It seems that our recent Democrat presidents come from dysfunctional families. I can’t help but wonder why. Did the fact that they came from messed up homes influence them to become Democrats? To become presidents?

Obama had a philandering, often married father.  He wasn’t raised by his parents, and has unknown half brothers and recently discovered relatives scattered around the world.

Bill Clinton was raised by a an alcoholic, abusive, step father and a mother who spent her quality time at the race track. Roger Clinton did prison time and was generally a mess. Bill had other unknown relatives who unexpectdly popped up from time to time.

Jimmy Carter was the most normal. His mother said she wished she had stayed a virgin. His brother Billy went around the world drinking beer, making stupid statements, urinating in public, and brokering bad business deals with America’s enemies.

John Kennedy’s father brought his mistress into the family home. John’s womanizing has become legend.

The Bushes had a few skeletons, but no unknown half-brothers were discovered by the media.

Reagan and Mrs. Ford were divorced, but I don’t remember anything else about them. Nixon was a tight-ass. Eisenhower supposedly had a mistress, but when looking at Mamie, who could blame him?

A few days ago I had a conversation with a Highway Patrolman. I asked him what he does when he suspects someone of doing something illegal, but the guy’s driving is OK and there is no reason to pull him over. He smiled and told me there are enough driving rules so he can find a reason to pull anyone at any time. 

Every day at every level of government laws are passed at the city, county, state, and national legislatures. In addition to these laws bureaucrats write rules and regulations defining and enforcing the laws. And the nation’s many courts pass rulings that define how we should behave and every other aspect of human interaction.

Every feature of everyone’s life is governed by these laws, rulings, and regulations. And they keep coming at an increasing volume. Like the good driver mentioned above, we are at the point where there are so many laws that the most honest and well-meaning citizen can not help but break some of them. In other words we have become a nation of criminals.

When everyone is a criminal, overall respect for the law declines.  We need to sunset laws made at every level of government.

I see in the news that the USPS has run up another multi-billion dollar deficit.  Maybe it is time to re-think the necessity of this monstrosity.

I have lived in Shenzhen, China for more than a year. There is no mail service here like there is in the U.S. China Post consists of a handful of  scattered offices and a few couriers on bicycles. There is no regular scheduled daily mail delivery.

In the year+ I have been here I have had two packages delivered to me, both by private carriers. I have never used China Post.

How do I live without a Post Office? It is simple. No one writes letters any more. Everyone uses email, cell phones, or instant messaging.

China’s is a cash economy. Bills and monthly statements are not needed. You pay as you go. Want to check your bank balance or brokerage account? Use the computer. Make a purchase online or from a catalog? A private carrier will deliver it. Pay your credit card bill? Do it online.

There is no junk mail here. Magazines are purchased at newsstands that are on every block. Newspapers are available online.

In most cases the Chinese way of life is inferior to that in the west. But they are far ahead of the west by not providing expensive, useless, government-funded services like the USPS.

The Post Office was founded in the 1700s. It might have been a good idea then, but its time has come and gone. It is time to kill this money wasting, useless, monstrosity.

I know it will never happen.

Congressman Barton, from Texas, has sponsored a bill for regulating college football bowl games. Some say it would destroy the idea of a national champion in college football unless some sort of play-off series is initiated.

Here is a link to the story.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/121009dnnatbartonbcsfolo.337ad9a35.html

The great thing about Barton’s interest in college football is that he is not spending his time spending my tax money.

Sure, regulating college football is not a legitimate concern of congress, but in politics it often becomes to the lesser of two evils. Regulating college football is definitely the lesser the evil than spending my money to buy votes. And it is much preferable to Barton spending his time and energy writing freedom restricting, or anti business regulations and laws. And it is far away better than thinking about new fees, fines, and taxes to impose on the country.

So I say, “Go Joe!” Maybe you can look at regulating women’s field hockey next.

Press urges action on climate change

The above  was a headline in the December 8, Schenzhen Daily (where I live). The story did not have a byline but was from SD-Agencies.

Here is the story:

  HUMANITY faces a profound emergency and unless we combine to take decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet, a joint editorial published in newspapers in 45 countries said yesterday.

    The 56 newspapers said they were taking the unprecedented step of speaking with one voice to implore world leaders to “make the right choice” at U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen.

    “The politicians in Copenhagen have the power to shape history’s judgment on this generation: one that saw a challenge and rose to it, or one so stupid that we saw a calamity coming but did not avert it,” the editorial read.

    Two weeks of talks opened yesterday seeking to agree curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and raise billions of dollars for the poor in aid and clean technology.

