etc.) kept busy enforcing the new criminal law. Of course, this distinction is almost entirely illusory, based only on a real but archaic semantic difference.

Looking into the etymology of the verb 'to ban' reveals that it originally was a proclamation or pronouncement. Saying the word makes it so, almost like magic. Think of the 'banns' of marriage. Passing a law against the same action or thing has no such magic. From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

ban (v.) O.E. bannan "to summon, command, proclaim," from P.Gmc. *bannan "proclaim, command, forbid" (cf. O.H.G. bannan "to command or forbid under threat of punishment," Ger. bannen "banish, expel, curse"), originally "to speak publicly," from PIE base *bha- "to speak" (cf. O.Ir. bann "law," Armenian ban "word;" see fame). [Emphasis mine]

If you want something banned, you only want it to go away. No muss no fuss, no bother; you are just doing good. On the other hand, if you say 'there oughta be a law' like the folks in the old comic strip, then you are a tyrant. Go figure.

Don't be suckered in by people and causes that say they want to ban this or ban that. Even if it is only un-mowed grass or 'unusual lawn ornaments' these folks want banned, they are nonetheless tyrants. If you love liberty and want to live free, don't tyrannize your neighbors. What goes around comes around.

Conservative Republicans: scrape that stuff right off your shoes

2010-01-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Republican Goo on Your Shoe?

We had a sticky snow last night here at the Orchard, and the melt this morning was causing some runoff problems. The old feeder found an even older spade and went to work draining the big pool that was blocking our driveway. The snow stuck to my new jail shoes in great clumps; every step added another layer until it was like walking in deep-sea diver boots. I'd scrape but the next step started the process again. I finally had to pull my foot out of the shoe pictured above. What has this got to do with conservative GOP politics? Read on.

John McCain style conservatism is a proven loser, yet the stuff keeps sticking to conservatives' shoes like last night's snow. You might think the last presidential election would have scraped this mess off of the shoes of good Republicans. but, no! It's back, the same crappy faux-conservatism that gave us the disastrous Obama administration and it's awful Marxist "change." Don't let this stuff build up on your political walking shoes. Scrape it off! Don't let this horrible accretion continue.

Please take a few minutes to read Michelle Malkin's timely column, Conservatives: Beware of McCain Regression Syndrome. Heed the warning. America cannot stand another failure of true conservatism. The GOP is walking a dangerous path, one that has much of the old shit sticking to their shoes. It is time to scrape these losers and their failed ideologies off and find the true path. Otherwise the conservatives of America will pull their feet right out of those sodden Republican shoes.

Jon Stewart Tears Up Keith Olbermann

2010-01-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Special Comment - Keith Olbermann's Name-Calling

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Hitler's Heartfelt Reaction

2010-01-21T14:01:00.004-07:00

Hitler Finds Out Scott Brown Won Massachusetts Senate Seat

Come on now.. you'll have to just agree with me and admit that this is a very funny video!!!! I laughed my butt off!!!! If you haven't watched it yet make sure you watch the entire thing because it's got some very funny comments in there. I don't recommend any leftist liberal ideologists watch this video. You won't like it. Me... I thought it was HILARIOUS!!!!

HT: Domestic Divapalooza

Habitual Shameless Liar

2010-01-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

When politicians are caught out in lies, their supporters often resort to the old cliché: all politicians lie. But that is itself a lie: most don’t. Even among those who do, there are enormous differences in the importance and frequency of the lies. And it is surely now clear that this nation has a far from routine problem in the scale and regularity of President Obama’s lying.

When politicians lie they are usually trying to avoid political damage, or to make themselves look good. Bill Clinton lied (and got himself impeached) to save himself from embarrassment about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Hillary Clinton lied about being under fire in Bosnia to enhance her non-existent foreign affairs profile. Richard Nixon was forced from office because he lied to cover up his involvement in a political dirty trick. John Kerry lied about his Vietnam combat experience to blunt his anti-military reputation. But Barack Obama’s lies are far more corrosive and destructive, because they go the heart of legislation and governance, and so seriously undermine trust in government. His lies generally take a specific form: they attempt to persuade people to vote for him or his policies by categorically assuring them that they need not have the anxieties that they have been expressing. The lies say, essentially: trust me, support what I want, and I promise that what you fear will never happen. But in every case it soon becomes clear either that he knew perfectly well that what the public feared would in fact happen, or that he was giving a firm assurance that he was in no position to give, or that he had no intention of following through on his promise.

The accumulated weight of Obama’s deceit is overwhelming:

* During his campaign for the presidency and since, Obama repeatedly assured us that he would protect Medicare against cuts; but he now presses for passage of bills that include savage cuts in Medicare.

* To obtain passage of his first stimulus bill, Obama assured us that 90% of the jobs created would be in the private sector; but as he well knew, most of them were to be in the public sector.

* Early in the health care debate, Obama assured us that he had not said that he favored a single payer system; but he was on record as having said exactly that.

* Obama gave primary voters a firm assurance that if he became the nominee of the Democratic party he would (unlike Hillary Clinton) abide by the campaign finance limits of public funding; but as soon as he became the party’s nominee, he reneged on that pledge.

* During the presidential campaign Obama criticized the presence of former lobbyists in the Bush administration and solemnly assured us that he would appoint no lobbyists to his administration; but once elected he proceeded to appoint even more lobbyists than his predecessors.

* Obama criticized the size of George Bush’s deficit and promised to stop deficit spending if elected; but he has already quadrupled the size of the deficit he objected to and recklessly continues new federal spending in the trillions.

* When campaigning Obama criticized bills before the congress that were too long for anyone to be able to read and promised to stop that; but the bills he has been backing throughout his first year are infinitely longer (2000+ pages) than the ones he criticized.

* Candidate Obama promised an end to the corruption of earmarks and pork, but in the bills he has supported this year there have been more and bigger earmarks than ever before.

* Candidate Obama promised us that CIA personnel involved in the interrogation of terrorists would not be prosecuted; but his administration is now doing exactly that.

* Obama assured a joint session of Congress that the health bill he supported (pre-Stupak) would not provide public funding for abortions; but bitter resistance on the part of House Democrats to inclusion of language to that effect soon proved that it did.

* Candidate Obama promised that he would make sure that there was always enough time for the public to read legislation before it was enacted; but he has done exactly the opposite, repeatedly pressing for even faster passage of even longer bills.

* Candidate Obama met fears that he would be a tax and spend liberal by promising, emphatically and repeatedly, that those earning under $200,000 would see no increase in their taxes of any kind; but he now urges passage of a healthcare bill that breaks that pledge in many different ways, and his unrestrained increase in federal spending makes more tax increases inevitable.

* Candidate Obama promised bipartisanship and an end to partisan bickering; but in a display of especially ruthless partisanship his allies have shut Republicans out of all key meetings on his health care initiative, with the unprecedented result that domestic legislation of historic importance garnered not a single Republican vote in the Senate.

* Candidate Obama criticized his opponent’s plan to tax employer paid healthcare benefits, and promised he would not tax them; but the bill he now backs will do just that.

* Obama had promised that he would not sign a healthcare bill that would add one dime to the federal deficit; but the bill he now backs adds trillions in new federal spending, offset only by new sources of revenue that are both uncertain and more properly seen as offsetting the already existing deficit.

* Obama coerced congress into passing his stimulus bill by promising that if it were passed unemployment could go no higher then 8%; but unemployment is now at 10%, and he could not possibly have had good reason to exclude that possibility.

* Obama promised that his cap and trade legislation will create jobs; but its massive tax increases will certainly hobble the economy and destroy jobs, while green jobs in significant numbers can at best be hoped for, but never promised.

* Obama has repeatedly assured the American people that if they like their current health plan they can keep it; but the House bill which he supported created huge incentives for employers to drop their coverage and shift their members to a public option.

* Obama has just as often assured the public that under his health plan everyone will be able to keep their current doctor; but many are certain to lose their doctors when ObamaCare’s large cuts in Medicare funding induce more doctors to withdraw from Medicare coverage, as they also would were employers to transfer patients to a public option to save money.

* Obama assured a joint session of Congress that his health plan would not fund illegal aliens; but his allies had been busy voting down amendments to that effect. (This was the point of Joe Wilson’s outburst.)

