Torture

This post is absolutely void of political correctness.
It will most likely offend some people. Tough!

There's a lot of talk/questions these days about torture. Should we do it? What defines torture? Is it effective? I have never been in the military, so from that perspective, I cannot speak from first-hand experience...much like most of the people that are asking all the stupid questions. But, here's how I see it, and like I already warned you, it ain't pretty.

The UN (not a fan, but their definition works for me) defines torture as:

Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. (Source)

In the case of war, whether against another country or organized group of terrorists (Al-Queda isn't a country with an official army, so I'm not so sure I'd afford them much to begin with):

1. If we capture a run-of-the-mill-soldier, I say treat them decently. A couple of meals a day, a place to sleep--nothing fancy, and medical attention if needed. They don't need a country club; we reserve that luxury for convicted rapists, murderers, child molesters, and politicians in our own prisons.
2. If we capture a known terrorist leader or commander of an army that has--what we believe to be--crucial information that could ultimately save American lives, stake them naked, spread eagle to the top of a fire ant hill and alternately poke them in the eyes with lit cigarettes and waterboard the dog snot out of them!!! Once we get the information we need, smear their sorry butts with honey, and unleash the three black bears that have not been fed for a week, that were conveniently brought in to "witness" the interrogation. Post the video on YouTube for good measure.

For those that would scream--"my gosh, you are sick/cruel/[fill-in-adjective here]," let me just say: You are right. That is sick and cruel, but "nice" doesn't seem to be working all that well. It's war. It's ugly.

The problem with Americans is that we are too stinking nice in war. Even more so in the way we deal with criminals and/or those who don't seem to think the rules apply to them. Case in point: remember the name Michael Faye? I'll give you a minute...

Michael Faye is the snot-nosed American brat that was caned in Singapore in 1994 for vandalism. Haven't seen his name in the papers recently, have you? Know why? HIS BUTT STILL HURTS!!!! See, a little pain goes a long way, and I bet little Michael doesn't get his jollies tagging cars anymore.

Road Trip

Eight days and a little over 2200 miles later, I'm back home. The past few years, I've taken the first week in May and gone to visit my parents in Florida. My mother was raised there in a small town, northeast of Pensacola named Baker. The first weekend in May is the family reunion for my mother's side of the family. This was the 24th year for the event, which has dwindled in size because of several factors: many of the family have died and quite a few have moved away from the hometown. I was one of only five cousins in our generation that made it to the reunion. One woman in attendance was over 90 years old!

It was good to see everyone--and as usual at those types of things, if you left hungry, it was your own fault. I hadn't seen one of my uncles since I was in Junior High. He traveled from Houston to be there. He has the beginning stages of Alzheimers, but he has such a positive attitude. He said something like: "This is what I have. I know what I'm up against. I'm grateful for the time I have left." Pretty powerful and humbling words.

When I've gone to my parent's lately, I've gone by myself. The time of year I go would mean the rest of the family missing work and/or school. Also, there's really not a lot to do there since they live in a pretty remote area, mainly agriculutural--not all of Florida is BEACH. They live about 30 minutes above the Fort Walton-Destin beach area, but I really don't care that much for the beach. So, I make the 14+ hour trip by myself, although this year, my younger brother flew in a few days after I arrived and we rode back home together. I like road trips like this because:

• I like to sing real loud. When I travel by myself, I can crank up the sound and sing real loud. I am hopelessly stuck in the 70's and Dana isn't real fond of some of my musical tastes, so this is the opportunity to rack up the volume! Great "road songs" are anything by The Eagles or The Doobie Brothers--especially Rockin' Down the Highway. The route I take doesn't have a lot of decent (my opinion) radio stations, so I usually take the iPod and plug it into the auxiliary jack. My own personal "road mix" at max volume. Dana would hate it.
• John MacArthur sermons. I have tons of MacArthur sermons on CD, so I will grab a handful and listen to those for several hours of the trip. Strange mix, eh? JM and 70's classic rock. This time, I took quite a few of the sermons he preached through the book of Luke. Good stuff. Also, a couple of sermons on the importance of expositional preaching. This is definitely one of those things you can't do with my whole family in the car.
• Short and infrequent pit stops. I don't like to stop once I get on the road, but Dana can't go more than an hour or two without "going" (know what I mean?). Me? I'm a "urine camel;" I can hold it for a long time if I have to. When I finally do stop, it's run in--run out, back on the road. I don't stop to eat either, i.e. dine in. I zip through the drive-thru and get right back on the road. No need to waste time. Mental note: Pizza and tacos are hard to eat while you're driving.
• No griping or complaining. There is no one asking: "Are we there yet?" or "How much further?" No one says: "This is boring. Why do we have to drive so long? Why can't we fly? Why does Grammy live so far away? When are we gonna eat (again)?" AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!
• Time to reflect. For part of the trip, I turn the radio off and just reflect on my life, the blessings God has given me. I pray, thanking God for the incredible family he has given me. I ask God to grant me a safe trip. I ask God to watch over Dana and the boys while I'm gone. I think about the projects I have going on at work and at home. I take the uninterrupted time to mentally work through some things that have been on my mind lately. I've got 14 hours behind the wheel--there's plenty of time and plenty to think about.

