In Memoriam

Today marks 2 years since the son of this friend was killed. I posted this piece 4 days later, on 2-10-2010. Reposting it today in memory of Christian, & in honor of his parents~

You just go.
I went to a wake today. The teenage son of a High School classmate of mine died tragically this week. It was a sad day; the shocking loss, the burdens to be borne by the parents, siblings. What struck me more than anything else? The caring & tenderness between these bereaved parents - the high school friend & his precious wife. These two – deep & early into their bereavement – shared an almost palpable energy. It held them together as they huddled with visitors; nodding with some, clinging to others. It emanated from him as he helped her to a seat when the weight of their burden took her knees from her. It shone from her eyes as they slid to meet his in a lighter, easier moment.

It had been that way when we he first introduced her at our 20th reunion. The pride swelling in his chest, the adoring smiles & sweetness in each other’s glances told of a love that was rich & true; one that had spanned the stretch of some life together. Today, in the midst of a sadness that few parents know & fewer marriages survive, these two leaned into that love for dear life. You just can’t do that if there’s nothing to lean into. And for these two, there is. Thanks be to God, because they’re going to need it.

Life is not fair. This is not fair. There’s no way to explain that something like this should happen to anyone at all, much less to two bound by such a sweetness, with such an obvious love for their first born. There’s no way to decipher the meaning in the events of this week.

In these moments you simply go. You embrace the shattered mother, friend. You embrace the tearful, heartsick father. You go because it doesn’t matter what you say or don’t say. It matters that you’re there. You go, because they need to know someone will remember their son.

You go, because you would want someone to remember yours.

You go. You just go.

~~~

Of freebies, geeks & Ludwig von Mises...

Few things come free in this life, and I get one of them! My darling friend Sandy is the Editor for our local Republican Women's newletter. I'm not a member of said organization, but I get their newsletter (& membership applications) at each publication -- for FREE! Here's the latest "From the Editor" & man, is it good!

Once a geek, always a geek I guess. I admit it, I have been reading Ludwig von Mises. Doctor von Mises passed away in 1973, but for decades was the most prominent member of the Austrian school of economics.

An ardent capitalist, I think he does a very good job of explaining “the slippery slope” of government interference in the economy. [For example] Let’s just say that we all want the latest cell phone and none of us like paying $650 for it. The Occupy protestors decry that a smart phone is a necessity these days but most people can only afford to pay $100 for a device. They want the government to mandate that the phones be sold for $100. What’s wrong with that?

Well, if this arbitrary price does not cover the cost of production, then the merchants and manufacturers will not sell the phones. They will hold on to them, hoping that the legislation will be repealed and that the devices in inventory can then be sold at a profit rather than a loss.

So, socialist legislators with no understanding of economics, will then move on to not just fixing price, but mandating the sale of the devices. But… because the price is now artificially low, the demand will increase while the supply remains the same. This means that people who go to the electronics store prepared to pay $100 for their government-promised gizmo….go home empty-handed.

NOW, to avoid the anger of the Occupiers who STILL don’t have the latest phone, the legislators must implement rationing. One phone per household. (All the Occupiers are still on mom and dad’s cell plan anyway, right?)

But once all the inventory on hand is exhausted, what company is going to produce a product that they are forced to sell at a loss? No one will and you end up with a scenario where in its attempt to provide a coveted product to everyone, the government vaporizes the availability of the product for everyone.

Smart phones are a silly example, but the basic premise can be applied to any good or service. Think healthcare and be afraid. Be very, very afraid.

~~

Some freebies, like smarts, are -actually- free. And this 'geek' has got plenty.

I'm just glad she's my friend...

~~~

This, sir, is the root of the problem...

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote pasture in Montana, when suddenly a brand-new BMW drove up out of a cloud of dust.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni® suit, Gucci® shoes, RayBan® sunglasses and YSL® tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy,

"If I can tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

Bud looks at the man, who is obviously out of place, looks at his peaceful herd, then calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"

The young man parks his car, whips out his Dell® notebook, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3® cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Web, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get his exact location which he feeds to another NASA satellite, which scans the area with ultra-high-resolution photography.