* Obama claimed that John Deere’s CEO had told him that Deere would begin hiring again as a result of the stimulus bill; but that individual immediately announced that he had said no such thing, and that Deere would in fact be laying off more workers.

* Candidate Obama promised that Guantanamo would be closed by January 1, 2010; but it is still open.

* Candidate Obama promised that his administration (unlike his predecessor’s) would be so transparent that TV cameras (C-Span) would be there for key deliberations; but an unprecedented level of secrecy prevails as the final stages of Obamacare are negotiated behind closed doors and kept so secret that even the Senate majority whip admitted that he had no idea what was going on. Requests for Obama to honor the promise of C-Span cameras are being ignored.

* To gain traction for his attempt to return a would-be socialist dictator in Honduras to power, Obama claimed that he had been overthrown in an illegal coup; but the congressional research service pointed out correctly that ex-President Zelaya had been removed for constitutionally sufficient cause by legal and constitutional means.

* Obama claims that he wants a public option only to increase choice and competition; but the House bill would clearly reduce choice both by squeezing unsubsidized private health plans out of the market, and by setting rigid conditions on acceptable plans that would narrow available options.

* Candidate Obama claimed that violent radical Bill Ayers was just another guy in his neighborhood; but the record shows that the two had worked closely together.

* Obama assured us that his stimulus bill would create or save a million jobs; but he was claiming as fact what could never have been more than a wild (and highly improbable) guess, and his more recent attempts to justify that guess have been fraudulent.

* Obama assured us that his health plan would never ration care, or “pull the plug” on grandma; but the legislation he backs sets up panels to make crucial decisions on when to withhold care, and it makes such deep cuts in Medicare that rationing is inevitable.

* Obama now assures us that health insurance premiums will not go up if ObamaCare becomes law, insisting indignantly that people who say this have not read the bill; but the legislation forces insurers to cover preexisting conditions, which will compel them to raise premiums substantially.

This is an extraordinary record of serial mendacity. One or two instances might charitably be regarded as rash promises later regretted, or as the wishful thinking of someone who had not thought through the implications of what he was saying. But when it happens again and again—and my 30 instances are by no means exhaustive—only one judgment seems possible: this is the record of a habitual, shameless liar, a man who will say anything to get what he wants. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, goes the old saying. But scores of times? How shameful is that for our society when this disgraceful record is never the subject of a reproachful editorial in the New York Times, the Washington Post, or CBS news? Richard Nixon was removed from office, and Bill Clinton impeached for a single lie. Who could look at Obama’s record without concluding that his lying is in a completely different league to theirs?

President Obama evidently believes that he can solve any problem with a speech. But he really does not care whether what he says is true or not, nor does he feel any responsibility to honor the assurances and promises he makes. As a result, this nation is now in a position where it cannot believe a word that he says, and that amounts to an unprecedented crisis of confidence in the Presidency. Democratic government will atrophy if we allow lying on this scale to count as the business as usual of politics. When will the press and the Congress hold him accountable?

HT: FrontPage Magazine

In Case You Haven't Noticed

2010-01-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've been in tweak-mode for the last couple of days trying to fix a few things that I thought needed fixing.

Comments: We had been using Halo Scan for years and then they went and got greedy on us and changed their format. We've backed up every single comment that was ever left on the Feedlot and now we are waiting for a way to import them into blogspot blogs. Until that time we have reverted to using the blogspot comment system since it does go with the blogspot blogging system and it's FREE!

Blogroll: We had been using Blogrolling for years and then I just decided we would be better suited tracking our favorite blogs manually. I don't mind staying on top of stuff like that and keeping it straight for PTG. In fact, it's kind of my specialty to keep things neat and tidy around here.

So... if you notice that your blog is no longer listed and it used to be listed will you tell me so I can re-post it? But... before you tell me about it will you double check and make sure you are linking back properly?

The Name of the Blog is: Plains Feeder

Also... I have a political blog and I'm also a Nebraska blogger. If you would like to do a link exchange with me I'd love to partake in that.

The Name of the Blog is: Domestic Divapalooza

People often wonder how PTG and I met. Well... from what I remember we met via the blog world. I used to have a blogspot blog myself called "Angela's Right to Free Speech" and I think that is how PTG found me. I started blogging politics back in the summer of 2003. And here we are today great friends!

Oh one more thing... If you have a blog then I have a place where you can have your blog listed. I already have a section up for "Politics" and am creating new sections all the time as people contact me. I think it's a great way to network and I hope more bloggers will find it and want to list their blogs on it.

The name of the Blog is: Blogs Rule

Well... that's all I have for now. I will say that I am ready for the snow here in Omaha to be gone. I'm tired of looking at it and I'm tired of getting stuck in it! I guess you could say I'm ready for spring to get here. Have a great weekend you guys!

Did you hear the latest on Ben Nelson? - What a Schmuck!

Haiti Needs Our Help

2010-01-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

By now I'm sure you have heard about what happened in Haiti:

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake caused thousands of buildings to collapse in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, trapping untold numbers in tons of rubble. While estimating the number of casualties was impossible, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, "Clearly, there's going to be serious loss of life in this." HT: Fox News

Below is a listing of legit organizations with which you can give to knowing that your donation will go directly to the relief efforts in Haiti.

The American Red Cross

World Vision

Compassion International

Samaritan's Purse

Billy Graham Evangelical Association

You can also give your local churches a call and find out what they have planned in order to help with this tragedy in Haiti. Many times churches will put together a package to send to any of the organizations that I have listed above.

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson Appears on Toast

2010-01-10T12:41:00.004-07:00

Senator Ben Nelson is toast in Nebraska

Mrs. Harry Prochaska of McCook, Nebraska was certainly surprised last Saturday morning when a piece of toast popped up bearing a striking image of Nebraska's Democrat Senator Ben Nelson. She had Harry take the photograph reproduced above, then reduced the now controversial slice to crumbs for the snow-bound birds in her yard. Explaining why she has no evidence but the picture to support her claim that Senator Nelson is now officially toast, Mrs. Prochaska said, "It was too cold to butter and eat after Harry finished fiddling with his camera."

Nelson staffers were quick to point out that the Nebraska couple "probably cooked up this obvious fake" to humiliate the affable, go-along to get-along politician in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding the Senator's role in the shameful Cornhusker Kickback. Senator Nelson was unavailable for comment, being fully occupied with changing his story on his support for the unpopular "Obama Care" socialized medicine scheme.

The Prochaskas deny they did anything wrong, saying, "We threw the danged thing out, for crying out loud." Several Nelson is Toast offerings have appeared on eBay since the story was published in the McCook Gazette.

Dear President Barack Obama

2010-01-06T18:02:00.003-07:00

Where is my C-Span coverage that you promised? You promised OVER and OVER again that you would make sure that health care reform would be a public process televised on C-Span. Well? Where is it? I'm still waiting to see what is going on behind closed doors ON C-SPAN!

Where is that transparent process that you promised us when you were running for President of the United States? You keep bringing it up OVER and OVER again but you are not following through. I have seen absolutely NOTHING on C-SPAN with regard to all of the changes that are being made to our country and especially not pertaining to health care.

All these closed door meetings you are having and still NO C-SPAN COVERAGE. What is your problem? Oh wait! I know... YOU ARE A LIAR MR. PRESIDENT!

I WANT MY C-SPAN COVERAGE & I WANT IT TODAY!

Clearly this is not the HONEST process that you sir said it would be. Why isn't this an honest process? Is it because Washington D.C. is corrupt? Of course Washington D.C. is corrupt! What else is NEW?

Every single citizen of this Great Nation should be ANGRY that we have senators being bought off in order to get their vote for a process that is being negotiated behind closed doors! They think they are pulling a fast one but they are not! Every single American should be ANGRY!

Barack Obama.. YOU ARE A LIAR! YOUR WORDS MEAN NOTHING TO ME! I don't want your socialist Utopia! How many more Democrats are planning to retire?

Hey you! Yeah you... reading my post... you do see the writing on the wall... right? I hope you Obama Supporters are paying attention to what is going on. We are now in year #2 in case you have forgotten. How much more time does this man need to get his act together?

