Auto Industry Bailout

There is absolutely no reason for an auto industry bailout. They talk about all the jobs that would be lost, etc. but it's just not true. Sure, some jobs will be lost, but do you think if they went bankrupt that they would just shut down and stop making cars? No. Don't you think Toyota or Honda would come along and buy an interest in them very quickly if they went bankrupt? Of course they would.

When it comes right down to it, the auto industry is in trouble because they've been putting out crappy products and now they want us to pay for it! Japan and Korea put out superior machines for a better price.

Let them fail. Someone will fill in the gap.

Don't Mix State And Church

Church and government partnerships always end up hurting the mission of the church. New York City has demanded that 22 churches stop providing beds for homeless people. There seems to be a city rule requiring faith based shelters to be open at least 5 days per week or not at all.

The city claims it has enough beds in its shelters that the displacement won't cause a shortage of places to stay. Which brings us to another problem.... Why is the city providing a charitable service on the tax payers dime when charity is taking care of it? Even more troubling, why are they trying to put the churches out of the business of such things as helping the homeless? The government never likes competition.

Charity comes from private donations and tends to be adaptable to changing conditions. Government "charity" tends to be a solution looking for a problem. Government programs always expand and rarely contract. When it's time for budget cuts, they cut the stuff that people will scream about the most so they don't get cut as much, because they're all about self-preservation, not helping.

NEVER let a government agency have any part of what goes on in your church, you'll only regret it.

The Funny Thing About Language

I love ambiguous headlines. This one from Fox News reads: Skydiver Dies in Second Fatal Jump at Virginia Airport.

The obvious meaning is that there was a previous fatal jump at that airport. The other meaning would be that this is the second fatal jump of the skydiver. Obviously that cannot be the case but it's still funny if you read it that way. Though I'm guessing that it's not too funny for the skydiver.

What was the last thing that went through that skydivers mind as she hit the ground? Her nose.

Why don't blind people skydive? It scares the dogs to death!

If you're skydiving and neither of your chutes open, how long before you hit the ground? The rest of your life!

And the pic is one of my favorites from Despair, Inc.

Now That It's Over

Well, it might not be over; there are still concerns about Obama's citizenship. That could be a real Constitutional crisis. Barring that though, it's pretty much a done deal.

Now what? Well, for one thing, I think this is a repudiation of Bush and his false conservatism which McCain goes along with except that McCain is even more liberal. Maybe now, the GOP will start putting more Reagan like candidates up there. More conservative. Obviously when the GOP runs a liberal, the country moves to the left.

Really though, we're getting the President we deserve. We're getting more liberalism, lots of scandals, more government interference in our lives, more government interference in the markets and in general, a lot less freedom. Make no mistake, we'd have these things with McCain too (except maybe the scandals) but lots more government and a lot less liberty.

We can look for things like an attempt at The Fairness Doctrine being restored, possibly slavery reparations, a civilian national security force (i.e. neighborhood spies) national health care, more money poured down the black hole of education, etc. The list goes on and on and on.

We did it ourselves.

Catching Wild Pigs

I rarely post stuff that was just forwarded to me in email, but this one caught my attention. I wish I would have written it myself.

There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Prof. noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot in his native country while fighting communists who were trying to overthrow the government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line.

The young man said: 'This isn't a joke. You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn.
When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves they accept their captivity.'

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco
subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc., while we continually lose our freedoms just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free lunch! A politician will never provide a service for you that is ultimately more in your best interest than if you had accomplished it yourself, for yourself.

So, if you come to view all of this wonderful government help as a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to tell your friends. If you think the free ride is what those historical figures who founded this nation saw as our destiny, you will likely delete this, but God help you when the gate slams shut!

In this 'very important' election year, listen closely to what the candidates are promising you. It's just possible you may be able to figure out who is about to slam the gate on those within the political fences of America.

Think about this very carefully -- as Thomas Jefferson said a very long time ago, 'A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have.'