He then opens the high-res photo in Adobe Photoshop® and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. . .

Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot® that the image has been processed and the data stored. He accesses an MS-SQL® database through an ODBC connected Excel® spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry® and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his miniaturized HP LaserJet® printer, turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.

He looks on with amusement as the young man selects one of his animals & stuffs it into the trunk of his BMW.

Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I tell you what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks for a second, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a U.S. Congressman," Bud says.

"Wow! You're right," says the young man, "but how did you guess?"

"Easy," answered the cowboy. "You showed up, though nobody called you; wantin' to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of equipment trying to show me you're smarter than me; and you don't know a thing about how average people make a living - or about cows, for that matter. . .



This, sir, is a herd of sheep.

Now give me back my dog."

~~~

Donkey Whisperer??

This is RICH! Go Roger Williams!!




LOVED it, didn't you?

~~~

Book Review for a new YOU! (or something catchy like that)

Just for fun: my first read of 2012...

Heal Your Aching Back by Jeffrey N. Katz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Nice overview of spinal anatomy & biomechanics in very readable language. Succinct descriptions of possible back ailments, w/ clear charts. Helpful info re: medications commonly used for back pain - & why they're used. Good info. for someone contemplating surgery, but not heavy on specific exercises for prevention.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

~~~

Christmas Yodeler~

This is one of Otis' favorites. He asked me to share it...

Merry Christmas!

~~~

Republican Nominee for 2012??

NEWT!!

NEWT!!!

NEWT!!!

~~

That's all for today.

~~~

Occupy-Child-Abuse, Mandatory Reporting & Joe Paterno

Stupid, stupid Penn State ‘students.’ Blinding themselves to the potential destruction of innocent lives, in favor of Saturday football scores?

Riots on campus? Grow up & shut up, you ridiculous Occupy-Child-Abuse dolts!

According to reports, one time Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky enjoyed a 15 year window of opportunity (1994-2009) to molest young boys during which “two PSU administrators…stepped aside [after being] charged with failing to notify authorities of a 2002 incident reported by an eyewitness.”

People ---

If. Child. Abuse. Is. Even. Suspected.

One MUST REPORT it!!

Mandatory reporting includes the duty of “Teachers & other school personnel” to report. Statutes also allow for “permissive reporting” – wherein a citizen is not mandated to report, but does so out of moral & ethical conscience. “A report must be made when the reporter, in his or her official capacity, suspects or has reasons to believe that a child has been abused or neglected.”


This includes Pennsylvanians who are required to report “when a person, who in the course of employment, occupation, or practice of a profession, comes into contact with children, has reasonable cause to suspect, on the basis of medical, professional, or other training and experience, that a child is a victim of child abuse.”

Evidence of this ‘scandal’ suggests that Mr. Paterno knew of the abuse, or had heard of suspicions and did NOT fulfill his mandatory obligations to make an official report to authorities. He & his cohorts are therefore COMPLICIT is perpetuating the secrecy wherein the cancer of childhood sexual abuse seethes.

From at least 1994-2009 – 15 years -- children were being harmed. People in positions of authority knew, and did nothing to stand between evil and the innocent. Lose their careers? They should only be so lucky…

~~~

'Dog' spelled backward...

There is a profound reason that 'dog' is 'God' spelled backward.

This is just one of them...

~~~

Things that make you go hmmm...?

Why is it that recent 'Occupy' assemblies are being hailed with such respect & journalistic seriousness, lending them the legitimacy of the "Arab Spring." While...in a parallel galaxy, far, far away, 'Tea party' assemblies were & are lambasted, ridiculed, maligned, besmirched by all manner of media & high profile politicians alike.


Freedom of speech & freedom of assembly, indeed.

(Hmmm...I think I smell a rat...)

~~~

Thanks Michael Franti~

Something for my man~

He knows who he is...

