Uncle Sam Theatre

Don't miss this poignant video. (Bet you're wondering what it's about, huh? Well, why don't you click and see...)

Tea Parties and Town Halls

All we heard about during the campaign of 2008 is how change will come. Unless you've been under a rock somewhere, you recognize that change has come, some of it not exactly what I think many were hoping for.

Before becoming president, Barack Obama noted, "Change will not come if we wait for another person or some other time." (Feb 2008) It is one of the few things that he's said or done that I agree with. He has certainly done his share of changing things, or attempting to, inside the beltway since January. It is those changes, or attempts, that have many people up in arms and ready to stand up and speak out. And that's a change that I bet Obama wishes hadn't come.

I remember reading a political analyst's blog earlier this year that compared the political tea party movement to Obama's campaign -- both brought many people out to engage in politcs, many of them for the first time ever. Nothing wrong with that. What I do have a problem with, though, is now that the tables are turned and people are expressing opposition to his ideas rather than drinking the Koolaid, those people are being labeled as radical extremists. I suppose he doesn't recall his comments in February of this year, "The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate."

To this I raise my glass and say, "Make my tea sweet and and let's visit at the picnic table."

Additionally, kudos to those folks who have taken the time to show up at town hall meetings to express themselves and remind the elected officials that they were elected by us, work for us and can be voted out of office by us, the screaming mobs, as we've been called. It reminds me of a playground squabble where the bully pushes the scrawny kid around until the scrawny kid realizes he might not be able to out-muscle the bully, but he can outsmart him. Then the bully runs crying to the teacher. Come on, you're in the big house now, not the schoolyard; run it like a man, dude.

Stop trying to scare folks into sitting down and shutting up lest they be investigated. The encouraging of citizens by the White House to send to the White House 'fishy' emails or claims regarding health care reform is nothing more that intimidation and borders on a violation of free speech and right to privacy. Doesn't quite line up with his remarks at the 2004 Democratic National Convention: "The true genius of America...that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution."

To this I raise my fist and say, "Right on and write on!"

All you tea partiers and town hallers out there, keep the words of JFK in mind as you press on: "One person can make a difference and every person should try." Hear, hear!

Good Morning, Mr. President

I've never been more thankful for my private healthcare than today, Mr. President. In the span of just under two hours, my son was seen by a primary care physician who referred him to a specialist who saw him imediately. Not tomorrow, not in a few days, not in a few weeks. We are talking about being referred and receiving an appointment in a matter of 20 minutes.

Was it expensive? No more than a monthly cell phone bill. Was it a strain on the budget? Coulda been. But because we were taught to take responsibility for ourselves, live within our means, and prepare for times when the goose might not be laying golden eggs, we were able to seek treatment without having to worry about how to pay the bill.

Do the healthcare system need some reform? Yes. Is nationalized healthcare the answer? No.

Clean Energy and Healthcare

Look who all is getting along these days:

AL District 1 - Jo Bonner (R)
AL District 2 - Bobby Bright (D)
AL District 3 - Mike Rogers (R)
AL District 4 - Robert Aderholt (R)
AL District 5 - Parker Griffith (D)
AL District 6 - Spencer Bachus (R)
AL District 7 - Artur Davis (D)

Every one of these U. S. Representatives voted NO on H.R. 2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, quite possibly the largest tax increase in American History. Send them a quick thank you.

While you're at it, remind them to vote NO on universal healthcare, also. Because I don't know about you, but I don't really see people who can, as President Obama put it, keep their existing healthcare coverage when universal coverage becomes available, continuing to pay for medical insurance out of their own pocket. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

Look, I'm not interested in seeing people suffer because they can't get treatment beacuse they don't have insurance. And I don't want to see people go without their medicine because it costs too much. But neither do I want to foot the bill for those who fail to make provisions for themselves.

I believe there is much room for charity in this world. We all could do better by our family members and neighbors. But as I've said before, if I give it to you, it's charity, or benevolent goodwill. If someone takes it from me to give to you, it's theft. And the last time I checked, thievery was against the law.

A Must Read

The Letter...amen, sister, amen!

Big Brother Is Watching

Listen, I'm no conspiracy theorist (although I'll go to my grave thinking Hilary Clinton had something to do with JFK Jr's death), but what's up with this incessant need to know everything about me? Target scans the barcode on the back of my driver's license when I write a check, collecting all my info, not just license number and date of birth. The new US passports have a computer chip embedded in the cover for 'quicker processing' they claim, but in reality it gives a full account of where to and when you travel. Now President Obama wants centralized, computerized health records. What's next, toilet seats with infrared technologies to recognize whose crap is left in the bowl so they can track you down if you require more than one flush, thereby raising the water usage level for the day and contributing to global warming? Geez, get a life, big bro.

David Letterman Should Be a Better Man

Don Imus was fired for calling a bunch of girls a name...boycotted, ridiculed, fired. But David Letterman gets to call Palin a slut and her daughter a loosey goosey and gets an 'atta boy.' Honestly, how much further can we spiral downward? I'm sure his mother is so proud of him...

Transform Her, Please!

Megan Fox might be beautiful but the Transformers star is stupid! Read her statement in an interview she did recently when asked if she could convince Megatron not to take out the world, how she would do it:

“I think I would make a deal with him and say instead of the entire planet, can you just take out all the white trash, hillbilly, anti-gay, super-bible beating people in Middle America?”

Well, as my kids like to remind me that I've reminded them, you can't call someone stupid just because they disagree with you. So, let's say the people I am calling stupid are those in this country, or world for that matter, who refuse to see that if I, or any other born again Christian, were famous and made a comment like that, I'd be crucified and labeled as bigoted, narrow-minded and intolerant. I'm not asking them to agree with my values and ideology, I am simply asking for them to open their eyes and see that what they are doing is exactly what they are asking us not to do. Wishful thinking, huh?

Tea Party Signs

Here are some of my favorite signs that folks were holding up at tea parties all around the country yesterday:

Don't Spread My Wealth - Spread My Work Ethic

Don't Tax Me, Bro

Obamanomics - Not My Cup of Tea

You Are Not Entitled to What I've Earned

Good Morning, Mr. President

The Montgomery Advertiser has a sidebar column titled "Good Morning Governor." Mostly, it's an opportunity for the editor to support or disagree with something the governor has said or done in recent days.

Here is the first (of many I'm sure) of my good mornings to the president:

"A wise and frugal government...shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."
Thomas Jefferson, March 4, 1801 (in his first inaugural address)