Targeted

I got up this morning and before heading down the stairs, I sat and talked with my dog about the day ahead.

We do this every morning.  He waits at the top of the stairs and when I sit, he sits.  He listens carefully for keywords such as "Walk" or "Car"; things that mean fun ahead.  Mostly, I think he just likes to hear my voice.  So I put my arm around him and talk.

I go to work.  I come home.  I read.  I write.  I meet with friends.

And Al Qaeda wants to kill me.

Why?

Maybe it's because they don't like the "cut of my jib", whatever that means.  Maybe they blame me for the fact that they live in mud huts.  Maybe they are mad because I don't think exactly like they do leading them to doubt their own beliefs (this is probably it).  Maybe its the virgins.    I wonder what would happen if a terrorist had a near-death experience and when he woke up he said, "I've been to heaven and there are no virgins there."

I bet there would be a steep drop in Exploding Underwear Club membership.

Elsewhere...

The economy added 244,000 new jobs last month.   And yet, unemployment rose from 8.8% to 9.0%.  The reason for this is basically, there was a shift change down at the bureau (<- hard word to spell) of numbers and they had a new guy throwing the dart this month.

I wonder where we would be if the rich didn't get their tax break.  I'm thinking that we'd be right where we are now but with a much smaller national debt.  I can't say this enough.  "Create jobs by creating customers first."  This mean put the money in the hands of the buyers.  The "makers" aren't going to make a thing until this happens.

I tried my hand at making Hungarian Pagacsa (po-gatcha) yesterday.  I now know the origins of cardboard.

A pagacsa is a light, buttery biscuit that tastes great.  There are about 30 different ways to make them. I got one off the internet and inadvertently made the "drywall" version.  Today I will try again.  Once I find the right one....millions!

Then Al Qaeda will really be after me.  ("That man has delicious pagascas and we don't - kill him!")

Politically, I am a Democrat that was a Republican.  I voted for Bush (twice!) and for that, I ask your forgiveness.  However, I am really not one or the other.  For example, California has labor laws that are right out of the liberal playbook.  As a result, companies don't come here to start up business.    The state seems to be oblivious to this.  As much as I blame the Republicans for just about everything (including yesterday's pogacsa debacle) the Democrats are to blame for California's budget woes.

I'm not talking about the Tea Party "Let's cut spending because we sound really just when we say it" gang.  I'm talking about getting government out of the workplace to the point where it is no more intrusive that the other 49 states.

California cannot compete with the other states in much the same way that the United States cannot compete with China.

China has no rules.  The United States has some rules.  California has ALL of the rules.

I like Jerry Brown.  I liked Arnold.  I want them to succeed regardless of political affiliation or quality of film making.  I must admit that back in the late 70's, I was a bit put off by Jerry dating Linda Ronstadt, just when I was thinking of making my move.

I told my dog I would mention him in today's blog.  He wagged his tail in approval.

I need to get him a cape.

Off to save the world.

Up, up and away...

jim

"We deserve free health care."

I took today's title right off the morning news.

Some nurses are going on strike over their healthcare plan.  Three plans have been offered - Two free and one with 15% co-pay.

Apparently they didn't like any of these.  Their spokesman came on the news and said, "We work hard.  We deserve free health care."

Wait....this just in...."Nothing is free and life isn't fair."

Actually, the things in life that we all want most, are free, for everything else, there's Master Card.   The Free stuff, things like Love, Charity and Compassion are not enough for some of us.

The truth is that I want everything to be free.  Alas...God must hate me because they still make me pay for frozen pizzas at the store.

Even Obama's plan isn't free.  We all pay for it.  It just comes down to should the government tax us and use that money to pay for it or should we pay for it ourselves.  The only problem with paying for it ourselves is that we must absorb the private sector's profit margin.  $10 gets me three aspirin from the government but only two aspirin from the private sector.

Back to the nurses.

I watch on the news as people sympathize with the nurses and I think that is just fine.  But ultimately, we are paying for their health care.  Any cost increase incurred by the hospital will certainly be passed on to the customers.

In my book, a nurse is no more deserving of free healthcare than the guy passing out soup to the poor or a even a superhero (who pays over $1,000 a month for a 30% deductible plan.)

This brings me to the GOP Medicare plan.

Remember when they said Obama's plan had "Death Panels"?  This came from the idea that some people wouldn't get complete care.  For example, a 95 year old drug addict would probably be sent to the bottom of the Liver Donor list.  The Republicans had a fit over the injustice of it.

Now, they plan on giving you a voucher instead of Medicare once you are old.  Once that voucher is used up,  Hasta la Vista baby.  So, try not to get cancer after the age of 65.

This is like saying. "Once you get to a certain age, you get health care up to $15,000 a year.  After that, say your good-byes."

There is no death panel here. This applies to everyone.  Well, except the rich.  They can afford whatever health care they need.

Now, I'm not against this.  Let's just call it what it is - Logan's Run.  That was a movie where your life was over once you reached a certain age.  So, if life ends at 65, then so be it.  It that's the society we want to have, I'll play along.  But everyone has to play.

This would certainly solve a lot of the budget issues.

"Here's your first Social Security check.  Now please step into this booth here."

ZAP!!!

I think that if we had a true understanding of what happened after the ZAP, we would probably go along with this.  It's the unknown that's scary.  Religion tells us we'll go to hell if we don't follow certain doctrine.  I put this in the same realm of likelihood as my winning the lottery without buying a ticket.

I'm not sure what 2012 brings.  Probably nothing.  Maybe UFOs or maybe something really big.  Like the truth about what happens when we die.  Think about it.  This would be big news.  Although Fox News would claim it was Obama propaganda.

"Those angels over there...trick lighting."

The Republican party (aka, Glenn Beck, Rush Linbaugh and Fox News) are already questioning the death of Osama.  "If we really killed him, where are the pictures?"

I can only shake my head.

There is a new name for these guys - Deathers.

I have no more time to waste on them.

I have to save the world, and find free health care.

Up, up and away...

jim

A bit of video showing how Fox can say anything because they know we'll forget.  This is typical O'Reilly fodder.  He states his scripted opinion (Murdock Puppet) as if its a fact and then sits back as if saying, "I said it so it must be true.  I rest my case."  He did this over and over with his Obama interview a few months ago.  He made statements like, "How do you explain you drop in the polls."  This was a truish type question.  He could have been just as truthful by asking, "How do you explain your poll numbers being more than twice as high as George W. Bush's?"  In the No-Spin Zone...it's all about the Spin.