Yep!
~~~

Jack(?) & the Bean(?)stalk~

So I'm in the yard this morning, coffee in hand, waiting for our school bus w/ my daughter. I'm pulling a weed here & there, admiring what surely is the last day lily of the summer. One must know first, it's most unusual to have a day lily bloom (of this variety) past mid July. But here she is - "Brocaded Gown" in all her yellow, ruffled beauty.

And if that's not enough to pique my surprise, I find another curious delight...See, if it's unusual to have a bloom this time of year, it's almost unheard-of for new scapes w/ buds to show up! Imagine the surprise at my good fortune! This one will be "Jedi Dot Pearce," 'long about mid-September!


And yet, I've observed a mysterious vegetation growing like Jack's Magic Beans over the past week, & have had fun puzzling over its identity. (Look closely @ the first picture above, & you'll see its leaves poking into the background, top right.)

It's a robust thing that has begun taking over the bed. I'm of half a mind to whisper, "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum," & start looking for itty-bitty boys amongst its tindrels. Just as I'm humming along with the rest of the rhyme: "Be it alive or be it dead...

...I'll have watermelon(?) with my bread."

~~

*Oh boy*

~~~

The Cost of Being American

Those who are readers of GTBI for a while know my friend Sandy. If not, all you need is to scroll down my right sidebar to the "Find Big Ideas Quick" widget & type in her name. You'll find plenty. She has written guest columns for GTBI and added plenty to the texture of 'comments' discussions. She's back now, with a piece she wrote as the newsletter Editor of her Republican Women's group. I use it @ GTBI with gratitude, and with her kind permission. Enjoy~

"What is the cost of being a citizen of the most free, most fair, most safe country with the greatest opportunity of personal success that the world has ever known? Quite literally, that cost is the annual budget of the United States divided by the number of citizens: $3.8 trillion divided by roughly 300 million citizens, or $12,730 per person per year. That is the fair tax.

A single percentage income tax on all would not be fair. If we were all taxed at say, 3%, a person with income of $10,000 would only pay taxes of $300 while those earning $100,000 would pay $3,000 and those earning $1,000,000 would pay $30,000. And yet we all benefit from national defense, services that lead to social stability, the interstate highway system, etc. Why would it be "fair" to ask some citizens to pay only $300 a year for those benefits, and others $30,000? When we go to the grocery store, there is one cost for all for a loaf of bread. Why are government services so different?

But our system doesn’t even stop there. Our system uses the following graduated tax table:

Marginal Tax Rate[1]
10% $0 – $8,375
15% $8,376 – $34,000
25% $34,001 – $82,400
28% $82,401 – $171,850
33% $171,851 – $373,650
35% $373,651+

According to this current tax table, a person with income of $10,000 pays tax of $1,081, while those earning $100,000 pay $21,709 and those earning $1,000,000 pay $327,644 in federal income taxes. What is fair about that? Someone works hard to increase their earnings 100 times, only to also earn the dubious requirement of paying 303 times more taxes – for receipt of the exact same services.

Let's put this in perspective: if millionaires paid 303 times more for everything, they would pay $600 for every loaf of bread, $1,179 per gallon for gas, $2,485 for a single movie ticket, $5,357 for each pair of Wrangler jeans. Yet the liberals in this country have the audacity to declare that "the rich" should carry even more of the tax burden.

I know this is an oversimplification, and that I have not addressed things like the myriad deductions that skew the taxes actually paid. But that is a different argument altogether. My point is that it is disgusting that our President and the Democratic party are actually calling for more "shared sacrifice." Already, 43% of all Americans pay no federal income taxes.

What -exactly- are they sacrificing?"

[1] United States 2010 federal tax rates per IRS.gov.

~~

Excellent questions.