HT: Cross Post: Domestic Divapalooza - That's Me!

Rocket In My Pocket

2009-12-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Lou Ann Barton

Congratulations to all of us for making it to the end of the year. Check out this video of Texas blues singer Lou Ann Barton with The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Got a rocket in my pocket and the fuse is lit. I think Lou Ann could light the fuse of a dead man. If you listen to it with the same yankee years I've got then you might want to read the lyrics.

Happy New Year to all of you! Be sure and wish PT well out in the desert of the Southern Rockies so he'll be inspired to keep this blog going.

Bear With Us Friends

2009-12-30T16:51:00.006-07:00

I'm in a dinkin' around kind of mood today. I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to import all of the lovely Haloscan Comments over to our Happy Blogspot Home here on Plains Feeder.

Please be patient with me as I have loads of fun dinkin' around because when I'm dinkin' that means I'm learning as I go. (Don't worry PTG! I won't blow anything up! At least not intentionally!)

I have to admit that I'm more than happy to do the dinkin' because PTG is up to his eyeballs in getting settled and ready to ring in the New Year w/his Lady!

Ok... so what are your plans for New Year's Eve? Seriously... what are you going to do? How are you going to spend the time? Just think about it for now and save your thoughts for later because I'm right in the middle of trying to figure out this Comment Business. I would imagine that when I go to post this puppy you all should be able to leave a comment, or two or three.

I gotta tell ya... I am ready to put 2009 behind me. I have not been watching the news for almost the entire month of December. Do you blame me? I heard we got hi-jacked and told my husband I didn't want to hear it and to change the channel. Then I hear through the grape-vine that good ol' Ben Nelson sold Nebraska right down the river thinking it's ok to make other states pay for our Medicaid issues. I tell ya people, these moron politicians have Got To Go! I'm about ready to join the Tea Party Party! Oh and don't get me started on Gitmo! Barack H. Obama said he was gonna shut that baby down by the end of the year.. well guess what?

HE LIED! He's a LIAR! They are all LIARS!

Ok... enough ranting.

I am going to post this post and hopefully the Blogspot Comment feature will show up. If not... you'll have to excuse all my tweaking and cleaning. Just trying to get things in order for PTG. Apparently Haloscan is changing bosses and they want to take a free service and charge people for it. Personally... I don't think it's worth it in this economy and to be honest... I'm kinda surprised they didn't do better in the advertising department. Who's running the show over there anyway?

I'll be back in a bit.

Happy Y2K+10!!!

The Gift

2009-12-21T09:24:00.002-07:00

The Gift

Too often Christmas gets swallowed up in the busyness of shopping and sending cards and wrapping presents. As we rush around, we often miss the wonder of what Christmas is all about.

Christmas began with a gift given to the human race two thousand years ago. It was a child, born in a Bethlehem stable and laid in a manger. His birth was announced by wise men guided from the East by a very special star.

It was the gift we needed most: a Savior, the holy Son of God. This is the good news proclaimed by the angel: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

Why was God’s gift of a Savior so important?

There are three reasons:

1. The greatness of the need. The future of the human race was at stake. Sin made havoc of God’s creation and brought estrangement from its Creator (Romans 3:23).

2. The greatness of the gift. Not only was the need great, but the gift was also great! “This is my beloved Son,” God said, “in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

3. The greatness of the cost. Read the inspired portraits of the suffering of Christ in Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and Psalm 69. The cross was only part of the price He gladly paid.

Jesus Christ did not die for His own sins or because He was a victim of circumstances. He came as God’s supreme gift to you and me. The Bible pointedly asks: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

Have you overlooked the really important gift of Christmas? Is God prompting you to look through the odds and ends of Christmas?

God’s gift for you is waiting. Don’t miss it. Right now, wherever you are, you can receive the costliest gift, Jesus Christ the Savior.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

Copyright Good News Publishers. These little brochures are printed in the USA. This little pamphlet was handed out by the Open Door Mission in my mailing this year. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share it with you.

Merry Christmas!

China time

2009-12-10T09:30:00.002-07:00

Sweatin' in the shop

While PT's busy packing I feel compelled to do a China post. A Google search indicates there are people still wringing their hands over horrible conditions in Chinese sweatshops. I'll admit I wouldn't want to work in one even if that woman in the purple bikini was working beside me. However, it should be mentioned that there's well over twenty million workers in China who still can't find a shop to sweat in.

Everyone knows that enterprising Chinese emigrants have historically settled over much of the world in search of opportunity. According to Jim Rogers that's been a blessing for mainland China as over 80% of all investment in the country comes from Chinese living overseas. I suppose it compares to Mexican immigrants in the U.S. sending money home for their families to spend in Mexico.

Jim Rogers is well known for traveling all over the world in search of investment opportunities, and for showing investors that they needn't be traders with nerves of steel to invest in the commodity market. I'll have to take his word for it because I don't have any experience in investing due to a lack of...well that list is too long to get into now. The point is that he sold his house in the U.S. and moved his wife and two daughters to Singapore to be closer to where the action is. He's still an American citizen and still pays taxes here but has found our government to be increasingly hostile to business. (Clik title for a good Rogers interview.)

China's Communist government, on the other hand, likes capitalists and makes it comparatively easy to do well there. After Mao Zedong was buried a new slogan became popular: "It's glorious to be rich." While capitalists appear to enjoy greater freedom in China than here, ordinary Americans are still living with more liberty than their Chinese counterparts, but for how long?

What I'm really wondering is whether there will eventually be an exodus of youthful American entrepreneurs looking for some glorious wealth that they feel could best be created in another country. If that should happen hopefully they - like the Chinese and Mexicans - would send some of their new riches to the "old country" because I think we're going to need it.

I hear Grandma Knutson rolling in her grave

2009-12-08T06:45:00.002-07:00

Stieg Larsson - Per Petterson

It was mere coincidence that the last two novels I've read were written by Norski commies. Its no coincidence that both of them stunk. One of the authors was a commie, the other is a commie and a librarian.

The first one was loaned to me by someone who said I didn't need to return it. That should have been a clue. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was at least interesting. It was a bit macabre, but I suppose that the Swedish national psyche is so screwed up by Marxist thought that only an extremely bizarre character can be made to stand out in a murder mystery. Think Dr. H. H. Holmes. The otherwise mediocre read is capped off with a truly disappointing ending.

The second, and by far the worst of the two, Out Stealing Horses by Norwegian writer Per Petterson was so bad I could hardly finish it. The book drips with childish style, all of it badly affected. Maybe its just a lousy translation, but I doubt it. There is some semblance of a plot, but even that is weak and uninteresting. The only good thing about the way the book ends is that one can finally quit reading it.

You just can't trust book reviews any more. I tried to read the highly reviewed My Name is Red by Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk. It was one of the few books I have started and then dropped unfinished. I guess it makes sense. If Barack Obama can get a Nobel Peace Prize, then Orhan Pamuk must be a great writer.

I must find a good book to read before we start out for New Mexico.

Pearl Harbor Day

2009-12-07T09:08:00.003-07:00

Don't Forget - Fly your Flag

Remember that the world is still threatened by the same sort of National Socialist thinking that inspired the Japanese attack on this day in 1941. For more links and thoughts, see previous Plains Feeder posts here and here.

Plains Feeder Neglect to End Soon

2009-12-05T14:39:00.009-07:00

Beatnik Sleeping Accommodations

It has been a busy Summer and Fall for the old feeder. Fundamental changes have been effected. Blogging has been almost non-existent. I expect to resume daily blogging in a month or so. For those of you that might be interested and don't follow P.T. Gustan on FaceBook, I shall recapitulate the odd adventures that explain the current dearth of feeder posts.

Last Summer, feeling a desire for more personal liberty and a warmer climate, I freed myself of all but a carload of worldly goods. Most of this Karmic luggage I simply gave away, discarded or abandoned. Some of the stickier items had to be tricked into believing I might come back for them some day (maybe I will, maybe not). This trickery means I'll pay a never-ending storage rental, but as Epictetus advised, I try to think of that as the price of a peaceful mind. I was almost ready to relocate my new, lighter self to my schemed-up hideaway in the New Mexico desert when Labor Day rolled around.

