Thursday, September 7, 2006
THE UNION MENTALITY AT WORK
I mentioned yesterday that I was going to take a few days of vacation next week. This prompted an email from someone named Craig. Do you want a good dose of the union mentality at work? Fine. Here you go. Here is what Craig had to say about my vacation: "Neal, its nice to see you take a well deserved holiday that was originated by the unions! Finally, you have come to see the wisdom of them! Welcome aboard!"
Well --- I did some research. And what do you know? Craig was right! Never in the history of man's labors has any man or woman ever taken any time off from work with pay until unions brought the paid vacation into existence! What's more, extensive psychological research has shown that if it hadn't been for the mob mentality of unions, no individual worker would ever have come up with the idea of negotiating an employment contract that would provide for an annual salary with two, three, four or more weeks off! We owe it all to unions! Now ... if you want to get down to the bare truth, there is no such thing as a paid vacation. Take a two-week vacation, for example. When you are hired your employer knows that he is going to get about 50 weeks of labor from you. He is going to place a value on that 50 weeks of labor and is then going to pay you for that labor over a 52-week period. He is not paying you for not working. He is merely taking your earnings for the 50 weeks you do work and spreading those earnings out over the entire year. In many cases an employer will actually pay you if you decide to work during one of your vacation weeks. Why? Because that employer is getting extra value from you ... effort he didn't bargain for when your original employment contract was negotiated. Other employers won't pay you for working during a vacation week because they know that a rested employee is a happy employee. Well, Craig. I'll let this one go now so you can run into the bedroom and put on your union t-shirt and head to work. Sometime during the day you might want to actually remember that you're not working for a union, and the union isn't paying your salary. But that might be a bit too much to ask from someone who would send an email like yours. SECRET CIA PRISONS CONFIRMED
President Bush confirmed yesterday the existence of secret CIA prisons abroad yesterday. This was one of the worst-kept government secrets in the last 5 years. The New York Times even told us which countries hosted the secret prisons, causing Islamic terrorists around the world to adjust their target list. At any rate, back to Bush's speech yesterday.
The admission came in a speech yesterday at the White House where some of the 9/11 family members were in attendance. Said the president of the terrorists: "They're still trying to strike America and still trying to kill our people." Bush went on to say we have to be able to "detain, question and, when appropriate, prosecute terrorists captured here in America and on the battlefields around the world." Of the 14 terrorists being transferred from the secret CIA prisons to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba....some big names are on the list. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, for instance...former third in command at Al-Qaeda.
So there you have it...the president admits we have secret CIA prisons. Expect howls of criticism from Democrats, the mainstream media, the United Nations, Amnesty International, the Axis of Weasels and other appeasement groups around the world. They're going to complain that we aren't offering due process to Islamic terrorists. They're going to complain that we're torturing people. President Bush, while saying the alternative methods of interrogation used in the prisons were tough, he did not say it amounted to torture.
The bottom line? Who cares. These prisons, in one form or another, have existed in virtually every war America has fought. The people we are holding there are the Islamic scum of the Earth and as enemies of the United States who are not part of an organized Army, we can do with them whatever we please. It's not going to matter what George Bush admits we're doing or what we're not doing...in the eyes of many around the world, it's still the evil United States. We'll be accused of it anyway.
Of course Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will be right there defending the "rights" of these Islamic murderers and working on their appeasement platform. Some things never change.
HERE COMES THE PRESIDENT OF IRAN
It's hard to believe, but then again I guess nothing should be a surprise in this world. The President of Iran, a country with which we have not had official diplomatic ties with in almost 30 years, has decided to visit the United States. In particular, he wants to come to the United Nations and speak to the General Assembly September 19th. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he wants to debate President Bush at the U.N. on that day, since Bush is also scheduled to make a speech there. The insane leader of the rogue Islamic terrorist state issued this statement through an official Iranian news agency: "My forthcoming visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly would be a suitable opportunity to hold the debate and all world people, especially the Americans, could hear and watch it without censorship." Well isn't that special?
Here's a question: is the Bush Administration actually going to allow this? We really can't stop him. One of the prices we pay for hosting the U.N. Headquarters. The former terrorist president of Iran is scheduled for a visit in the next day or two also! Harvard University, the august educational institution that once bowed to pressure and withdrew a speaking invitation to Ronald Reagan, is going to let this weird beard speak on campus! But letting Ahmadinejad in just crosses the line. Iran is our sworn enemy. Iran is a state supporter of terrorism, including Al-Qaeda. Iran is furnishing support and arms to the insurgency in Iraq. Why on Earth would we allow this nutcase into our country? Another good reason to seize Haiti and give it to the United Nations. It can be Annan's Vatican.