Thank you once again, dear Sandy. You're one of my heroes.

~~~

"The Roots of Obama's Rage"

So, I've begun in earnest to read a book that has been in my 'stack.' Man-o-man is it gonna be something else...

Dinesh D'Souza, President of King's College, author, speaker, political scholar, speaks about his book: The Roots of Obama's Rage.



Naturally, Mr. Obama's sycophants in the MSM have run to his aide, disputing Mr. D'Souza at every turn. Read them if you like...But first, take a listen to Mr. D'Souza himself, & get a gander at the end of Chapter 1:

"Clearly in Barack Obama we are dealing with a strange, complex man. Ironically we have ironed out that strangeness by making Obama the embodiment of American multiculturalism. Somehow we have taken this lonely, driven figure and turned him into an image of diversity. He is our Kumbayah man, our post-ideological president, an ultra-modern leader with a twenty-first century agenda. Obama recognizes this; he has himself commented that 'I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views' ...But whatever Obama is, he is not diverse or multicultural, at least not in his thinking or his fundamental values...He is fighting a private war that started far away and goes back to the middle of the last century, with roots that are even earlier. If we want to understand his actions in America and in the world, we have to understand Obama as he really is, not as we want him to be."

I'm intrigued. It was all I could do to put the book down and write this post. As we embark down yet another election trail, please do 'due diligence' and read this book; find out who this man is, before we risk placing him at the helm of our great Republic - again. In the end, what our MSMedia won't do for us, we must do for ourselves...

~~~

"Doorbell" (Cloward/Piven style...)

My wise friend Z, who made an excellent point about my last post:
"Let's just get Morris out of this equation if we must..." when another commenter insisted on arguing about the personality of Mr. Morris, rather than the REality of our problem: Government SPENDING.

Let us not chase rabbits into warrens...



STOP SPENDING!

STOP. SPENDING.

Just stop.

~~~
(Curtsy to Nancy)

Dick Morris' Crystal Ball~

I just love Dick Morris~

The next 16 months may not play out exactly as Mr. Morris 'predicts,' but his history with these matters is deep, & his searing ability to 'read the tea leaves' is proven enough for me. I say, "Hang on Tea Party & Fiscal Conservatives. Your time is coming!"

"Republicans proved they can govern by passing their one-house debt limit increase. Their fiscal conservative credentials are intact. And Obama looks, once more, like a weak and easily cowed incompetent to his backers and a big spending and borrowing liberal to the rest of us.

Game to Obama. Set and Match to the GOP."

Bravo, Mr. Morris!

~~

And to the liberal congressional leaders (& their prince BHO) I say,
"Read my lips: NO MORE SPENDING!"

~~~

Summer fun~

You'll recall I did a post last summer about my kids' swimming. So here's the Team update: Undefeated season, winners of the Greater Region Swimming Championships ("City Meet"), and League Finals Champions! ~It really is what we do in summer~

My baby girl, flying...

My 'baby' boy, on a long reach...


My other 'baby' boy...

I call it "wingspan"

~~

Man!

I love summer!

~~~

Thomas Edison's Broken Bulb

Went to another writing workshop today, friends.

I'm kinda getting used to the way these things run, & have learned to "go with" what strikes me. Today we were presented with a table full of postcards. We were asked to select one & write a travel diary entry that would represent its story. The card that "struck" me was a picture of a broken lightbulb. I knew why, even as I walked back to my seat, & could hardly get to my pen/paper fast enough. What flowed from my pen was not exactly what one would call a 'travel diary entry,' but I wrote "my truth" in the moment nonetheless.



Thomas Edison's Broken Bulb

Time crashes forward as waves in the surf. We are a remnant of life once lived, now drowning in bureaucracy, swallowing, sputtering, choking.

Will we find, on the slick coral, purchase to propel ourselves loose? Will we ever twist free of that which ensnares us?

Bureaucracy cannot, must not filter its tentacles into our lives so deep, such that we trap ourselves within our own collective power.

God help us! Prevent this suicide from on-high, from within.

Else, like the broken bulb - or Atlantis - our culture will lie in shattered ruin at the bottom of the ocean floor.


Yep. My truth.

I do NOT like the "new light bulbs" that the Federal government is forcing me to now use.

I do NOT appreciate the intrusion into my personal space, my home, my way of life. That should NOT be the government's role in American life, and I resent it. In my humble opinion, it's the beginning of that proverbial slide down a 'slippery slope' into a dark place in history, maybe even to the bottom of the ocean floor.

~~

Don't Tread on Me.