Some time before Labor Day I contacted my second ex-wife (we'll call her NeeSmart) to see if she wanted any of the stuff, much of which used to be ours, before I locked up the storage shed and left town. Sure, she said. She made her holiday plans to include a comping trip to a Platte River State Park not far from the feedlot. I ended up joining her for several beautiful sunny days and full moon nights in a nice cabin by the river. We decided almost immediately that we should move to the desert together.

Since then I along with my carload of stuff have been staying at Nee's house here in Ames, Iowa. We went through the same process of streamlining her life and it's worldly attachments as I had done this past Summer. It was a bigger job here. She owns a house, which means she couldn't simply abandon her accumulated furniture and junk as I did when quitting the old feedlot. Its been a great deal of work, but we are nearly finished.

The house in Ames is so empty we are living like beatniks, sleeping on the floor and eating Chinese take-out. We need to get rid of a few awkward pieces like a full-sized treadmill that we are going to have to hire professionals to get out of Nee's basement. There are a few more legal niceties before we hand over the sale of the house to our realtor and one of Nee's brothers. We will hire a cleaning service to shine up the house before it gets shown. We want to visit a bit with family and friends in these parts. Then we will hit the road for New Mexico. Target departure date: the middle of this month.

The plan is to hole up in a modest rental somewhere near Placitas, New Mexico, live like Spartans and look for more permanent digs. Next Spring we will consider returning to our two storage facilities, mine in Gretna, Nebraska and Nee's here in Ames for such stuff as we'd like to have for our new home in the desert. We plan to call this our retirement.

As a retired old feeder (who will always be a Plainsman at heart), I should have plenty of time to engage in blogging. First I'll patch things up around here; I did a heap of damage when I deleted the domain where the Plains Feeder's images reside. I need to work up a new blogroll, including the old stalwarts from blogrolls past along with some new ones. If I'm feeling up to it, I might even spiff up this old blog. I have a couple of other blogs I'd like to revive as well.

This should start happening soon, in the coming months. God willing and the creek don't rise.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T15:17:00.002-07:00

Thanks for Everything

I thank the creator for giving me a chance to be a part of it all.

Getting Ready to Roll

2009-11-21T06:39:00.005-07:00

Ready to Roll

Roll up our carpet collection, that is. We have quite a number: Herekes, Kulas, Yacibedirs, Sumaks, Kilims, Kars, Konyas, Taspinars, etc. They are mostly Turkish village carpets made of naturally dyed wool. All of them are hand-knotted. We even have one Hereke silk on silk with gold threads.

I have a feeling that these rugs will keep their value better than dollars. Unlike gold, they become more valuable with age. The only problem is liquidity, but who cares? We think they are beautiful, and walking on them barefooted is a pleasure. It is also fun to remember our rug hunting expeditions in Turkey.

We will put them in storage, hope the mice and moths don't eat them, then retrieve them as soon as we find a home in New Mexico. The Turks use them even on dirt floors. The designs often have archetypal patterns not unlike Southwest Red Indian rugs, so they'll be "in style" even if we end up living in a dirt floored hogan.
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Soon we will be packing up our computers, but we will try to keep our friends updated on our progress either here at the Plains Feeder or on FaceBook for you 'social network' types. My FB page is here. I'll be happy to add Plains Feeder readers as FB Friends.

Political Cartoon

2009-11-17T10:38:00.004-07:00

I keep thinking we should include something in the Constitution
in case the people elect a fucking moron.

---
Thanks to the kid that used to live across the street from Jean and me who grew up to become a man with his head screwed on straight.

Home Entertainment Center Light

2009-11-17T10:24:00.003-07:00

A Boom-Box and a Mini Net-Book

Jean and I have very nearly emptied out her house in Ames Iowa. All that is left is a few more trips to the storage shed and rolling up our oriental rug collection. We need to get the real estate agent on board with our plan to sell the house 'as is' and pronto.

Pictured above is the only entertainment system that we will be taking with us in our two car caravan to the high desert of New Mexico. It still hasn't snowed on our parade.

Cute Video

2009-11-03T20:55:00.002-07:00

Andy Stern

Obama's most frequent White House visitor.

Resisting National Socialism, No. 2

2009-10-19T20:04:00.001-06:00

Seen in Iraq? - click for more

Presented without comment. Two on the old feeder's radar:
Oath Keepers and Three Percenters.
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See: Las Vegas Review story linked on Drudge Report.
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Previously: Resisting National Socialism.

Barack Obama

2009-10-17T09:17:00.002-06:00

Dems' Health Care Plan: Pay up now, get benefits years later.....???

Reverend Ike

2009-10-13T20:48:00.002-06:00

Reverend Ike

Remember Reverend Ike? I sure do. Dad Bones sent me news of his death recently. I had been too busy to notice. Reading about his life brought back some old memories.

In the early and mid 1970s, I studied am radio and TV ministries with an eye toward improving my own persuasive skills. The ones I liked best were Jimmy Swaggart and Reverend Ike. I made audio tapes, now in storage, of the best shows.

My favorite sermon has Jimmy Swaggart perpetuating the likely apocryphal story of Voltaire calling out for Jesus from his deathbed. Swaggart pronounced it Vol-tare-ee, and pointed out that folks still read the Bible while Voltaire's works sit on the shelf in "some dusty Me-YOOZE-e-um". All brought to me by the "miracle of tele-VEE-sion."

Impressed by his style, I sent away for a special prayer cloth from Reverend Ike. It turned out to be a piece of red yarn and a big packet of literature asking for donations. I kept the yarn until my last move, though I never found it to be particularly magical.

Reverend Ike was what I like to call a Deuteronomist. He preached that God rewards the faithful in this earthly life. If you say your prayers just right, this view has it, then God will make you rich. Ike called it The Science of Living, or more modernly, Thinkonomics. Its like some sort of creative visualization theory with Godly justification thrown in for effect. Done right, the system should make its practitioners rich. From the NYT story about Ike's death:

“Close your eyes and see green,” Reverend Ike would tell his 5,000 parishioners from a red-carpeted stage at the former Loew’s film palace on 175th Street in Washington Heights, the headquarters of his United Church Science of Living Institute. “Money up to your armpits, a roomful of money and there you are, just tossing around in it like a swimming pool.”

This image brings back my childhood fascination with Donald Duck's Uncle Scrooge McDuck. For all my creative visualization of Scrooge, I never got rich, but did become a miserly tightwad. I haven't given up on parts of Reverend Ike's theories. His Washington Post obit piece quotes him: "The best thing you can do for the poor is not be one of them". This quote has been used by trendy motivationalists, so it can't be totally wrong, can it?

If I were to close my eyes right now I'd be at home in the New Mexico desert, breathing hypo-allergenic air and having a ginless gin and tonic with my old partner.
---
I'm actually in Ames, Iowa. Packing her stuff for storage, filling a rented dumpster with her excess baggage and living in a normal neighborhood. It is good.

Feedlot in the rear view mirror

2009-10-13T20:32:00.000-06:00

A few gratuitous photographs of the feedlot. It was a good run.

Early Morning

Front Porch View

Google Earth

From Pacific and Glenn, Elkhorn - long lens

The Old Feeder in Ames, Iowa

2009-09-23T08:13:00.003-06:00

Typical ISU Students - 1972

There have been some changes in the old feeder's plan to escape to the desert. I have acquired a traveling companion. This has required me to move my base of operations to Ames, Iowa, where I am going to stay until my adventurous partner, (who also happens to be an ex-wife) gets her house sold and her household goods secured. I have no idea how long this will take. I lived in Ames from 1965 to 1972.

In the meantime, I'm living out of a suitcase at her house. The feedlot, home for the last 12 years, is abandoned for good. We will get to the high desert in New Mexico soon enough, but for now I will be busy doing the same tasks I have just finished at the feedlot: throwing things away, putting stuff in storage and tying up loose ends. So much for plans.

If any Plains Feeder readers are interested in following my activities, I have been pretty good at keeping a current account on my FaceBook page. Otherwise, I plan to resume regular blogging here as soon as things shake out a bit. I'm still using an old laptop, there being no place to set up anything else.
---
Now that I am safely out of the Omaha, Nebraska area, I plan to give up much of the anonymity that has kept me from getting to know my readers personally. I expect to do this slowly; I've been living in undisclosed locations under assumed names for so many decades that it will be difficult to give up the practice.

