The Ant and the Grasshopper

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

Two Different Versions! …………….. Two Different Morals!

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,

building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

And now for the MODERN version…

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green.’

Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant ‘s house where the news stations film the group singing, ‘We shall overcome.’

Rev. Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper’s sake.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back ofthe grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant’s old house, crumbles around him because he doesn’t maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2012.

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Great cartoon for children exposing Socialism

This 1948 cartoon on the pitfalls of Socialism (disguised as “Ism” on the video) might as well be from 2009. Get your children and watch this ASAP.

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Debt is slavery

According to the CBO, at our current rate of borrowing and spending, by 2019 the U.S. debt will be 82% of the overall economy. And this is without adding any more disasters, wars, or new spending programs such as Nationalized Health Care. Think about that for a moment. That’s three quarters, a nickel, and two pennies out of every dollar just to pay for our debt.

If you get paid $1,000 per week, you will actually only have $180 left over of real money. If you sell an item for $200, you’d get to keep only $36 to feed yourself, your family, and your employees. The debt can be stretched out, but the interest is what is killing us, that and too many promises we cannot keep.

Scripture takes a dim view of debt. It was to be avoided at all costs. Passage after passage warns against taking on debt, both personally, and as a nation. It is so bad a situation, that Deuteronomy mentions debt one of the curses of disobedience.

If you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you…You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
Deuteronomy 28:1,2,12

Debt is not just a curse, it is a form of slavery. The indebted has no freedom to work his own will. He is constantly at the mercy of the lender.

Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender
Proverbs 22:7

Our nation’s debt does many things. It increases our stress level as we – the people – fret over our future, and that of our children and grandchildren. It encourages laziness as those who take no ownership of the debt (ie – those who do not pay into the system) feel no obligation towards it. It denies our country the ability to loan to other nations, and therefore collect interest ourselves – which just compounds the money that is lost in this trap. And it denies our nation the ability to give freely to nations which may need our help.

For example, a recently released U.N. report states that hunger in South Asia is at a 40 year high. 100 million more people are going hungry compared to just two years ago. 100 million is just under a third of our population. 1.2 Billion people live on just $2 per day or less. For $3.6 billion dollars, we could quadruple their income. Just not being hungry would have a dramatic effect on the population, increasing their productivity and allowing them to work their way out of poverty.

But the U.S. is actually out of money. It’s gone. Even Obama has admitted it. We are unable to help anyone else because we are in a serious hole with no possible way to dig ourselves out. What is our government doing about this debt? Spending more money, and planning to spend yet more money. We cannot stay on this path. We are spending so much money that people have actually become numb to the word ‘trillion’. It doesn’t mean anything to the average person on the street. We just cannot fathom that much money. So let me try to put it into perspective. In less than 10 years, a 99 cent cheeseburger will cost at least $5.50 – and that is without adjusting for normal inflation. Taco bell is going to have a hard time selling $10 burritos.

I can’t imagine what going to the movies is going to cost.

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$169 Billion…

There has been a massive amount of chatter concerning health care coverage over the past few months. President Obama, and most of the Democratically controlled Congress, believes the solution to health care coverage is to nationalize the system. Nationalizing health insurance itself would be one thing, however they feel the need to nationalize the entire health system, 17% of our economy. Combined with the current increase in government’s size, that would place the Democrats in control of about 40 cents out of every dollar produced.

We know this is impossible to sustain. It is actually impossible to even attempt. Any part of the health care system in this country would do irreparable harm to all those involved, most importantly the patients who depend upon the finest system in the world. It therefore cannot be allowed.

The “problem” the government is attempting to solve, is the claimed 47 million Americans without health insurance. It is not that they are getting poor care, or no care, but that they have to spend their own money on insurance. As someone who has been in that position before, I don’t really see a problem. I have had to go to a “Doc-in-a-box” and shell out $75 for the visit and another $50 for my prescription. I’m a reasonably healthy guy, so no big deal. Now, when I was hospitalized for what seemed like a heart attack, that is where health insurance came in handy.

A “best of both worlds” solution is the type of health insurance I have now. For just about $225 per month (and I’m a smoker with a pre-existing condition), I have $5 million in coverage from a very well known company. Preventative care, like checkups, is completely free, however there is a $5,000 deductible. The deductible is taken care of through the $75 per month added into my Health Savings Account (HSA). The HSA is administered through a debit card that I can use on any health related expense, even aspirin bought at my local grocery store. I can use it for glasses, or to have my teeth cleaned. I have excellent coverage, for right at $300 per month. I can use any doctor, and, the best part is, my rates are guaranteed not to go up for three years.