~~~

Seven Degrees of Otis

Been a while, friends~ It's swim team season again. . .

And also, I spent a week working with writer & teacher, Pat Schneider; a wonderful teacher of creative writing. Terrific!

Two days ago, my Dad & Otis were on a play-date - fishing. No kidding ~ Dad texts me & says, "Can Otis go out to play?" This is not unusual. See, my Dad is a dog magnet, & Otis has this steel plate. . .

Here's a poem I wrote while working with Pat Schneider. It says it all:

Seven Degrees of Otis
after Wallace Stevens (& Kevin Bacon)

I
He is the small, bobbling tail,
short-legged-Russell-doggie
love of my life.

II
Most pointedly, the only one: bobbling tail,
that has ever really connected with the true me.

III
Sounds ridiculous, and makes me feel a bit neurotic,
but I truly, surely
love his little spirit.

IV

And he understands me.
I can see it in his
supple brown eyes, fringed with furnishings and knowing.

V
And then there’s Daddy!
Ah! They are just best friends, fishing buddies, snack hounds,
those two.

VI
What does it say about a man,
whose best friend, almost literally,
is his daughter’s dog? Ha!

VII
Funny! So joyful and happy and sweet a soul is my Otis!
God knows what He’s doing, indeed, (and Cesar Millan is right)
matching him with me.

~~
Seven degrees of Otis,

indeed.

~~~

Israel: The Miracle Soldier

On Facebook, I'm 'friends' with the organization United with Israel.

Their June 12th post tells the story of a "fresh groom named Aharon Karov, sent to the frontlines of the Gaza war in 2008* a day after his wedding. He was critically injured by a bomb blast during the first days of the war...'The injuries were very bad, but in the end there was no injury to the brain,'...Today Aharon is healthy and his recovery has been hailed as nothing short of miraculous, especially in light of early predictions he would not survive at all."




For most of us, war is an utterly remote concept about which we fancifully form opinions - sometimes based on the whims of pop culture. We have no idea what it's like living your life in a daily battle for the very ground under your feet. Young Mr. & Mrs. Karov do, & I stand with them.

~~
May God bless & keep the people of Israel.

~~~

*Original post read "2006," which is a typo, as the Gaza war was a 3 week conflict which began-ended in 2008.

Depth Perception

A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about a time of personal struggle. I didn't have 'answers' to why the struggling happened, & had no evidence of the 'good' that God would bring from it. But slowly, and with certainty, I'm gaining perspective on that difficult 'season' in my life. I have begun to catch glimpses of the fresh, clean growth that results from a severe pruning performed with precise and sure timing. . .

There's growth still to be gained, & depths yet to be plumbed. But there comes a time we simply must release our efforts, & let time and distance carry new perceptions into view. I realize not all the answers are at my disposal, and may never be. And that's okay, I think, somehow.

Laura Story's "Blessings," speaks with extravagant tenderness, as to why . . .



The singer/song writer's own words:

~New depth. Fresh perceptions~

Thanks be to God.

~~~

Macro-Photography: All in the Family

Just returned from a family reunion, where our family spent a marvelous time in the mountains of North Carolina. Kids, babies, Aunts, Uncles, my 96 year old Grandmother...

While getting back in touch with each other, I learned that my cousin Richard has gotten into Macro-photography. He has a terrific website to display his photography.

Because he sees things that the ordinary eye may not -- and has begun to capture it -- I wanted to share. Here's just an example: several years ago he found a rock while walking on the beach. He called it his "heini-rock" because - well, it looks like a 'heini'.

What do you see?







Take a minute, go by & see Richard's photos.

You'll be glad you did!

~~~

Obama on Israel: Indefensible.