I think I'll start by asking you to guess where the feedlot really is. Some of you already know, so please don't spoil the fun. I'd like to see if anyone has guessed the actual location. Clue:

‘And what will ye do wi’ your tow’rs and your ha’,
Edward, Edward?
And what will ye do wi’ your tow’rs and your ha’,
That were sae fair to see, O?’—
‘I’ll let them stand till they doun fa’,
Mither, mither;
I’ll let them stand till they doun fa’,
For here never mair maun I be, O.’

The feedlot has 'towers' and a 'hall' that can be seen for miles. More clues to follow.

Forget? Never!

2009-09-11T07:56:00.003-06:00

Screen grab from a 9/11 video

Take a few minutes today to remember and reflect upon the 9/11 attacks. Never forget.

Food for Thought for Nebraskans

2009-09-04T12:33:00.001-06:00

A Plains Pilgrim's Progress

2009-09-02T04:57:00.004-06:00

Placitas, New Mexico

The old feeder is but a couple of weeks away from quitting the feedlot. Notices have been given, services set to be disconnected, and forwarding arrangements made. I have moved many of my earthly possessions to a storage shed; that which remains here I am kissing goodbye. It is nearly time to move into my car and head off to the New Mexico desert.

The plan is locate temporary living accommodations for the winter somewhere in the high desert. During the Winter, I'll look for better digs if the first place I land isn't entirely suitable. Come springtime, when the Nebraska snows have melted and the grass shows it's green face on the Great Plains again, I will return to arrange for shipment of my books and papers.

I'm taking a laptop computer with me on my pilgrimage, perhaps I'll be able to contribute travel reports to the Plains Feeder. Once situated, I expect to resume regular blogging. No matter where I settle, I will always be a Plainsman at heart.

Govt Healthcare According to Mike Rogers

2009-08-27T17:22:00.001-06:00

I felt this guy did a great job describing what's about to happen if this Healthcare bill in its current form gets passed. We are so screwed.

About that He[A]lthcare Bill

2009-08-25T13:32:00.002-06:00

Feel free to copy it and send it around to your other representatives. Or in this case repost it on your blog if you have one. If you are on Facebook you can repost it as a Facebook note and then tag all of your Facebook Friends.

Stephen Fraser, M.D.
July 23, 2009

Senator Bayh,

As a practicing physician I have major concerns with the healthcare bill before Congress. I actually have read the bill and am shocked by the brazenness of the government's proposed involvement in the patient physician relationship. The very idea that the government will dictate and ration patient care is dangerous and certainly not helpful in designing a healthcare system that works for all. Every physician I work with agrees that we need to fix our healthcare system, but the proposed bills currently making their way through congress will be a disaster if passed.

I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the following troubling lines that I have read in the bill. You cannot possibly believe that these proposals are in the best interests of the country and our fellow citizens.

Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will audit books of all employers that self insure!!

Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill: THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!

Page 42 of HC Bill: The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you. You have no choice!

Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise.

Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to individuals finances and a National ID Health card will be issued!

Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct access to you, your banks accounts for elective funds transfer.

Page 65 Sec 164: is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions and community organizations: (ACORN).

Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the Exchange.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example - Translation: illegal aliens.

Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members - your Health care WILL be rationed.

Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

Page 124 Lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monopoly.

Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors / American Medical Association - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make! (salary)

Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE!

Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Page 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k and above who does not provide public option pays 2-6% tax on all payroll.

Page 150 Lines 9-13: Business's with payroll btw 251k and 401k who doesn't provide public option pays 2-6% on all payroll.

Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

Page 195 HC Bill: Officers and employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans finances / personal records.

Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that!

Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors, low income and poor are affected.

Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors, doesn't matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same!

Page 253 Line 10-18: Govt sets value of Doctor's time, profession, judgment, etc. Literally value of humans.

Page 265 Sec 1131: Govt mandates and controls productivity for private HC industries.

Page 268 Sec 1141: Federal Govt regulates rental and purchases of power driven wheelchairs.

Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151: The Govt will penalize hospitals for whatever Govt deems preventable re-admissions.

Page 298 Lines 9-11: Doctors, treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission - Govt will penalize you.

Page 317 Lines 13-20: PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Doctors what/how much they can own!

Page 317-318 Lines 21-25, 1-3: PROHIBITION on expansion - Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand.

Page 321 Lines 2-13: Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input is required. Can you say ACORN?!!

Page 335 Lines 16-25 Pg 336-339: Govt mandates establishment of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing.

Page 341 Lines 3-9: Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advance Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing people into Govt plan.

Page 354 Sec 1177: Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people! Unbelievable!

Page 379 Sec 1191: Govt creates more bureaucracy - Tele-health Advisory Committee. Can you say HC by phone?

Page 425 Lines 4-12: Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life patients.

Page 425 Lines 17-19: Govt will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!

Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3; Govt provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death. (assisted suicide)

Page 427 Lines 15-24: Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Govt has a say in how your life ends.

Page 429 Lines 1-9: An "advanced care planning consultant" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

Page 429 Line 10-12: "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOVT!

Page 449 Lines 13-25: The Govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

Page 430 Lines 11-15: The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life!

Page 469: Community Based Home Medical Services = Non profit organizations. Hello, ACORN Medical Services here!!?

Page 472 Lines 14-17: PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORIGINATION. One monthly payment to a community-based organization. Like ACORN?

Page 489 Sec 1308: The Govt will cover Marriage and Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt into your marriage.

Page 494-498: Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services.

Senator, I guarantee that I personally will do everything possible to inform patients and my fellow physicians about the dangers of the proposed bills you and your colleagues are debating.

Furthermore, If you vote for a bill that enforces socialized medicine on the country and destroys the doctor/patient relationship, I will do everything in my power to make sure you lose your job in the next election.

Respectfully,

Stephen E Fraser MD

Dr. John Batter from Canada spoke at our rally against Socialized Medicine

Attention House Blue Dog Democrats and Senate Gang of Six

Attention NE Senators and Congressman

HT: Domestic Divapalooza: Here’s a letter to Senator Bayh about the Healthcare Bill

Why?

2009-08-24T15:02:00.002-06:00

Why does everything have to be about race?

Why is that?

HT: Domestic Divapalooza: Why Is That?

Healthcare Reform Recess Rally in Omaha Nebraska at the Douglas County Courthouse

2009-08-19T20:26:00.002-06:00

PLEASE CONSIDER ATTENDING and LETTING YOUR OPINION BE KNOWN

Congressman Lee Terry Town hall Meeting
DATE: August 25, 2009
TIME: 6:00 PM CST
LOCATION: Millard North High School, Omaha, Nebraska

Senator Ben Nelson Town hall Meeting
DATE: August 19, 2009
TIME: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM CST
LOCATION: University of Nebraska Medical Center's Durham Research
Center Auditorium, near Emile Street & Durham Research Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska
TOPICS: Health care and other issues important to Nebraskans

National Health Care Reform Recess Rally

The Nebraska Chapter of the 912 Project and Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska are joining Michelle Malkin, RedState, American Majority, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Limited Government, Freedom Works, Sam Adams Alliance, Don´t Go Movement and others to sponsor a National Health Care Reform Recess Rally Join us so our voices can be heard in D.C. Now is the time to stop this socialized medicine bill.

Date: Saturday, August 22, 2009
Time: 12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM
Place: City-County Building Plaza, 18th and Farnam, Omaha
Speakers Include: Congressman Lee Terry, State Treasurer Shane Osborn, State Senator Tony Fulton, Dr. John Heieck, Dr. Britt Thedinger, Dr. John Batter, Glenn Freeman, and Greg Boyle.

All Nebraska federal and state representatives have been invited to
attend, as well as Senator Chuck Grassley and Representative Steve King from Iowa.

Hat Tip: Domestic Divapalooza: Town Hall Meetings and Health Care Reform Recess Rally

Yes, I took that picture of our nation's flag back in July.

Time for some meaningful dialog?