It was a good trip. My brother and I got to spend some quality time during the week working on my parent's house--they're hoping to sell it and move back to Oklahoma. I also got to see my youngest brother that I hadn't seen in several years; he lives in Alabama. And I sang REAL LOUD...a lot!!!! And no one complained.

Mother's Day

Twenty-one Mother's Days ago, we were sitting in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. Our oldest son was only five weeks old, and nearly too late, had been diagnosed with pyloric stenosis. For the previous two weeks, he had been projectile vomiting nearly everything he ate to the point that he weighed less than his birth weight when then doctors finally pinpointed the problem. The condition is detectable with a simple x-ray, but our pediatrician, for whatever reason, didn't do one until Dana insisted.

Approximatley 15 percent dehydrated (not good for a five week old infant), Ryon was immediately admitted to the hospital with instructions for us to "call your pastor if you have one." They gave him a 50-50 chance of living due to his severe condition--definitely NOT good odds for new parents! For two days, we anxiously waited in the PICU while doctors and nurses worked to save our little boy. On Dana's first Mother's Day, it was determined that Ryon was sufficiently hydrated to handle surgery; he and and the little "plastic bubbly" that had been his bed/home for the past two days were wheeled out of the room. That was tough! About an hour later, we got the news: the surgery was a complete success!

Since then, Ryon seems to have been making up for those five weeks. That kid can EAT!!! We have two boys now and they are both the best kids a parent could ask for...most of the time. They got Dana a card and a gift--all on their own. After church, they'll take their Mom out to eat (I get to tag along). This will be a much less stressful Mother's Day than Dana's first one.

Gone Fishing

Actually, I'm headed to Florida to visit my parents. They have a dial-up connection (yep, people still have those), so I won't be posting for a week or so.

I'm going down to do help with some clean up around their place and to attend a family reunion. One of my uncles will be there that I haven't seen since Junior High. He is in the first stages of Alzheimers, so this will somewhat of a bittersweet time for the family. Should be good though. I'll take a couple of books with me; also just spend time visiting with the folks. They are both in the their seventies--Mom's in pretty good health, but Dad has Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He's fought it off twice, but he doesn't have near the energy he used to.

Ya'll behave while I'm gone.

Pretty Simple

Saw this on a sign at one of the Tea Parties.

Three Hard Working Presidents

Lone Survivor - Marcus Luttrell

I just finished reading Marcus Luttrell's account of "Operation Redwing" entitled Lone Survivor. From the back cover of the book (paperback):

On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission: to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader. Less than twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.

The book begins with Luttrell's detailed account of the training he, and his fellow SEALs, endured in order to receive the honor of wearing the SEALs "Trident." Regarding the SEAL Trident: "The SEAL insignia is the only insignia in the United States government where the bald eagle is bowing his head. It represents the honor the US bestows to those willing and dedicated enough to persevere through the most difficult training in the world. (Source) After reading Lone Survivor...I believe that statement! As I read of the day to day training these men went through, I found myself constantly asking myself: "Could I EVER have endured this type of intense training?", followed by: "Thank God there are men that can and DO!" (For the record, I've never served in the military. My father was in the Navy, as was my youngest brother. The government had done away with the "draft" by the time I turned 18. Looking back, I think I would have greatly benefited from at least a two-year military stint.)

