jarasan's Blog

"Greed" by Milton Freidman

Here you have the teacher and the students.   Milton Friedman is speaking self evident historical truths and there you have Phil Donohue deer in the headlights stare thinking so hard trying to retort but fails miserably.   Phil Donohue's reaction is very relevant to the situation we are in today.  Phil is like so many today, who no matter what empirical evidence is presented to them,  they refuse to believe they could be wrong even if their argument has no basis. A perfect example is the Tim Geitner appointment,  only this guy could be Treasury Secretary,  everybody knew this guy was a tax cheat, idiot, whatever,  they all went along.   Every time this has happened I am reminded of the fable of the King's new clothes.

Enjoy. It is only 2:24 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A

Entry #126

Refresher course.

'Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.'   
 
~ Thomas Jefferson

 

 

  FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE
 
1.  An armed man is a citizen.  An unarmed man is a subject

2.  A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

 

3.  Colt:  The original point and click interface.

Colt45

 

4.  Gun control is not about guns; it's about control. 

 

5.  If guns are outlawed, can we use swords? 

6.  If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words. 

 

7.  Free men do not ask permission to bear arms. 



 

8.  If you don't know your rights, you don't have any. 

 
9.  Those who trade liberty for security have neither. 
 
10.  The  United States  Constitution (c) 1791.  All Rights Reserved. 
 
11.  What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you not understand? 


12.  The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others. 



 

 
13.  64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday. 
 
14.  Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians. 

 
15.  Know guns, know peace, know safety.  No guns, no peace, no safety. 
         
16.  You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive. 
 
17.  911:  Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer. 
             
18.  Assault is a behavior, not a device. 
 
19.  Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer. 

 
20.  If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson. 
 
21.  Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them. 
 
22.  You have only the rights you are willing to fight for. 

 
23.  Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don't make more. 
 
24.  When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves. 

 
25.  The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control. 

Entry #125

Volcanoes VS. man made global warming.

Volcanoes win hands down, whether we are in the match or not.  The first link is what caused the Permian extinction and the second is what is occuring RIGHT NOW under Yellowstone.  "Volcanic rock spread over an area the size of Alaska."  Humbling stuff.

 

 

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/02/04/volcano-mass-extinction.html

 

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/interactive/interactive.html

Entry #124

Then and now.

HIGH SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2007

  Scenario 1:

  Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking

  lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.

  1957 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car

  and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

  2007 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and

  never sees his truck or gunagain.  Counselors called in for traumatized

  students and teachers.

  Scenario 2:

  Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.

  1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins.  Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up

  buddies.

  2007 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and

  Mark.  They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though

  Johnny started it and Mark was just defending himself.

    Scenario 3:

  Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.

  1957 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by

  the Principal.  He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt

  class again.

  2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin.  He becomes a zombie.  He is

  then tested for ADD. The school gets extra money from the state because

  Jeffrey has a disability. 

  Scenario 4:

  Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping

  with his belt.

  1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and

  becomes a successful businessman.

  2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse.  Billy is removed to foster

  care and joins agang.  The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister

  that she remembers being abused  herself and their dad goes to prison.

  Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist. 

   Scenario 5:

  Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

  1957 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock.

  2007 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug

  violations.  His car is then searched for drugs and weapons. 

    Scenario 6:

  Pedro fails high school English.

  1957 - Pedro goes to summe rschool, passes English and goes to college.

  2007 - Pedro's cause istaken up by state.  Newspaper articles appear

  nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation

  is racist.  ACLU filesclass action lawsuit against the state school system

  and Pedro's English teacher.  English is then banned from core curriculum.

  Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living

  because he cannot speak English. 

    Scenario 7:

  Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them

  in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.

  1957 - Ants die.

  2007 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called.  Johnny is charged

  with domestic terrorism.  The FBI investigates his parents -- and all

  siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated.

  Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly

  again. 

  Scenario 8:

  Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee.  He is found

  crying by his teacher,Mary.  Mary hugs him to comfort him.

  1957 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

  2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job.  She

  faces 3 years inState  Prison.  Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy. 

How dumb have we become?

Entry #123

Alaska Mt. Redoubt.

Lets see how Alaska responds to a volcanic eruption.  The self reliant people of Alaska are getting ready, no help from the FEDS.  This volcano will effect (as I have said often) the weather patterns more than mankind or Al Gore's hot air could ever imagine.  Not a thing mankind can do to stop this, more CO2, SO2, ash etc. will be released into the atmosphere than mankind produces in hundreds of years.  And guess what?  It WILL cause global cooling by blanketing the Sun's rays.  Don't even think we can mess with Mother Nature,  I wonder if anyone will blame Obama for causing the eruption like they blamed Bush for Katrina.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090130/ap_on_re_us/alaska_volcano

Entry #122

Food for thought.

Food for thought.   There are always ways to play with numbers to make a point.  However, this  one got my attention.  I can only dream.


"The Proposal"

Whena company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems tohappen is they reduce their staff and workers.  The remainingworkers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk thattheir job would be eliminated as well.  Wall  Street, and the medianormally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "toughdecision", and his board of directors gives him a big bonus . 
 
Our government should not be immune from similar risks.   
 
Therefore: Reduce the  House of Representatives from the current  435  members to 218 members and Senate members from  100 to 50  (one per State). Also reduce remaining staff by 25%.
   
Accomplish this over the next 8 years. (two steps / two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.
 
SomeYearly Monetary Gains Include:
 
$44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay /member / yr.)
 
