Framing the Dialogue

Archive for November, 2009

Senate GOP Won’t Rush Health Care Bill

ObamacareYou would hink that this headline from a Reuters story would offer some comfort to conservatives like me who are very concerned about the government’s take over of the American health care system, or as it is widely known, Obamacare. 

The check is in the mail.

The article quoted Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell; “This will be on the floor for quite a long time.”  Once again, that should be comforting.  The article also said that McConnell would not elaborate on the time frame for the bill’s consideration.  The Senate it seems is not rabble like the House; “There will be a lot of amendments over a lot of weeks.  I mean, the Senate is not the House.  You saw in the House three votes and it was over in one day.”

Read more…

Look For The Union…Money

union-labelAs I grew up with a staunch union member, I was only exposed to one side of the big union issue.  I remember a few times when my Dad went on strike, but his union never seemed to do more than picket.  I never remember any violence or prolonged strikes.  As I grew older and tended to be more conservative and as such more than a little leery of the relationship between unions and Democrats, my Father and I had more spirited discussions.  At one point, we were discussing President Clinton’s escapades with Monica in the Oval Office (I know that they never admitted to doing anything in the Oval Office) and he expressed the opinion that their actions did not constitute sex. 

Read more…

A Time For Giving

Donate_FullAs we approach the Christmas season many of us look inside ourselves to consider how we can help our fellow man.  This is truly a time of giving and Americans are more generous than most other nations.  I am not just talking about aid given by the federal government, but donations by average people who often open their pocketbooks when others are in trouble.

I read a heartwarming story about an organization that received nearly $3 million from Americans to help reduce their debt.  Unfortunately their debt is fastly approaching $8 trillion.  If you have guessed that the organization is the United States and the Treasury Department accepts gifts.  This is in addition to the taxes we are all forced to turn over. 

Read more…

We Are Not At War With Islam

Lest You Forget!

Lest You Forget!

The title of this piece is sort of a quote from a speech that President Obama gave to the Turkish legislature in April 2009.  His actual words were; “The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam.”  Many of his and his administrations actions certainly bear out his words.  In light of the recent events at Fort Hood and his response to that tragedy, I started to look back at his words and more importantly his actions.  I should let you know that by “his actions” I do mean things that he has done and that members of his administration have done.

Read more…

Life of the Beloved

life of the belovedHenri J.M. Nouwenwas a close friend of Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood fame.  I recently read I’m Proud Of You which is a story about the friendship between Fred Rogers and the author.  Mr. Rogers seem quite spiritual and I was intrigued to learn what an influence Nouwen was on Pittsburgh’s nicest guy so I bought two of his books. 

The subtitle of this book actually caught my eye first; Spiritual Living in a Secular World.  I would not consider myself a spiritual person and I know that I don’t live up to the standards of a Fred Rogers, but I have to wonder if I can do better.  There is no doubt that we live in a secular world and I was looking for something in Nouwen’s writings. 

Read more…

Carrot Cake Murder

Carrot Cake MurderI am catching up on the Hannah Swensen murder mysteries and in the latest, Hannah Swensen discovers the dead body of a long-lost relative of her business partner.  Gus took off when he was very young only to return decades later.  Gus had a lot of enemies and when he found himself stabbed in the heart, a lot of past grievances are revealed including a unique tattoo that many of the women of the town knew about.

Read more…

A Call For Third World Politics

A series of events over the past few months have made me consider the logic of third world politics.  I am not talking about killing people or imprisoning detractors.  That is what happens in places like Cuba, China and Iran.  What I am thinking about is the prosecution of the prior ruling party by the new ruling party. 

holder-ciaMany of us were abhorred by the possibility that Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, is open to investigating and prosecuting members of the CIA for alleged torture of Islamic terrorists.  That sickened me to think that this administration would politicize the folks who have kept us safe for over seven years.  This was strike one.

Read more…

Wuf Is Bwind

hempSome two years after the lover of Massachusetts Representative and Chairman of the powerful Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, was arrested for growing pot in his yard, it has come to light that Rep. Frank (D-MA) was actually present during the drug bust.  Great job main stream media for finally letting people know that Frank was present during his lover’s DRUG BUST over two years ago.  I guess that this is not the same as a Representative sending suggestive texts to a page (who turned out NOT to be underage) that stayed on the front pages for weeks, but he was a Republican after all.

Read more…

Insanity (in – san – i – tee)

Insanity is defined as:

  1. the screamthe condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind.
  2. such unsoundness of mind as affects legal responsibility or capacity.
  3. extreme folly; senselessness; foolhardiness.

Synonyms:  dementia, lunacy, madness, craziness, mania, aberration

What does Einstein think:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.”

Can you use it in a sentence?

One needs to look no further than Washington D. C. for plenty of examples of insanity.

Read more…