For a large portion of the first six chapters, Luttrell jumps between the journey from Bahrain to the mission's drop site along the Pakistan border and biographical sketches of his SEAL team, including detailed sketches of the training that would prepare them for their assigned mission.

Without giving away the story, the mission goes bad and the team of four Navy SEALs find themselves in the fiercest battle of their lives against 100+ heavily armed Taliban fighters. I choked back tears as Luttrell described the intense battle and the almost superhuman bravery of his team as they fought for their lives, the honor of Navy SEALs trident, and the country they loved. In the end, the "Battle for Murphy's Ridge" as it would later be referred to, would take the lives of Petty Officer Matthew ("Axe") Axelson, Lieutenant Mike Murphy, and Petty Officer Danny Dietz. Just knowing these guys were on "our side" made me proud to be an American. They paid the ultimate price with their lives and to their memory, I say: "Thank you! Thank you for your unselfish service to America."

What went wrong on Murphy's Ridge? Well, several things that I won't mention so as not to spoil the story, but one thing was very apparent in the minds of those men, especially Marcus Luttrell: They never really had a chance because of the way American soldiers are forced to go to into combat.

On page 37, Luttrell states:

...each of [us] in that aircraft...had constantly in the back of our minds the ever-intrusive rules of engagement.

These are drawn up for us to follow by some politician sitting in some distant committee room in Washington, DC. And that's a very long way from the battlefield, where a sniper's bullet can blast your head, where the slightest mistake can cost your life, where you need to kill your enemy before he kills you.

And those ROE as very specific: we may not open fire until we are fired upon or have positively identified our enemy and have proof of his intentions. Now, that's all very gallant...the situation might look simple in Washington, where the human rights of terrorists are often given high priority. And I am certain liberal politicians would defend their position to the death. Because everyone knows liberals have never been wrong about anything. You can ask them. Anytime.

The language is rough in places; it's war. The story is gut-wrenching at times. As I read the last paragraph, I was sickened to think that three incredibly valiant men had died, mainly because they were not allowed to do the job for which, they were trained. I was also struck with the thought--our current President, along with the majority of our Senators and Congressmen, aren't worthy to shine to boots of these guys!

Marcus Luttrell was awarded the Navy Cross for combat heroism in July 2006 by then President George W. Bush. The book's epilogue entitled "Lone Star" describes their meeting in detail. I had a lump in my throat as I read Luttrell's account of meeting "[the] very great United States President and my commander in chief."

Thank you, Marcus Luttrell and thank you SEAL Team 10. You guys are trully GREAT AMERICANS! To all the men and women who serve in our military: THANK YOU! There are still some of us that appreciate your service and continually pray for you safety as you endeavor to carry out a seemingly unwinnable task.

Irony

"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy." "Every country will be treated the way it treats us. In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying," Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding a Greek ship anchored in the Somali town of Gaan, told The AP today. "We will retaliate (for) the killings of our men."

In case you miss the irony, Somalian pirates think it's wrong for countries to shoot and kill THEIR people, aka PIRATES, but it's alright for them to kidnap people from said countries and demand ransom. Makes sense if you're Somalian, I guess.

Obama and Brown Discuss DVDs

Liar, Liar...

At the beginning of the week, Chris Dodd (D- Conn) claimed he didn't know anything about the provisions in the bailout that would allow the AIG Executives their bonuses. Yesterday, Dodd admitted that he not only knew about the provisions, but that he was also the one that put them in the bailout--hence the name "Dodd Amendment." News is now coming out that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner may have also known of the bonuses as far back as Feb 28!

Now, Congress is considering a 90% tax on those bonuses in an attempt to make things right. What hogwash! I'm just as mad as the next guy that AIG received BILLIONS of dollars in bailout money, and then turned around and payed bonuses with it, but a retroactive tax isn't the way to go about fixing this mess. If Congress can do that (and it's questionable just how they could)...they can DANG SURE DO TO YOU TOO, BOYS AND GIRLS!

Oh and just to throw a little more fuel on the fire...care to guess who the two largest campaingn recipients of AIG's generosity were? CHRIS DODD and BARACK OBAMA! Nothing about this whole mess sounds shady to me...(***eyes rolling***)

Abraham Lincoln

 
So I said to him, "Barack, I know Abe Lincoln, and you ain't him."