2009-08-19T11:54:00.004-06:00

Talks or Walks?

President Obama said something to the effect that our enemies will grow to understand and even love us if he could get together with their leaders and talk. I realize the President is busy trying to bring the US into socialism, but those enemies aren't going away.

I'm thinking of the enemy in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea, not that there aren't others. These folks seem to hate Obama and the US. How come no 'talks'?

Everything goes!

2009-08-18T08:38:00.002-06:00

I'll Keep the Conga Drum

Does anyone still use a serial port on their PC? For a mouse? IDE (parallel ATA) hard drive connectors are almost a thing of the past as well. Out they go.

Offerings to the Spirits

2009-08-14T18:33:00.012-06:00

Buddy, Ritchie & the Bopper

Rock & Roll spirits, that is. My good friend and I were cruising through Clear Lake, Iowa, yesterday and decided to check out the Surf Ballroom, where Buddy Holly played his last concert in 1959 before his plane went down on that cold February night in a north Iowa cornfield. From the outside the Surf was almost innocuous, as if it hadn't changed a bit in the last fifty years.

We weren't that curious, at least not enough to get out of her truck. Driving around back we saw Leon Russell's dark red tour bus parked outside for his concert last night. Tickets at the door were $15. Being an old Leon fan I should have felt a little guilty for not being tempted to go but I didn't.

The woman behind the steering wheel said let's go to the crash site. If you knew her you wouldn't be surprised. After the dance is over we all gotta go somewhere and she's held more than a couple of hands as the person inside them went as far as they could go in this world. We drove five miles north of Clear Lake, parked the truck close to the metal sculpture of Buddy's glasses, and walked a half mile along a fence row in the hot sun to where the young rockers crashed and froze. - I'm up on the tightwire, one side's ice and one is fire. - That's the way Leon put it.

As you can see lots of things were left, from a guitar key chain, poems, coins, to a wallet full of credit cards. Clik the pics to enlarge.

This hat held in place with a plastic banana says it all.

I've been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. Way too commercial. Out on the edge of that Iowa bean field nobody was coerced into giving up money or a guitar key chain they may have liked. They did it because they wanted to.

As for me I hesitate to make too much out of three chords and a back beat, no matter how much fun I've had with it. James Cotton sang Rock and Roll, it ain't no news. It ain't nothin but the boogie woogie blues. - And before the blues there was something else.

I'm up on the tightwire, flanked by life and the funeral pyre. I wonder if Leon sang that last night. Doesn't matter; it wouldn't change a thing. I was listening to the Top Forty on my family's AM radio in 1959 when the DJ announced their deaths. Fifty years seems like a long time ago but others have been around much longer.

It's the last song at the last dance that's on my mind this rainy morning of what looks to be a rainy weekend. I'm not depressed although I know well enough what it's like. I'm just watching the rain come down.

Kitchen Corner

2009-08-12T07:44:00.004-06:00

A Corner of the Feedlot Kitchen - click for big

As you may know, the old feeder is relocating. Health problems and the cost of propane are driving me out of the feedlot. I'm a terrible pack-rat and getting ready to move is an enormous task, one I don't much enjoy.

I usually like to take pictures of places I've lived; pictures with the kind of details that keep memories alive. The photo above is of one corner in the kitchen here. I'm posting it because I'm too busy to do the a crop report post. You will just have to place your futures bets without my input.

As soon as I get my car back from its front end alignment, I will be able to finish transferring my DVD collection from their bulky store packages to small, thin CDROM boxes. This saves a lot of space, but I've run out of the little cases.

Le Boudin

2009-08-10T15:36:00.007-06:00

Voilà - click to hear

Tiens, voilà du boudin, voilà du boudin, voilà du boudin
Pour les Alsaciens, les Suisses et les Lorrains,
Pour les Belges, y en a plus,
Pour les Belges y en a plus,
Ce sont des tireurs au cul.
Pour les Belges, y en a plus,
Pour les Belges y en a plus,
Ce sont des tireurs au cul.

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Looks like fun, no? A chance for a new life. Get some.

Aedh Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven

2009-08-09T04:34:00.003-06:00

It don't sort out right - click

The old feeder spent the early morning hours reading poems instead of working.

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

WB Yeats

WB Yeats had a fine understanding of unrequited love, gained through his long experience with Maude Gonne. Sometimes I think my dreams have been trampled as thin as tortillas.

For an asshole, I can sure get sentimental. I'm not even Irish.

Plumb Tuckered Out

2009-08-07T17:18:00.005-06:00

I used to clean up nice

The feedlot is turning brown and square. I'm so tired that I can't think of anything to post here.

This old photo of myself is now my profile picture on FaceBook. I'm sporting new gear, even the Randall knife was new. I should have listened to Ben Franklin's advice: “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.”
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Click the pic and the post title to read about Mitchell Werbell III. I was fascinated by the cat when the photo was taken.

Inspiration

2009-08-06T22:57:00.004-06:00

Dismantling the Feedlot

I guess I'll keep this inspirational card. It has been displayed in my offices for many years. The path ahead is unknown, yet I must press forward. Like Miyamoto Musashi.

A Timely Read

2009-08-05T21:15:00.000-06:00

August 6th, 1945

Originally this book was a New Yorker magazine article by John Hersey. The story coolly describes the actual experiences of six people who survived the first wartime use of an atomic weapon. It begins each tale just moments before the blast. The account ends a few weeks after. I try to read it every year at this time. It is well written and free of editorializing. I've mentioned it before.

I recommend the book without further comment. Read and learn.

Full Moon

2009-08-04T06:02:00.006-06:00

Blackbirds - click

One day the old feeder was sick as a dog and down in the dumps. I was at a rude cabin in the woods along the Little Sioux River in Iowa, and the grove was thick with noisy blackbirds. Dad Bones stopped in and quickly analyzed my condition. He loaded our old 12 gauge shotgun and told me he knew what would make me feel better.

We went out on the porch and he said I should see how many blackbirds I could kill with one shot. I aimed into a thick part of the flock and fired. At least seven birds dropped immediately; the uninjured birds flew with a whoosh of wings. Several wounded birds stayed, only to drop to the ground one at a time.

I felt better.

Ever wake up in a strange alley with a fractured skull and amnesia? Its one of those days, and there are no blackbirds in sight.

Brenda Lee

2009-07-30T06:37:00.007-06:00

Brenda Lee - 1961

Brenda Lee used to figure heavily in the young feeder's impure thoughts. I've tried to analyze her voice; it never seemed to match her age. It has a breathy skip to it that you seldom hear in a young girl. A good example of this vocal feature can be heard in this YouTube video clip of "All Alone am I".

The Wikipedia entry on Brenda claims that her "popularity faded in the late 1960s as her voice matured". I would put it differently, maybe her voice 'changed', but I thought Brenda's voice was mature when she was a teenager.

Brenda Lee is still performing. She's scheduled to be in Wichita August 14th. I don't think I'll go. I don't want to risk damaging the naughty image of her I conjured up as a boy listening to Sweet Nothings.

Recapitulation all over again

2009-07-28T11:11:00.003-06:00

Matador Practice

The old feeder is throwing out almost everything at the feedlot. I did decide to box up photographs, slides and negatives. In the process I came upon the photo above. It is one of the first pictures I ever took, maybe the first one that wasn't hopelessly blurry.

I used to like to watch wannabe bull fighters practice their passes. These cats were full of bravado and self-confidence; they made an impression on a 9 year old yo. They had coaches that charged them with a sort of wheel-barrow contraption that had bull horns mounted on the front. With this it was possible to simulate the movements that are peculiar to individual bulls.
---
Maybe I'll post a few more old pictures.

Worried about "Swine Flu"?

2009-07-27T12:30:00.001-06:00

Defoe - a better Great Plague read than Pepys

The old feeder's family gives him a raft of shit for living a secluded, hermit-like life. Besides the fact that I've always preferred solitude to whatever the opposite is said to be, I avoid people partly to avoid the diseases they carry. Having cirrhosis of the liver, almost any nasty virus could finish me off.