So, if we gave the assumed 47 million Americans the same health care insurance plan I have, which costs $3,600 per year, the total hit for the taxpayers to cover is $169.2 Billion dollars. That’s it. While expensive, it is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the trillions Obama would need to spend for national health care. And since I’m sure the number is inflated, the cost will only go down. And if the government pays my health insurance company directly each month for the rates, I’m sure a “group discount” would also apply.

We do not need to spend trillions of dollars. We do not need to have our entire health care system ruined in an attempt to provide coverage to 47 million people. All we need is $169 billion or less. Would my plan work? Absolutely. Would Obama accept this plan? Never. The reason is simple, they want power and control over the entire system. They are not looking to solve a problem.

So the next time you overhear some random, Obama bumper sticker wielding Liberal talk about how we need to nationalize the health system, hit him with this number $169 billion.

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Clueless!

“…those who are watching certain new channels, on which I’m not very popular…” Does he hear himself talking? Most Fox News Hosts just didn’t drink the Kool-Aid Il Duce, and they don’t disparage you (not like MSNBC did to Bush), they just report more of the truth than your sycophantic press core.

“…and you see folks waving tea bags around…” I didn’t see one person wave a tea bag. I did see many wave American Flags though.

“Let me just remind them that I am happy to have a serious conversation about how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long term…” No, you’re not Barry – you are lying. You only want to ram your socialized health care down our throats. You won’t debate it, and Reid/Pelosi won’t debate it either. Cutting health care costs down is easy – let the market work. Allow competition to work. What you are going to do is eliminate competition, which will raise health care costs, and introduce artificial scarcity. And by the way, the Tea Parties had nothing to do with health care costs, although it was one of the subjects discussed.

“…How we’re going to stabilize Social Security…” Again, a flat out lie. Dems, and RINO’s have been lying about Social Security for more than five decades. It is a Ponzi Scheme and you know it. You fix it by eliminating promised benefits, pay out to those who need it, and getting rid of the program.

“…an audit of Federal Spending…” This one made me laugh Barry. I half expected to hear a snare drum and crash after this statement.

“…but let’s not play games and pretend that the reason [for the Tea Parties I assume] is because of the Recovery Act…” Ummm, yes it is, along with all the other debt you’ve saddled America’s children, and children’s children with. Then there is the socializing of private businesses, and we know you’re just getting warmed up.

Ugh, I can’t watch anymore…

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Conrad – Democrats and Obama Have Reached Budget Agreement

Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Budget Committee Chairman, announced this evening that Congressional Democrats and Obama have reached an agreement on the budget.

The budget plan, which takes effect on October 1st, is still a ridiculous $3.5 Trillion dollars, it still has tax increases for those earning more than $200,000 per year (and $250,000 per couple), however, Obama’s oft lauded tax cuts for 95% of working families will evaporate next year.

The reason for the early withdrawal of promised tax cuts is obvious, there is just not enough money to pay for everything by only taxing “the rich.” Even with “unrealistic” cuts to the war and defense budgets, on top of a $10 billion per year cut to Obama’s desired $50 billion increase in domestic programs (and capped the rate of increase to only 2.9% per year – which is unlikely to hold), there is still just not enough wealth to spread around. Conrad said

I think this is a good budget, but much more will have to be done to get us on a more sustainable course, including slowing the growth of benefit programs like Medicare and overhauling the tax code.

The Democrats are confident the budget will pass both Houses by Wednesday. However the more dangerous part of the agreement is that the budget plan would prevent Senate Republicans from stopping, or delaying, Obama’s plan to vastly expand taxpayer funded health care when it advances this fall.

We’ll have to keep our eyes on this one. Perhaps the T-Day protest on July 4th will cause some more Blue-Dog Democrats to side with the American People.

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Sean Hannity & Dick Morris…I TOLD YOU SO!

Don’t know if you caught this interview, but it is worth watching again and sharing.

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In Case You Still Think The Mortgage Crisis Is Bush’s Fault

Watch this video, it will only take about eight minutes. A well assembled montage of different clips going all the way back to 2003, when the Bush administration began pushing for more regulation of Fannie & Freddie. Frank Raines, and Jamie Gorelick’s bonuses are also discussed.