    The talks will end with a summit of 105 world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, on Dec. 18 and must overcome deep distrust between rich and poor nations about sharing the burden of costly cuts in carbon emissions.

    “Climate change has been caused over centuries, has consequences that will endure for all time and our prospects of taming it will be determined in the next 14 days,” read the front-page editorial.

    It was published in 20 languages, including Chinese, Arabic and Russian, in newspapers including the Guardian in London, Le Monde in France, the Toronto Star, Gulf Times, Botswana Guardian and Miami Herald.

    “This should not be a fight between the rich world and the poor world, between East and West. Climate change affects everyone, and must be solved by everyone.

    “The science is complex, but the facts are clear. The world needs to take steps to limit temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius, an aim that will require global emissions to peak and begin falling within the next 5-10 years.

    “A bigger rise of 3-4 degrees Celsius — the smallest increase we can prudently expect to follow inaction — would parch continents, turning farmland into desert. Half of all species could become extinct, untold millions would be displaced, whole nations drowned by the sea,” it read.

    “The question is no longer whether humans are to blame, but how little time we have got left to limit the damage.”

    It urged politicians in Copenhagen to agree the essential elements of a fair and effective deal and a firm timetable for turning it into a treaty, saying next June’s U.N. climate meeting in Bonn should be their deadline.   (SD-Agencies)

I thought the press was supposed to report on events. They are supposed to record history as it happens. Clearly things have changed.

 Here is a link to the Shenzhen Daily:

http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2009-12/08/node_2.htm

Today Time Magazine published their list of the top 10 scandals of 2009. Here is a link to the story.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1946275,00.html

Here is my list of top 10 ten scandals which are not on the Time list. 

1. Climate research fraud. This is still unfolding. It may appear on the lists next year too.

2.Obama fills his administration with lobbyists, insiders, scofflaws, and professional politicians after promising to do the opposite.

3. Failure of the $787 billion stimulus. What has it accomplished?

4. Decline of the dollar. The shameful result of reckless spending by Washington.

5. Prosecution of the Navy SEALs for giving a most-wanted terrorist a bloody lip.

6. Conferring US constitutional rights to terrorists held at Gitmo. I am sure the terrorists wet their pants laughing about this.

7. The Nobel Peace Prize makes itself a laughing stock. Obama was awarded the Nobel Prize. The vote to award it was taken 11 days after he was in office.

8. Government take over of the auto industry. Like the Post Office, GM and Chrysler can count on subsidies forever.

9. Bogus flue scare. Seems to be an annual occurrance lately.

10. Obama’s dithering almost a year on Afghanistan after campaigning that is was the “right war.”

It seems to me that the Democrats and liberals have taken control of the language, and this gives them a huge advantage in debates about policy and programs.

For example they talk about “health care” or “affordable health care” when they talk about the government taking over the fields of medicine and medical insurance in the country. Who isn’t for “health care?” What politician can possibly be against “affordable health care?” To be against these things automatically puts the persons arguing against a government run system at a huge disadvantage.

If the debate could be changed to whether or not the government should take over the medical and health insurance industries in America, it would put both sides on a more equal footing. Unfortunately this wordy description does not fit well into a newspaper headline or on a TV sound bite.

The right needs a language commission to formulate catchy, short, sound bites to go against those on the left.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of examples of the language being usurped by the liberal side of things. I have thought of a few just reading the news today.

Cap and trade = a giant new tax on all energy everyone uses.

Affordable health care (reform) = government provided health care, ala the Post Office, IRS or the DMV.

Hitler was a left wing socialist, not a conservative.

Affirmative action = government mandated racial discrimination.

Investment = spending your money.

Revenue Enhancement = tax hikes.

Budget Cut = Smaller rate of increase than planned.

Stimulus spending = taking money from one person and giving it to another (after siphoning off 40% or more in administrative costs).

Entitlements = same as stimulus spending.

Special Interests = Someone who gives more bribes campaign contributions to the other side than to my side.

I have noticed many blogs, comments and other posts are really pointless, in my opinion. Here are a few subjects that, IMHO, are stupid to write about.

1. If you write about some law or institution being unconstitutional, you are wasting electrons.

2. If you write a highly detailed analysis of a law, a bill, a regulation, a position, you are just putting people to sleep. KISS.

3. Abortion will always be with us and it doesn’t matter where Obama was born. Deal with it.

4. Don’t bother to propose massive changes in the system as a way to solve problems. They will never happen.

5. Praying in schools and other public places will change nothing.

6. Don’t bother to offer advice to politicians. They will never take it.

7. The world is getting smaller and more interdependent. The “good ole days” when the USA could stand alone are gone forever.