Let’s talk “entitlements”

 

 

A month or so ago I posted a letter from my friend Bear who was on a rant about the use of the word ‘entitlements.’  I agreed with him which brought out a fury of people telling me what the word ‘entitlement’ meant.   You know, it isn’t the word ‘entitlement.’  It is the way most people SAY entitlement and what it is grouped with. 

Americans are entitled to Medicare and Social Security, or at least most of them are.  There are probably some exceptions.  My problem comes from the snarl people have when they talk about those taking ‘entitlements.’  Those under 50 often unknowingly go into facial contortions when they utter the word.  Why?  If you are entitled to something, why do others resent it so much?  They will be entitled also…one of these days. 

I think the other thing that bothers me so much is that Medicaid is thrown in along with other forms of what we used to call ‘welfare’ to the ‘entitlements’ conversation.   Now that is just down right irritating because many of the folks pulling from these programs haven’t paid in the thousands upon thousands of dollars that those of us who are entitled to Medicare and Social Security  have paid.    Maybe its the Medi- prefix that just make people relate Medicare and Medicaid.

To those of us who are getting close or who are already there, we resent like hell being lumped in with the medicaid crowd.  Call me an elistist.  I really don’t care.  I worked for years and I paid into both Social Security/FICA and Medicare for what seems like forever and what also seemed like a lot of money.

If MediCARE and Social Security are going to be called ‘entitlements’ then MediCAID and other social programs need to be called something else.  I know that ‘welfare’ isn’t politically correct but neither is ‘entitlement.’  

Do you resent ‘entitlements’ and if so, which ones?  Do you think they will be there for you?  How about the programs for poor people?  Do you resent those?  What do we do about those less fortunate?  Are they entitled to various government programs that most of them have not paid in to?

Is Andrew Breitbart acquiring integrity and decency?

 

 

 

 

From the Advocate:

Conservative website mogul Andrew Breitbart has quit the advisory board for GOProud, saying he has a “zero tolerance” policy for outing people.

Trouble started when GOProud’s Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron reacted to an antigay Rick Perry television ad by angrily taking to Twitter, attacking pollster Tony Fabrizio.

“I’ve just about had it with faggots who line their pockets with checks from antigay homophobes while throwing the rest of us under the bus,” LaSalvia wrote.

GOProud issued a statement defending itself from the ensuing backlash, but that apparently only contributed to Breitbart’s disappointment.

“I have a zero tolerance attitude toward the intentional infliction of vocational and family harm by divulging the details of an individual’s sexual orientation as a weapon of political destruction,” Breitbart wrote on one of his websites, BigGovernment.com. Breitbart said he’d long ago told LaSalvia and Barron about his opinion on outing, which Breitbart said contributed to his “evolution from the political left to the right.”

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Newt catching it from the left and the right

 

 

 

So far, we don’t know what the left will come up with. I expect that SNL will have at least one good Newt sketch.

Remember, Newt is the guy who screwed around on at least 2 of his wives because he loved his country so much and plus he was working too hard. 

Let’s go back to Newt being ok because he came clean. Oh PUH-LEEZ. What has Newt been honest about? Leopards don’t change their spots. I never thought I would be agreeing with the preacher but this has been a strange week. I agreed with Slowpoke a few times and then Steve defended Obama while I ripped in to him. I guess it is only natural that I should expect to start agreeing with evangelical preachers.  Yes, I do get queasy when the earth tilts wrong on its axis.

Just out of curiosity…again…how did the Catholic Church get past the fact that this dude has been married 3 times?  They must be handing out them thar annulments alot easier than they did 40 years ago. 

A refresher course on the Return of Newt.

View You’re a Mean One Newt Gingrich.

Rick Perry goes Brokeback Mountain on us: Is there no end to affrontery?

Ewwwwww, Rick.  Just Ewwwwwww.  He sounds like a commercial for Westboro Baptist Church.

WHAT is he talking about?   Gays in the military has what to do with Christmas?  What children aren’t allowed to celebrate Christmas?   Why is President Obama being blamed for any of this?  

Even Rick Perry’s staff was divided over this political ad.  So is it the bad taste ad of the political season?

How about Ron Paul’s ad?  Pretty clever.  I liked the shih tzu dog part. 

Someone needs to tell Rick Perry that victim mentality just isn’t very presidential.  This ‘war on Christmas’ BS is just that.  I have never felt that I can’t celebrate Christmas. 

 

Scarborough tells secrets about Chris Wallace

Joe Scarborough told some tales out of school on Chris Wallace.  On Morning Joe, Scarborough announced that Chris Wallace loathed Mitt Romney but never said why.  He said it was common knowledge over at Fox News, even though Wallace would deny the allegation. 