If all you have ever watched is a few minutes of the MSM, then you never saw this information. A really great quote is from the lovable Maxine Waters (D-CA),

Under the outstanding leadership of Mr. Frank Raines, everything in the 1992 act has worked just fine, in fact, the GSE’s have exceeded their housing goals. What we need to do today is to focus on the regulator, and this must be done in a manner so as not to impede their affordable housing mission. A mission that has seen innovation flourish, from desktop underwriting to one hundred percent loans

She is admitting that the push to get more low income people into homes is working, completely oblivious to the potential dangers raised by the Bush administration. Dangers which became real problems in the beginning of 2008. These problems caused the financial mess we are in, the financial mess Il Duce credits former President Bush.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but it cannot honestly be lain in Bush’s lap.

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China will aid IMF bond scheme

From China Daily

China is ready to buy bonds issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if the multilateral financial institution’s quota-based contributions fall short of immediate needs, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan wrote in a Friday article for the London Times newspaper.

It was the second time within a week that a senior government official had expressed the country’s willingness to buy IMF bonds.

Earlier this week, central bank deputy governor Hu Xiaolian said China was ready to support the IMF if it decided to raise capital through bond issuance.

In an article titled “G20 must look beyond the needs of the top 20”, Wang said the IMF should set the scale of contributions by per-capita GDP rather than the size of a country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Link to the rest of the story

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Obama’s Energy Plan – Or – The Starvation Diet

There is no question that our country needs a comprehensive energy plan, but how much of it should be government controlled is the true problem we face. So far, we have done alright while mired in regulation after regulation, wild price swings caused by fiscal policy and flaky Arabs, and various attempts merely poking around the edges of an energy policy by various Presidents and congressional busybodies.

Obama is taking a different approach. Some will say “finally.” But then they really haven’t connected all the dots. Il Duce plans on completely starving this country for energy. There is no other alternative explanation. It goes way beyond drilling or Cap and Trade. So let’s take a look at everything so far.

First, he agrees with Congress on preventing drilling for oil. The Continental Shelf is still closed to the best fields, and what was opened in the last administration will soon become closed again. He has directed Ken Salazar to void leases in Utah, and the Department of Interior has begun a review of oil and gas leases sold under the Bush Administration. To add insult to injury, Congress is going to place another 2 Million acres off limits as nature preserves, many of which have known supplies of oil, gas, and oil shale.

The E.P.A.’s Lisa Jackson has begun the process of canceling mountaintop coal mining permits claiming concerns over the environmental impact. So there goes the most efficient way to extract coal. More than 200 current projects have been affected throughout Appalachia as well as thousands of jobs.

Well, what about nuclear? The President just de-funded the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage project, which has burned through almost $8 Billion dollars in it’s 22 years under construction. It would have provided a much safer place to store waste as the facility is over 1000 feet underground and more than 90 miles from civilization. While this might make Harry Reid and some NIMBY Nevada residents happy, it effectively kills additional nuclear reactors being built.

I’ve already posted about attempts to kill several renewable energy projects. Solar and wind farms are under attack as well as transmission lines necessary to carry electricity to population centers. It seems even solar power suffers from NIMBY syndrome.

That brings us to Cap and Trade, effectively the final blow to America’s dependence upon energy. This sinister piece of legislation not only taxes carbon-based fuels in our own country, it also places high import tariffs on imported fuels. Coincidentally, Canada is now looking at Asia as a much preferable market just to get away from our regulatory and tax induced mess. In fact, there will hardly be a country that would want to sell us coal, natural gas, and oil when this system goes into effect. Ethanol might help some at first, but at the expense of food prices. Eventually though, even ethanol won’t save us, and all we’ll have to show for the experiment is a far thinner waistline.

Of course, price will overcome opposition, that’s the law of supply and demand. The prices are going to go through the roof as our population grows and demands more energy. Eventually, rationing will occur, next, only the super-rich will be able to fuel their cars or light their homes. Unless someone invents a small, home-sized fusion generator, I’m afraid we are in for many dark nights.

Oh, someone in the back just asked a question about hydrogen. Hydrogen is a complete non-starter. It has been a way to provide hope, while wasting billions of dollars on an element which cannot supply energy, merely carry it. We might as well hang our hopes on Flubber. Some have written books on the subject, so I’ll suffice it to say that any competent physicist, chemist, or engineer should be able to put this one to rest in a few minutes. If you want to ask about it, I’ll be more than happy to answer questions.

Well, I’d better get to work building my basement methanol production facility so I can keep blogging. Unfortunately, there won’t be anyone who can read it. At least the stars will be easier to see again.

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