Painting of "The Grand Ol' Gang" by Andy Thomas

Growing Up Too Fast

WARNING : I've been thinking about this post for a while. Recent conversations/events have prompted me to "put my thoughts on paper." If I upset you --which I've been known to do-- just add this to the growing list.

===

Is it just me or does our society have some kind of fixation with wanting kids to grow up...as fast as possible? When I was a kid, many moons ago, we looked forward to certain milestones: the Junior/Senior Prom and Senior Graduation for instance. Today, there's Kindergarten Graduation, Fifth Grade Graduation, Eighth Grade Graduation, and finally, Senior Graduation. I only graduated once. I'm pretty sure it "took" that one time.

We also have the Sixth Grade Dance, the...oh, heck--just Slap-A-Grade-In-Front-Of-It Dance or Formal and that should cover it. I even heard about some kids that arrived at their Eighth Grade Dance in a LIMO! Getting to go to the Junior/Senior Prom was a big deal at our school. And you had to be a Junior or Senior to attend. I went both years...had a blast.

Then you've got stuff like beauty pagaents for little kids. Parents dress them up in adult looking clothes, complete with adult looking makeup. Since when was a three or four-year-old dressed up/made up like a two dollar hooker or a 30-year-old model considered CUTE?! Actually, I've seen some teens that look like that, too. And while I'm at it, I'm really wondering what parents are thinking when they let their daughters leave the house with their bra straps hanging out, their cleavage pushed out, and their low-rise jeans emblazoned with some catchy phrase or logo across their backside? (NOTE: Our pastor said recently, "If it's not for sale, rent or lease...dont' be advertising it." Makes sense to me.)

What's wrong with kids just being kids? They grow up fast enough as it is. And, frankly, they don't need to "graduate" from every stinkin' grade they pass. What's wrong with having just one or two special formal/type events IN YOUR ENTIRE schooling, i.e grades K-12. What in the world is there to look forward to if it's a yearly event? And I'm not advocating everyone dress like June or Ward Cleaver, but for crying out loud---PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! I'm tired of seeing your underwear.

Funny thing is, we have our kids growing up, looking like grownups, dressing like grownups, attending all of these "grownup" type events...then we get upset when they do something "grownup" like [fill in adult behavior here]. I think we're sending some mixed signals here.

"I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!"

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is the first European leader to visit Obama since the Jan 20 inauguration. In honor of his visit, Brown presented Prez BO with the following gifts:

• A pen holder fashioned from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.
• A framed commissioning paper for the HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet.
• A first edition of Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-Anglo alliance.

BO gave the Prime Minister a set of 25 classic American movies to mark his historic visit to the White House. Brown reportedly tried to keep the present a secret, declining to say what movies were included in the set. ""One reason for the secrecy might be that the gift seems markedly less generous and thoughtful than the presents taken to Washington by the Prime Minister," London's Evening Standard newspaper reported.

According to another source, the movie set included ET, Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz. Now THAT is an historically significant gift.

Does anyone else get the feeling we've got a bunch of High School sophomores in Washington PLAYING GOVERNMENT??!! Where was the "Diplomacy Czar" on this one?! "Er, uh, Mr. President, with all do respect, I think a box set of DVDs from Blockbuster may be just a little bit...CHEAP!!!

Oh, and don't think for a minute that if George Bush had done the same thing, the media would have been ALL OVER this, talking about what a dope GW was. And by the way, Brown is NOT known to be a movie buff.

Source

Last Year's Business

Associated Press (01.06.09) :: "President-elect Barack Obama vowed Tuesday to bar lawmakers' pet projects from his massive economic stimulus plan and to bring unprecedented accountability to federal spending." Source

TIME/CNN (02.26.09) :: "On Tuesday evening, when President Barack Obama declared before a joint session of Congress that "we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks," House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, popped out of their seats like jackrabbits for a standing ovation. On Wednesday, those same House Democrats, led by Pelosi, passed a budget with, by some counts, nearly 9,000 earmarks, worth an estimated $7.7 billion." Source

Associated Press (03.02.09) reported today ::

President Barack Obama will break a campaign pledge and sign a budget bill laden with millions in lawmakers' pet projects, administration officials said.