 

Romney will appear on Chris Wallace’s Sunday Show this weekend.  In other words, he ventures into the lions’ den.  Political analysts say that Romney has to get over the good guy image and throw a few punches at Newt.  He can’t let someone else do it.  He has to mess up his own hair and get his own knuckles bruised. 

I can’t imagine that a political party who smugly prides itself on its virtue will send Newt Gingrich into the ring against Obama.  Gingrich has an EWWWWW factor that turns ordinary ‘baggage’ into a fleet of steamers.  (Remember the scene from Titanic?)  Newt is a philander who tried to oust others when his own behavior was probably worse.   He was run out of congress on an ethics charge and somehow ended up with over a million dollars from Freddie Mac.  He is the quintessential insider.  Why on earth are Republicans supporting this dirt bag?    I can’t believe people are turning up their noses at Romney and Huntsman in favor of this nasty little man who is long on arrogance and short on consistency. 

I know he’s smart.  Please help me understand the attraction.  I honestly don’t get it.

Open Thread…………………………………………………Saturday, December 10

 

The world looks different now than it did several weeks ago.  All the leaves are finally down on most trees.  What didn’t fall off got blown away by the wind and the rain.  Is the world more transparent now the leaves are gone?  Have you been up on the Skyline Drive when there were no leaves?  Fabulous!  You can look into the soul of the forest.

Obama: Morning-After Pill Decision ‘Common Sense’

Huffington Post:

President Barack Obama said Thursday it was just common sense to keep girls under the age of 17 from being able to buy a morning-after contraceptive pill off a drugstore shelf. Citing his own two daughters, Obama said: “I think most parents would probably feel the same way.”

Plenty of pediatric leaders and women’s advocacy groups did not, as reaction flowed in to the administration’s decision to prevent the over-the-counter sale of the anti-pregnancy drug to sexually active girls of younger ages.

Critics said politics had trumped science, again.

Yes, pretty much.  President Obama, when he took office, pledged a commitment to scientific integrity.  President Obama has said that he had nothing to do with the decision but does support Sebelius. 

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Jews or Lose: Jewish Republican Coalition Forum

Or…who loves Jews more among  our Republican candidates.

Who better to evaluate than Jon Stewart.

 

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So, who won?  Jon has a Yarmulkometer to help keep score with benchmarks like “such a nice bo, calls his mother, a doctor (podiatrist), a real doctor, Mensch, a real Mensch, a super star of David.   But where was Ron Paul. 

 

Another VA Tech Shooting

There has been another VA Tech shooting today.  2 have been killed.  The news reports that VA Tech was very proactive and that students were given information immediately.  The shooter is still at large.  It is unknown if he is pinned down or roaming. 

Stay tuned.

ATF, State Police, FBI are all involved.  The VA State Police has taken over the investigation. 

The students are complaining that it is taking too long to apprehend the shooter. They are in lock down.   Come on kids.  Be  glad it wasn’t you shot.  They do not know the identification of the shooter.  No classes are in session.  Today is what is known as reading day.  Tomorrow begins final exams. 

My nephew is at Tech.  I am not worried.  Too ornery.  His father wanted to ship him back at Thanksgiving. 

VT alert sytsems are amazing now.  All VT computers give an alert, sirens sound, text messaging, etc.

Sebelius nixes emergency contraception for OTC use

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has over-ruled the recommendations of the FDA and ‘the morning after’ pill (or Plan B) will not be made available to everyone as an OTC product.  Girls must be 17 years or older to buy the product without a prescription. 

From Huffington Post:

The Food and Drug Administration recommended on Wednesday that Plan B One-Step, commonly referred to as the “morning-after pill,” be made available over the counter without age restrictions, but an Obama administration official overturned that recommendation.

After ten months of reviewing scientific data, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg decided on Wednesday that emergency contraception should be made available to everyone over the counter.

“There is adequate and reasonable, well-supported, and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of child-bearing potential,” she said in a statement.

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Jay Carney blows off bestialty, ends up in hot water with PETA

White House Press Secretary Jay  Carney got himself in a heap of trouble with animal rights group PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  How did the press secretary get in hot water?

According to the Code of Military Justice, the following regulations have been repealed:

(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense.

(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

During a White House press briefing, World Net Daily reporter Lester Kinsolving threw Jay Carney a real curve ball.  Kinsolving is known for asking ridiculous, outlandish  questions. 

KINSOLVING: The Family Research Council and CNS News both reported a 93-to-7 U.S. Senate vote to approve a defense authorization bill that, quote, “includes a provision which not only repeals the military law on sodomy, but also repeals the military ban on sex with animals, or bestiality.” 