There is certainly no shortage of swine flu alarmists. Oddly enough, most of them seem to one worlders who figure that only increased statism, big government health care, or UN rule can save us. There are others who disagree and advise the peasantry to relax and go to a movie. The old feeder sides against the alarmists, more because of their totalitarian bent than their science. I'm still not planning to hang out in crowded, virus and bacteria infested places.

One of my favorite books is Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year. My old copy, bought when paperback classics could be had for sixty cents, is pictured above. I read it about once every two years or whenever the news talk turns to epidemics. Its a novel; Defoe was just a kid when the bubonic plague came to London in 1665. But it is nearly a first hand account by a great writer.

Samuel Pepys, the London diarist of the day, covers the Great Plague (and everything else that he saw) but his plague coverage is not as captivating to read as Defoe. Defoe's details can be shocking, disgusting, poignant and disconcerting. People avoided crowds in those days, even though they didn't understand how the plague was spread. I suppose it was a safe bet that some of the people you might have seen on the street in the London of 1665 had fleas. Fleas are great jumpers.

If you want pure plague entertainment, I suggest Edgar Allan Poe's very short story, The Masque of the Red Death. You can read it here and read about it here.
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Join the Disease of the Month Club. Pay your dues a year in advance and get a free broken bone.

Resisting National Socialism

2009-07-23T19:06:00.004-06:00

Members of the White Rose, Munich 1942 (click pic)

Presented without comment: the Wikipedia article on German resistance to Hitler's National Socialist administration.

Senator Ben Nelson

2009-07-18T11:07:00.001-06:00

The Millions and Billions on spending has go to STOP. Our NATION is in DEBT beyond BELIEF and our GOVERNMENT keeps on SPENDING RECKLESSLY. I personally do NOT care how well intentioned our politicians try to make this out to be. We owe CHINA buckoo BUCKS and we’ve got spending and DEBT to the point of NO RETURN. The government should step back and STOP trying to control every single aspect of our lives. This is NOT the country I was born into.

Read Senator Ben Nelson's Letter to Me

Reckless Democrats: Rationed Health Care & Government Takeover

2009-07-18T10:36:00.002-06:00

The Democrat-controlled federal government has spoken; they want a government take over of our health care system on their terms and if necessary without any bipartisan support from Republicans. Details of the emerging plan from Congress indicate that this will likely cost more than $1.5 trillion. In fact, during recent testimony, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Doug Elmendorf, said “In the legislation that has been reported we don't see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health-care costs.”

“Nancy Pelosi has unleashed spending like never before and there’s no end in sight. Nebraskans are relying on our Nebraska Congressmen, especially Congressman Lee Terry, like never before to act as a check and balance to unbridled Democrat power,” said Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Fahleson. Fahleson also asked, “Do you think we could expect that from Democrats like Tom White?”

The Wall Street Journal today referred to the Democrat majority in their article as “A Reckless Congress: Democrats want to ram through one of the greatest raids on private income and business in American history.”

Republicans have repeatedly said they want to see reform, but it must accomplish what it sets out to do. The Democrats’ health care reform plan carries the risk of leaving 36 million Americans without health insurance even after the hefty price tag. Republicans are attempting to stand between Democrats and their euphoric dreams of a welfare state while offering a plan that won’t obliterate the health care industries.

Chairman Fahleson added, “Rationing health care. Government takeovers. That’s the Democrat agenda. Nebraskans know better. In 2010, voters will have their first opportunity to send a powerful signal to Democrats that will not go unnoticed. Candidates like Tom White who are going to rubber stamp unchecked spending do not stand a chance.”

- The Nebraska Republican Party

Hat Tip: Domestic Divapalooza: Reckless Democrats: Rationed Health Care & Government Takeover

Blogging from Omaha with Pride!

Gratuitous Rilke

2009-07-15T08:17:00.008-06:00

Some Like it Dark

Du Dunkelheit, aus der ich stamme,
ich liebe dich mehr als die Flamme,
welche die Welt begrenzt,

indem sie glänzt
für irgend einen Kreis,
aus dem heraus kein Wesen von ihr weiß.

Aber die Dunkelheit hält alles an sich:
Gestalten und Flammen, Tiere und mich,
wie sie's errafft,
Menschen und Mächte -

Und es kann sein: eine große Kraft
rührt sich in meiner Nachbarschaft.

Ich glaube an Nächte.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Bad Law?

2009-07-14T17:31:00.006-06:00

Igor Stravinsky's Mug Shot

Anything you read about pianist, composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky must mention his arrest for tweaking the US National Anthem. Wiki: "On April 15, 1940, Igor Stravinsky's unconventional major seventh chord in his arrangement of the Star-Spangled Banner led to his arrest by the Boston police for violating a federal law that prohibited the reharmonization of the National Anthem."

There seems to be no record of Igor doing time in a federal penitentiary, so the music police must have let him off with a warning. The law must have been repealed. Somehow, I find myself wishing the current Congress would spend more time deliberating such weighty matters. Some silly music laws would be more palatable than the results of their current efforts to reharmonize our Constitution to suit national socialist thought.
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The old feeder never much liked Stravinsky's stuff. I admit that, as a kid, I liked the adaptation of The Rite of Spring that Walt Disney used in Fantasia. This might be because it wasn't a real ballet, or because Stravinsky himself called it "execrable", only changing his tune after seeing the color of Walt's money.
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Shouldn't Roseanne Barr have been severely punished for this?

Aquí

2009-07-12T15:00:00.000-06:00

Octavio Paz

Back at the Feedlot

2009-07-08T10:00:00.004-06:00

The Old Feeder's Situation - Click for More

The old feeder is back at the feedlot. A few family health crises have kept me navigating hospital halls laid out like rabbit warrens, sleeping on couches and eating more institutional cafeteria food than I like. All this has done little to improve the confusing, rifted mess that my personal life has become.

Blogging remains less than attractive. Sorting out my relentlessly confusing affairs of the heart and the necessary and pressing disposition of my pack rat accumulation of worldly goods is daunting. So far all I have done is a mountain of laundry. Today I'll try to thwart the distraction of bittersweet sentiment and nagging regret long enough to wash a sink full of dishes.

When unrestrained, I can be nauseatingly dramatic, no?

To those feeder readers who were kind enough to be concerned, my relative is out of the hospital (if not the woods) and I'm back at home. I'll be OK, one way or the other. Thanks for the kindness.

Patriotism on the Blogosphere

2009-07-06T21:41:00.004-06:00

I'm going to pull up my news reader and share some of the posts I have read. Who knows, maybe this will be some new reading material for you. You might even stumble on a blog you've never heard of. Whatever you do, enjoy reading them and I hope everybody had a great 4th of July weekend.

Beckiyagh: Happy 4th of July
BlogMommas: Happy Canada Day

By the way, I was thinking of Canuckguy and my friend Terri that lives in Canada when I wrote the Happy Canada Day post. You know how sometimes I contribute things here on Plains Feeder? Well, sometimes I write things over on BlogMommas.com too.

Caffeinated Thoughts: The Declaration of Independence
Cincinnatus: 4th of July Tribute
eMail Our Military: 56 Men Signed the Declaration of Independence

Michelle Malkin: Independence Day: America Turns 233
RedState: Independence Day
Stop The ACLU: Happy Independence Day

I think the fellas will like the Stop The ACLU one because it's an old school pin-up. I myself think it's pretty cute. If only today's pin-ups could look to the past for inspiration instead of just taking it all off. But anyway... back to my listing of posts around the blogosphere... lol :]

Chicago Ray Report: Happy Independence Day To Us All
The Poor Farm: For You, Nuckle Kim

Thanks for your service, dedication and patriotism Nuckle Kim! It's an Honor!

Smart Girl Nation: Happy Birthday America

Nebraska Voted NO on Cap and Trade, Thank Goodness!

2009-07-02T17:35:00.001-06:00

During our Americans for Prosperity "Hot Air" event in Omaha last week, well over 300 grassroots activists joined me at an event urging Nebraska’s Congressmen and Senators to vote NO on the job-killing, energy tax legislation called Cap-and-Trade. Many activists called them right from our events.

I'm pleased to report that all three Nebraska Congressmen—Jeff Terry, Lee Fortenberry, and Adrian Smith—voted NO on Cap-and-Trade.