$97,175,000 for elimination of the above people's staff. (estimate $1.3Million in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Million instaff per each member of the Senate every year)
 
$240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%. 
 
$7,500,000,000reduction in  pork barrel  ear-marks  each year. (those memberswhose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government porkearmarks are at $15Billion / yr )
 
The remaining representatives would need to work  smarter and would needto improve   efficiencies.    It  might even be in their bestinterests to work together for the good of ourcountry?   
 
Wemay also expect that smaller committees might lead to a moreefficient  resolution of issues as well.   It might evenbe easier to keep track of what your representative is doing. 
 
Congresshas more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current  number of representatives  was established.(telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few)
 
Note:
 
Congressdid not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems.   Also, we have 3senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+months (on  the campaign trail) and still they all have beenaccepting full pay.  These facts alone support a reduction insenators  &  congress. 
 
Summary of  opportunity:
 
$44,108,400 reduction of congress members.
 
$282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member  staff.   
 
$150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff.   
 
$59,675,000   for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members.   
 
$37,500,000   for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members.   
 
$7,500,000,000  reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members. 
 
$8,073,383,400 per year , estimated total savings.  (that's 8-BILLION just to start!)
 
Big business does these types of cuts all the time.
 
If Congresspersons were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years  (likeeveryone else) in order to collect retirement benefits there is notelling how much we would save.  Now they get full retirement after serving only ONE term .   
 

IF you are happy how the Congress spends our taxes, well........ IF you are NOT at all happy, then I assume you know whatto do.

P.S. Daschle is going to pay his taxes.

http://www.mlive.com/us-politics/index.ssf/2009/01/daschle_takes_a_bad_firstday_h.html


Entry #121

Thomas Jefferson.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

John Kennedy once said to a assembled group of scholars, (49 nobel laureates) in the 1962 White House    “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone"   JFK would be considered a right winger today.

 

 The Thomas Jefferson quotes below could prove his point.   His words have come to pass.................

I believe an interesting point is that he speaks of history as being a teacher.  Back then there already was HISTORY, history not rewritten to serve a purpose or foster a cause but history to learn from and to not repeat the same mistakes of the past. 

 

 

“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.” 

 

”The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. ”   

 

”It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. ”

 

”I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” 

 

”My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” 

 

”No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” 

 

”The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” 

 

”The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” 

 

       

Very Interesting Quote :     

 

 

In light of the present financial crisis, it's  interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in  1802 :

 

'I believe that banking institutions are   more dangerous to our liberties   than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”  

Entry #120

Adrian Rodgers Quote.

Remember you're considered "rich" if you pay taxes.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.  What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.  When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. 

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."


~~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers , 1931 to 2005 ~~~ 

Entry #119

Hard to believe.

Really, really, really, hard to believe,  POTUS said yesterday to the Repubix, not to pay attention to a very popular radio show host because he is counter productive and will cause difficulty in being reelected to POTUS four years from now.  Don't listen to other ideas WOWWWWWWWW! Difference of ideas and discussion are now UNHEALTHY and you are called names,  so much for about the tenth broken promise of a NEW TONE.  And if you don't think it is not about power and control for the left side of the aisle and in the best interest of the people, think again.

This spending bill has so much pork in it,  when you approach D.C. you smell bacon five miles out.

Scared

3 Comments (Locked)
Entry #117

Hypocrisy.

If you don't see it now you never will.

$150,000,000 for pomp and circumstance, you are being hoodwinked.

Could be the most expensive in history?

Give me a friggen break!

They are literally shutting the city down,  kinda reminiscient of East Berlin, North Korea,  welcome to change!

The drinking establishments will be open 24hrs. to service the celebrants!  WOW! Where is MADD? Where are the talking head doctors warning about alcohol binges?  Let's see: 43 was dragged thru the wringer for having been a drinker......................he quit long ago....................But now it is OK to drink and smoke 24hrs. round the clock, it's COOOOL!  Hypocrites!  It is sickening! 

Entry #116

Self reliance from the top.

History, the kind we need to emulate.

Harry Truman , from Missouri , was a different kind of President.  He probably made as many important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 43 Presidents. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did afterhe left the White House.

Historians have written that the only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was inIndependence Missouri.  On top of that, his wife inherited the house from her Mother.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S.Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 ayear.  Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of$25,000 per year.  After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry andBess drove home to Missouriby themselves.  There were no Secret Service agents following them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me.  You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me.  It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medalof Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

He never owned his own home and as president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth.  Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices.  Political offices are now for sale.

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed,

"My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician.  And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference."

Entry #115

Grandma's Apron.

The History of 'APRONS'



I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

Theprincipal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dressesand they used less material, but along with that, it served as apotholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks,and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how muchfurniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.Whendinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron,and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.
Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
People would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron!!


I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.




Entry #113

Iranian Air Traffic Control

sent by a buddy:

Subject: Iranian Air Traffic Control

In addition to communicating with the local Air Traffic Controlfacility, all aircraft in the Persian Gulf AOR are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar(military) a ten minute 'heads up' if they will be transiting Iranian airspace.

This is a common procedure for commercial aircraft and involves giving them your call sign, transponder code,type aircraft, and points of origin and destination.

I just flew with a guy who overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 1215 MHz while flyingfrom Europeto Dubai. It's too good not to pass along. The conversation went something like this...

Air Defense Radar: 'Unknown aircraft at (location unknown), you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.'

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

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

Aircraft: 'This is a United StatesMarine Corps FA-18 fighter. Send 'em up, I'll wait!'

Radio silence.

Entry #112