Does the commander-in-chief approve or disapprove of bestiality in our armed forces?

CARNEY: I don’t have any comment on–I don’t have any comment on that. Let me go to another question.

KINSOLVING: Does the President believe this will be approved by all animal support groups, such as –

CARNEY: Let’s get to something more serious.

 

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A Date that Will Live in Infamy-70th Anniversary

 

The destroyer USS Shaw explodes after being hit by bombs.

  Most of the people who lived, first hand,  through the attack on Pearl harbor  are nearly 90 years old.  That’s very hard to believe.  The surprise attack left young men, barely more than boys, running for guns, weapons, anything to fight back with.  Many heroes arose that day.  Not all of the heroes lived to bask in the glory.  Some died and some were sealed in a watery tomb at Pearl Harbor. 

About 100 of the survivors will attend the ceremony at Pearl Harbor.  The ashes of one of the sailors will join the rest of his crewmen who never made it back from December 7, 1941. Approximately  2,390 Americans were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

 

 

According to Voice of America:

Memorial events marking the December 7,1941 attack are being held throughout the country, the largest being on the Pacific island of Oahu, Hawaii, where the attack took place.

A dwindling number of Pearl Harbor survivors and World War Two veterans are among the 3,000 attendees expected at the event overlooking the USS Arizona Memorial, where the submerged remains of the fallen battleship rest. A moment of silence will be held at 7:55 in the morning , the exact moment Japan’s Imperial Navy began the surprise attack.

If you know someone who was at Pearl Harbor, run, don’t walk to talk to them and ask them to tell you of their experience.  Even if you know someone who was an adult on December 7, 1941, talk to them.  Find out what they were doing when they first heard the news.  Where  were they?  What did they think?  Did they ever think how much the news would alter their lives and the lives of their family and friends?  There is so much I now want to ask my parents and grandparents.  Opportunity knocked and I didn’t go to the door.  They are no longer living so I can’t ask them. 

From what I could gather from my relatives, they really were innocents who had no idea what the impact a world war would have on them, the family,  and America.   Pearl Harbor Day is much more than the 9-11- like attack on an unprepared nation.  Pearl Harbor marks the change of an isolationist, fairly agrarian country into a world super power.  The change was  almost instant, and we were never to return again to those times before Pearl Harbor. 

What memories do you have of your family members telling you about that day?  Did you have family members who served?  Did they all make it home? 

Let’s not forget Pearl Harbor and those who who were wounded or died.  Let’s not forget those who altered their lives and threw themselves in to a war movement unequal to anything this country has ever seen before or since.  There is a reason that the ‘greatest generation’ got its name.

A Tree Fighting Ceremony

 

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The Foxies must have zipped down route 7 and visited the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg.

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee has offended the Foxies for doing what his Republican predecessor did, sending an invitation for a Tree Lighting Ceremony.  Lincoln Chafee has defiled Christmas!  The nerve! 

As the Foxies ring the death knell for Christmas, we are reminded that the Pilgrims actually banned the observation of Christmas and fined anyone decorating 5 shillings.  Oooooops.  Christmas Day has not always been the biggie that it is today. 

Why do people want to fight over this issue?  There is no War on Christmas.  Seasons Greetings, Xmas,  and Happy Holidays have been around since I was a kid at least and probably a lot before that.  Let me assure you, ‘since I was a kid’  is a long, long time ago.  

In addition to being a religious holiday, Christmas is also an American holiday.  Why?  Because Americans like it and want it to be an American Holiday.  Christmas is both religious and secular.  The religious part of Christmas is personal and based on one’s religion.  The American part of Christmas depends on customs and local culture.  People of all faiths participate in decorations, carolling, parades and above all, the office Christmas parties.  Americans invite their friends and neighbors in for holiday cheer or something warm to drink.  They don’t check a person’s religion before extending an invitation. 

The Foxies need to let up and quit stirring up trouble where none exists.  Let’s let Americans and Christians continue with the reason for the season, whatever theirs happens to be.

Virginians not so well off if they work for the state

 

Richmond Times Dispatch:

More than 60 percent of states pay their rank-and-file employees better than Virginia.

And when compared to the average salary among Virginia’s private-sector employees, the outlook for state government worker pay in Virginia is even worse, ranking 48th in the nation.

Those startling statistics come from a recently released report from the state’s Department of Human Resources Management using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The numbers are in stark contrast to this year’s analysis of compensation details for 104,552 state employees by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which shows the average state salary of roughly $52,553 — nearly identical to the average salary in the state’s private sector.

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