Even better, on the day of our Hot Air Tour event, Jim Fagin from Sen. Ben Nelson’s office emailed us to say: “Senator Ben Nelson strongly opposes cap-and-trade legislation because of the terrible impact it would have on our economy and has been on record to that effect for some time.”

And Sen. Johanns has been a great champion on the issue, leading the way earlier this year to block a procedural trick called reconciliation that could have forced cap-and-trade through with limited debate and no amendment.

So it looks like Nebraska is a perfect 5 for 5 on this crucial issue!

Please consider sending a note thanking your Congressman and Senators for opposing cap-and-trade, protecting Nebraska families from higher utility bills, higher gasoline prices, higher prices on consumer goods and lost jobs.

You can send the note by clicking here.

Sen. Nelson especially needs our strong support because he’ll face intense pressure from the White House and Harry Reid to follow the Democratic line. Please let him know you appreciate the stand he has taken.

Thanks for all you are doing for freedom.

Tim Phillips
President, Americans for Prosperity

HT: Domestic Divapalooza

4th of July Tribute

2009-07-02T07:57:00.001-06:00

HT: Domestic Divapalooza

Cap and Tax Crap

2009-06-27T09:26:00.002-06:00

Congress, with the passing of "Cap & Trade", has openly declared war against the will and needs of the American people. I mean, who in their right mind believes we should be DOUBLING our electricity and gas bills in this economy?

I'll be discussing the rest over on Domestic Divapalooza.

R.I.P.

2009-06-25T23:24:00.003-06:00

My Memories of Michael Jackson

Instead of writing it all out again over here I thought it would be better to just link to it. Yeah, I grew up with the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, and Janet Jackson. I wrote about it.

I'm sad about all these people that have passed away. My best friend told me today that dying comes in waves of 3. Boy did we get three deaths this week... right? I'm very sad about Farah Fawcett. What a beauty!! I used to have the Farah Fawcett barbie doll when I was a kid. We used to watch Charlie's Angels all the time growing up.

I thought this video was cute and I have a feeling you guys will appreciate this little tribute to Farah Fawcett. She was gorgeous... wasn't she?

Rest in peace Ed McMahon

The Cap and Tax Bill

2009-06-25T15:08:00.000-06:00

Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today strongly urged Congress to reject legislation "that will deliberately increase the costs of gasoline, oil, and coal at a time when the American people can ill afford it."

"While the American people are dealing with a brutal recession, soaring unemployment, and about to be hit with massive inflation, Congress in the Waxman-Markey bill is proposing to make energy more expensive to service a radical environmentalist agenda," said Wilson.

"It is up to the Congress to stop this legislation dead on its tracks, before it causes an economic train wreck that will take decades to overcome," Wilson added.

The legislation, HR 2454, would force carbon-emitting industries coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas to purchase carbon permits that would reduce in supply over the next decade. The bill aims to reduce industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.

"The whole point of capping carbon emission is to increase the prices of oil, gasoline, coal, and natural gas across the board, and thereby 'incentivize' alternatives like solar, wind, and hybrid vehicles," Wilson explained.

"If this legislation passes, 10 bucks a gallon for gas is going to seem cheap in five years," Wilson added.

Wilson noted that similar legislation had failed in the Senate last year. "This bill was rejected last year, and should again be rejected this year, because it's an economy-killer. It will cost jobs, it will cost progress, and it will cost prosperity. That is the price," Wilson said.

Wilson says that what makes the bill even worse is that the science behind cap-and-trade is contrived and misleading. "The whole premise of global 'warming' is based upon flawed computer models that predict climate change, and are not based on actual observable data that can be confirmed."

Wilson pointed to a study from APS Physics, "Climate Sensitivity Revisited". "The Monckton study proves beyond any doubt that the UN International Panel on Climate Change's computer models that 'predict' climate change greatly overstate the impact of carbon emissions. In other words, 'man-made' climate change is not real, and yet Congress is ready to reorganize the entire energy sector around the idea."

"It is up to Congress to vote against this whacko environmentalist agenda before the economy is wrecked, the oil, natural gas, and coal industries bankrupted, and the American people being buried at the gas pump and on their home-heating bills," Wilson concluded.

American's for Limited Government Press Release for June 24, 2009

Originally posted on Domestic Divapalooza

Rationing Healthcare

2009-06-24T09:27:00.001-06:00

June 23: President Obama gestures as he answers a question during a news conference at the White House in Washington (AP).

Before I dive into this I want to let y'all know that I'll be cross posting my thoughts in a few places that I contribute to on the net. So if you see this post repeated then now you know why. I'm a contributor for two other blogs: BlogMommas.com and Plains Feeder.

This is where the whole rationing of healthcare comes into play. If you really stop to consider what Obama is trying to do it's downright scary.

Obama: Health Care Reform Will 'Absolutely' Be Passed By End of Year

The other thing I don't like about this healthcare mess is that he's trying to rush it as if it's going to turn into a pumpkin by the end of the year. Let's talk about this healthcare overhaul and see if both sides can work together to come up with a plan that's going to benefit everybody.

"I'm going to wait and see what ideas they come up with. I suspect that when they start seeing what the options are, they might end up concluding that the options we're presenting are the best ones," he said, adding that he would prefer to reduce tax deductions for the wealthiest to pay for the overhaul.

Why are we picking on the tax payers? Why are we picking on the people that employ our citizens? Why are we penalizing people for their success? Why should the wealthiest people of our country be responsible for this healthcare overhaul?

Obama also said he's changed his mind on the issue of whether individuals can purchase health care -- an idea he was resistant to during his presidential campaign.

"This is an area where people have made compelling arguments to me, that if we want to have system that drives down cost for everyone, we have to have healthy people not opt out of the system," Obama told ABC.

So basically Obama lied to us when he said that we could keep our current healthcare plan if that is what we choose to do. Remember when he said that? He said that we could keep our doctors. We could stay on the health insurance plans that the companies we work for provide us with if we are happy with the care we are getting. Do you see what a LIAR Obama is? He has the audacity to tell me that I have to subscribe to the nation's new government healthcare program. It's not my choice any more.

The United States is the only developed nation that does not have a comprehensive national health care plan for all its citizens.

About 50 million of America's 300 million people are without health insurance. The government provides coverage for the poor, disabled and elderly, but most Americans rely on private insurance, usually received through their employers. However, not all employers provide insurance and not everyone can afford to buy it on their own. With unemployment rising, many Americans are losing their health insurance when they lose their jobs.

The government can not be all things to all people in this country. The government is not the savior of it's people. It's the people that can figure this out and NOT the government. What the article forgot to mention is that while the government provides for the poor, disabled and the elderly... it doesn't mention the poor quality of what the government has made available to these people. Also, our government is breaking the law and providing for people that are not here in this country legally.

I am not a mean person. I don't want to see innocent children suffering at the hands of their parents and the decisions their parents made. I understand that many came from other countries that do not offer much hope or promise. But at the same time these people are breaking the law. The laws in this country are not being upheld and the American People are expected to bailout out the poor decisions of others.

We have an immigration problem in this country. If our current healthcare system is so flawed then why do people from other countries flock to the United States to receive that healthcare? Think about that for a half a millisecond.

If you are working for a company that doesn't provide a healthcare plan then find another job. If you live in a state where the unemployment rate is high then move to Nebraska. I heard on the radio the other day that the employment rate here in Nebraska is the best in the nation and that unemployment is only at 4.4%

This administration is going to take what little quality of healthcare we have left and squash it like a bug. You kind folks out there that do not know what it's like to be on government care have no idea what you are buying into when you listen to ever single word Obama has to say about it. I grew up on government healthcare and let me tell you, it SUCKS.

Scroll back up and click on the link I provided up there and read the article for yourself. If you are in the healthcare field I invite you to comment with your experience about what you know. You can comment anonymously if you'd like.

The scenario that comes to my mind when I think of healthcare being rationed is the pregnant mom due any day... she goes into labor... she's at the hospital and the pain is excruciating and the doctor tells her how sorry she is that they can't offer her an epidural because they are trying to cut costs. That's just one example! I'm sure there are more examples out there. I'd like to read about those so if you have one please share it.

Originally posted on Domestic Divapalooza where Great minds think out loud.