11 KEYS TO VICTORY IN NOVEMBER
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich recently wrote up a list of what he says are 11 things the Republicans need to do to retain control of Congress this fall. The Speaker says it's still possible for the GOP to stay in charge, but not without substantial changes to their policy and following a new plan, which he outlines. It's an interesting list....but mostly dead-on. In particular, a few points stand out. They are:
- Controlling the borders. This seems like common sense, but when it comes to government, there's usually no such thing as common sense. People are tired of the illegal alien invasion. They're tired of our porous borders and they're tired of millions of illegals roaming free...committing crimes and using public resources. The public wants something done. They want our border to be fortified and the illegals to be sent back. Gingrich says House Republicans should pass a bill and let the Democrats oppose it. Good idea, which is why no one will do it. But the Republican Party is ignoring illegal immigration at its peril.
- Restore property rights. Gingrich hits the nail on the head here, bringing up the Kelo vs. New London, Connecticut Supreme Court decision. He says the House should pass a bill reinstating the pre-Kelo rules on eminent domain and blocking the Supreme Court from reviewing it. Unfortunately politicians of every political stripe who believe in the power of government will want to stand in the way. But this is an easy one....the high court decision is extremely unpopular and legislation would be a slam-dunk.
The rest of Gingrich's list has ideas like controlling spending and balancing the budget, as well as focusing on Iran and North Korea, etc. He says all the GOP has to do is return to its Reagan roots and remember what put them in power in the first place. Unfortunately, that lust for power has put the Republican majority on par with the members it replaced: intoxicated by government spending and the power that comes with it.
REDNECK SCRAP BOOK We'll take a break from pictures today and define a few redneck medical terms for you. More in the Redneck Scrap Book. READING ASSIGNMENTS
President Bush recently caused controversy by referring to "Islamic fascism." Victor Davis Hanson says Bush was just calling terrorism what it is....Islamic....and fascist. It's hard to argue with the president's statement when you look at the facts.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says it would be impossible to pass an immigration bill that deals with the 12 million illegal aliens already here in the weeks before the fall election. That attitude is not going to help his party keep both houses of Congress.
Democrats are upset about an upcoming special on 9/11 that ABC is airing. Apparently they don't like scenes that show how inept the Clinton Administration was at handling Osama Bin Laden. Especially upset is Sandy Pants Berger, who called the parts of the movie about him fabrications.
Never forget the following rule about liberals: when they can't debate you on the merits of your ideas and when they have nothing else to say, expect them to call you Adolf Hitler and compare you to the Nazis. That has happened to Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who was compared to Hitler by the president of the AFL-CIO in his state.
This is sort of interesting....a panel of 8 Israeli experts says they would like to see former New York Mayor Rudolph 'Rudy' Giuliani become president of the United States. Also on their list: the usual suspects...such as McCain, Hillary, etc.
A recent poll done by the Associated Press says the Republican Party is losing its hold on Southern women. Their biggest frustration: the war in Iraq. Will it be enough for Democrats to get 15 seats in the House and 6 in the Senate? Maybe.
Robert Novak takes a look at Bob Casey's performance on 'Meet The Press' Sunday, in which he appeared with Rick Santorum, the person whom he is running against for Senate. Novak says Casey fell flat in a few areas.
It's hard to know for sure whether or not Democrats are going to be able to pull off a big win in the mid-term elections and take control of the House and Senate. But David Hill says it may come down to independent voters who want change...and that's bad news for the GOP.
As the Valerie Plame controversy comes to a close, Ann Coulter says it was a media-generated controversy from the get go. Plame was not a covert agent at the CIA and Patrick Fitzgerald was investigating absolutely nothing.
It's been said that those who support the war in Iraq but never served in the military themselves are "chicken hawks." Larry Elder is astonished at the Left's sudden admiration for military service and wonders when that all started. James's Taranto's Best of the Web Today from The Wall Street Journal. Another story of the horror of government education. In this case we have the Los Angeles Unified School District doing everything it can to circumvent the law so as to keep children in failing schools. Not to worry though. All we need to do is spend more money. Right? OK ... if you've read down this far in the reading assignments, you'll be more than thankful that I provided you with this link to an amazing video! Galveston County, Texas' retirement plan outperforms social security...by far. |