Administration budget chief Peter Orszag and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel both downplayed the $410 billion spending bill and signaled Obama would hold his nose and sign it. Orszag said: "We want to just move on. Let's get this bill done, get it into law and move forward.

Said Emanuel: "That's last year's business."

Source

Translation: We lied. We know we lied; you know we lied. Now that that's out...let's move on. YOU need to get over it."

I Guess I'm A Racist

SecretNeverTold recently wrote a post about hidden racial bias. I took the test she referenced and I fell into the group that has a "strong preference for white people." In one way, I was a little surprised. One of my best friends is Hispanic and I have a sister-in-law that is Filipino. I get along great with both of them and have never had any ill or biased opionions about them.

I imagine that my upbringing in an all white community plays pretty heavily in the results. I had never had any personal interaction with a black individual until I took a part-time job in a neighboring city during high school. That was a positive exerience.

I've never really thought of myself as a racist, but I have to admit that, lately, I've become more and more aware of the different opinions I have --and ones that have obviously been supressed. We had a Hispanic/Black (mixed) family move next door several years ago. They were terrible neighbors, always playing their music loud--the walls in OUR house would vibrate from their stereo...and we don't live in apartments. These are single family homes on seperate lots! They threw trash in our yard, they were rude and vulgar, and they had no respect the property or privacy of anyone in the area. Their kids have since moved out and it's pretty quiet over there now, but as you can imagine, the confrontations didn't do much to help with "race relations."

Since the election, it's seems like EVERYTHING is a race thing, from the Post cartoon to using the term "black hole" when discussing astronomy. I work in an office that until last month, had never had a black person working in the office. I/we find ourselves being very much aware of our conversations, etc. We make it a point to never discuss politics around the "new guy." I guess it's biased/racist, but we all assume he voted for BO.

Maybe this is racist, but I think that BO's election has done more to fuel racism/racist talk than to heal it. It seems like the NAACP and other ethnic groups are waiting around every corner to complain about a word or image or something that they determine is racist.

I've pretty much quit watching the news or reading the newspaper since before the election. Here we are over half-way through the month, and I didn't even know it was Black History Month. I guess that's another thing that makes me a racist.

I'm guessing now would not be the time to push for a "Miss White America" contest.

They Hate Guns

The jackass lawmakers in Illinois are at it again. Illinois HB0687 was introduced by Dumbocrat Representative Kenneth Dunkin and would essentially require gun owners to carry $1 MILLION of liability insurance "specifically covering any damages resulting from negligent or willful acts involving the use of such firearm while it is owned by such person."

I hear that many of the state's criminals are anxiously looking forward to complying with the new law...should it actually become a reality. When interviewed by a local television station, career thug, Darnell Marquis Jackson* (shown in photo) stated: "I think it's a great idea. I'm very concerned every time I go to pop a cap in somebody's head. One stray bullet and BAM! You got youself a dead, innocent bystander. I also make it a point to purchase all of my guns and ammo from reputable gun dealers."

It warms your heart to know that people like Kenneth Dunkin are looking out for the folks in Illinois. Let's see: Illinois is one of only two states that DO NOT issue concealed carry permits. With continued efforts like this one (HB0687) and others aimed at hamstringing gun owners rights, we can sleep easier knowing that the "Darnell Jacksons" of the world can continue to mug, rob, steal, maim and kill law abiding citizens without fear of a victim drawing a weapon and BLOWING HIS SORRY, LOW-LIFE BRAINS ALL OVER THE PAVEMENT!!!

FYI: The Illinois State Police (ISP) reported the Illinois crime rate fell 3.6 percent in 2007 from 456,085 compared to 470,730 in 2006. Crimes included in the stat were murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated battery and aggravated assault. 68,582 of those crimes were classified as "violent;" reported murders were 752. Compared to other states:

• Oklahoma - violent crimes= 18,072; murders= 222
• Arkansas - violent crimes= 15,507; murders= 191
• Mississippi - violent crimes= 8,502; murders= 208

I guess the real problem is they just have too many people living in Illinois, but it looks like they're working on reducing the population by significant numbers, so that's encouraging.

* Not his real name

Form 1040

I just finished filing my income taxes for 2008. This is the best year ever!

Quicken Customer Support

I've been using Quicken® financial software since 1983--version 1. During this time, I've upgraded to the latest version when they've made the decision to quit supporting what they refer to as "legacy products," i.e. "we ain't makin' it anymore and we're not supporting it either."

