Sorry this is not a baseball post. Those of us living in Pittsburgh with the hapless Pirates; holders of the longest losing streak of all professional sports (17 years and counting) don’t talk about much about professional baseball. Our president gave his first pitch at a State of the Union speech and apparently did not hit the strike zone. I confess to not watching as I could not bear to see Ms. Pelosi popping up every 30 seconds, Obama’s use of the words “I” or “me” a gazillion times or his unusual speech pattern whistling his S’s. The fact that he is on television every 17 hours giving a speech did not weigh in his favor either. I played tennis on our Wii (I achieved “Pro” status during his speech).
Earlier in the month in my posting, Groundswell, I provided a case that there is a true groundswell of opposition to excessive government. I will admit that it started as more of a anti-liberal Democrat movement, but the ranks have been joined by many others. I believe that this groundswell has turned into a trickle (this is a positive development) as we are seeing the main stream media starting to open up and do their jobs although still to a limited extent.
I believe, and we should remember that this is a gathering storm against politicians of all party affiliations.
Czar us defined as:
“One having great power or authority.”
Synonyms: autocrat, despot, leader, ruler
Can you use it in a sentance?
“So in effect we have NON-ELECTED officials, who are backed by The White House, who are given the tools and resources to do the bidding of the President and they are accountable to NO ONE! These czar’s don’t have to undergo Senate Confirmation Hearings, they just get appointed.”
What does Charles Krauthammer think?
“More czars than you find at a Romanov wedding. What I don’t understand is why you want to call anybody a “czar.” The czars had a sorry history of success and achievement.”
My first exposure to Governor Rick Perry of the Great State of Texas was listening to an interview when he was visiting the Left State of Pennsylvania a few years ago. Gov. Perry and the correspondent (sorry, but I can neither remember nor find references to this interview) were discussing the Texas Legislature and their activity. This is of great interest to Pennsylvanians as we have one of the largest (and costliest) legislatures in the country.
Update May 14, 2009 – My subsequent paycheck reflected a more modest increase of around $15.00. By the way, I took my daughter to Subway for dinner tonight and I had a few cents left over from the $15.00. I confess that we splurged and opted for the meal deals that cost an additional $2.25 each.
I never received any explanation of the larger bump that I discussed in my original post. The bottom line remains the same, however, all of this increase is not a tax cut as is being protrayed.
Stimulus is defined as:
“Something that rouses or incites to action or increased action; incentive”
Synonyms: inducement, provocation
Can you use it in a sentence?
President Barack Obama said the $787 billion economic stimulus plan is beginning to take hold and that work is coming in “ahead of schedule and under budget.”
Can you give me an example?
The stimulus package was hoisted on to the taxpayers as a means to “rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, modernize airports and shipyards, develop high-speed rail networks and restore aging public transit systems.
Update April 14, 2009 – Texas Governor Rick Perry announced today that he would back legislation proposed by fellow Republican state Representative Brandon Creighton in support of state’s rights as outlined in the Tenth Amendment of our Constitution. House Concurrent Resolution 50, stated that:
“Affirming that the State of Texas claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates, and providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed.”
The events surrounding the AIG bailouts, fallouts and now hearings made me think of an episode of the animated series The Simpsons. You will have to give me a little leeway to develop this concept.
The episode (Bart the Mother – 1998) featured a storyline where Bart accidentally killed a robin only to find the abandoned nest full of eggs. He becomes obsessed with hatching and raising the birds. When the eggs hatch, he is surprised that the young are not robins, but an invasive lizard species that replaces bird eggs with its own eggs.
Over the years, there have been only a few phrases or sayings that have stuck with me. We all have learned the Golden Rule from our parents and that is a basic way to you’re your life. What I am talking about are phrases that stick in my head and make me hesitate when I say something often forcing me to reword what I was about to say.
I first heard one of these phrases on one of my favorite talk shows, Quinn and Rose in the Morning. One of my favorite quotes from Jim Quinn is “everything before “but” is bull.” When you speak and use the word “but” to qualify the statement, that qualification is nonsense, untrue, a lie, or bull.
In 1946 the price of gasoline was 15 cents a gallon, the average cost of a car was $1,120 and an average house was $5,600 and I wasn’t born. Also in 1946, Economics in One Lesson
was published as an economics textbook. A few questions probably come to mind:
- Why read a textbook?
- Why read a book about economics?
- Why read a book written in 1946?
I bought the book because Henry Hazlitt
is credited as the author of the Broken Window Fallacy and I was interested in the concepts behind the story. I did not realize that it was a textbook and didn’t expect much as I started to read. It only took a few pages to become immersed in the pages.