The latest version I have is Quicken Basic 2006. A couple of weeks ago I received a letter informing me of yet another available upgrade and that they would no longer be supporting my current version of the program after April of this year.

I've got quite a few years invested in Quicken and I enjoyed the simplicity of the program in its early stages, but lately it seems they (Intuit) are bent on adding all kinds of features that I really don't need, then forcing me to upgrade in order to keep having the privilege of Customer Support.

But see, here's the thing: over the years, their Customer Support has really gone downhill. It stinks, actually! The last two encounters I've had with Intuit/Quicken Customer Support have been horrible. On hold, waiting on "supervisors," and attempting to understand the broken English of the support person--it'll drive you NUTS!

So a while back, I noticed a bug in program. The following email and Quicken's response speaks for itself. Does anyone else see the irony?

My original email to Quicken

At some point, the date for one of my transaction groups changed (exactly one month ahead) and now I can't edit it. I can override the date right before I write the transactions to the ledger, but the date continues to be a month off.

Apparently this is a problem many Quicken users are facing since I have seen this "bug" discussed on several user groups/blogs.

While I'm at it, I also resent the recent decision to abandon Quicken Basic and force me to upgrade to a version that I really have no use for. I have used Quicken since Version 1. In fact, after installing that version from a 5 1/4" floppy, I had a question and called customer support. Scott Cook himself answered the phone. He was articulate, spoke fluent English and was able to solve my problem in a very timely matter. Now when I call Quicken, my call is transferred to some boiler room in Damoh India (or similar location) where I am forced to interact with an individual that barely speaks English as a second language!

My most recent frustration was in ordering wallet style checks. I was shocked to discover the price was over $75 for only 250 checks! And you didn't get the order right. I'm done. I will continue to use Quicken as I always have--an electronic checkbook ledger. My bank offers online bill pay, so I don't need your checks. When the day arrives my current copy of Quicken will no longer install or run, I'll find something else.

Thanks Mr. Cook for what was once a useful product. Your customer service department however, has suffered because of your success.

One who formerly sang the praises of Quicken,
Keith Whitfield

Quicken's Response

Thank you for contacting Quicken Customer Care.

Keith, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and frustration that you have recently experienced. We strive to provide the best possible customer service.

Thank you very much for your feedback. We will pass this along to the correct department, so that, it may help in improving our services in the future.

If you wish to provide feedback in the future, please refer to our feedback page on our support site, located in: https://quicken.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/quicken.cfg/php/enduser/site_fdbck_all.php?lid=site_banner

Sincerely,
Mohit Sharma
Quicken Customer Care

Really?!

Honestly...is there ANYBODY out there that voted for BO that REALLY thinks this "spendulus package" is a good idea?! If so--WHY?!

On a related note, the Drudge Report just posted this:

Rep. John Culberson, TX claims the "stimulus" bill must be urgently voted on today -- because Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leaving at 6:00 PM for an 8 day trip to Europe!

Read more...

In the words of Captain Sulley: "Prepare for impact."

SCHIP and My Responsibility **UPDATED**

Yesterday, Prez BO signed into law, legislation that would expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as SCHIP, to cover an additional 4 million children. SCHIP is a program that was created by the federal government to cover individuals that have incomes too high to qualify for state medical assistance but cannot obtain private insurance.

The additional cost of this legislation will be approx $34 billion over the next five years. To pay for this program, the law will impose an ADDITIONAL 62 cent federal tax on cigarette sales, bringing the total tax to just over $1.

As Americans, we must do our part to help fund this new legislation. It would be unfair for current smokers to bear the entire cost of this program. Therefore, I proprose that non-smokers such as myself, pick up the habit immediately. If I can manage to acquire a pack-a-day habit, this will mean a contribution--toward the new legislation--of $226.30 per year. In five years, that's $1131.50. At that rate, we only need 30 million new smokers to make this thing work.

That's not a lot to pay or ask for the health of our children, is it? Come on, America! Let's get PUFFIN'!!!

(NOTE: Be sure to file this one under "sarcasm.")

PS : Does anyone else find it ronic that they want to fund SCHIP with a cigarette tax...and the "spendulus" package contains $$$$$ for smoking cessation programs?