Mr. Obama has no idea what he's doing. His statements on Israel's 1967 borders, & then his swift backpeddling over the weekend reveal his ineptitude on Israeli foreign policy - foreign policy generally.

His remarks on Israel were indefensible, metaphorically speaking: there's NO DEFENSE for his position, no spin that can explain away how WRONG he is about this. And quite literally, there's NO DEFENSE for Israel, should Mr. Obama get his way (heaven help us, all).

This fascinating clip explains why:


Curtsy to Sig94

View. Understand.

Then pray for Israel. Pray for America.

Backpeddle, indeed.

~~~

Wisdom of the Day: FB on Israel

"People against Israel really need to be careful of what they say and do...Israel takes crap from no-one when push comes to shove.

I think the Big O just shoved a little..."

~ Facebook commenter

~~~

Gettin' Public Enemy #1 or #2...

The Left likes George W. Bush in the political spotlight.

Alrighty, then:

George W. Bush speech after capture of Saddam Hussein:

"The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq . The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate 'em."


Barack Obama speech after killing of bin Laden:

"And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan . And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad , Pakistan."

~~

They say you should be careful of the words you choose, they tend to reveal your character.

~~~

Shame on you! Bin Laden's dead...

Hi friends~
I've been on Facebook a lot lately, working on my writing stuff: making lots of good connections with other writers, editors, etc.

I've learned that FB doesn't have to be all about, "I'm having a latte @ Starbuck's. Wish you were here!" or "In the grocery, picking up pork chops..." Thank goodness, b/c no form of social media could be any sillier, or useless, in my opinion. Besides, who CARES?

Which brings me an NPR article that I found just now on FB: "Cheering the End of Bin Laden: Let the Kids Yell." You may guess I'm not high on National Public Radio as a media source, but this article is a solid voice in that wilderness. Please read the short piece & tell me what you think...

~~

And just because you're here, this is my take:

I absolutely, wholeheartedly, without question agree with her assessment. This is esp. to the point: "But I think people are mistaking relief and a release of fear and collective breath-holding for hate."

It's just plain BORING to me to see the Media playing to such type that they can't "get" the real reason people are cheering. (As if they - the Media- are above being human, eschewing simpleton's emotion...). Any rational, fair minded person will not cheer & jeer death. This is far too serious a matter for that. However, there is something in our collective consciousness that acknowledges justice served -- and why not?

Are we not human?

And are we to be shamed for our humanity?

If so, I find myself duly shamed. But that doesn't mean I'll wear it.

~~~

~Easter~

~Easter is accomplished, friends~

The stone is rolled away; He lives!

Stand in fresh hope; step forward into new Life.

We are Easter People.

~~~

GOP Nomination: 2012 Predictions

Intriguiging...

What do YOU think?

Is Mr. Morris correct? Off base?

Sound off...!

~~~

Tax Dollars at Work: for Mexican Truckers

U.S. taxpayers foot the bill to upgrade Mexican truck emissions Kimberly Dvorak, San Diego County Political Buzz Examiner
April 12th, 2011

Now that the Obama Administration has okayed the Mexican trucking industries to do business in America, pesky environmentalists want those trucks to operate within U.S. standards. Lucky for the Mexican truckers, the U.S. taxpayer will pick up the tab to upgrade foreign-owned trucks ensuring their emissions meet environmental standards. According to air-quality regulators, state or federal agencies cannot force trucks purchased and manufactured in Mexico to operate within the much-higher air-quality standards inside the U.S. So clearly another problem with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) presented itself.

However, the folks at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) decided to implement a new program. (heh, heh) They decided to approach Mexican truck drivers with a compromise, the U.S. taxpayer will pay the approximately $1,600 to install a new catalytic converter that will reduce the harmful diesel emissions by 30 percent and the Mexican truck drivers can drive in the U.S. knowing they are not unnecessarily polluting the environment. The environmental agency in Arizona simply went to the federal government (who is flush with borrowed cash) and created a new federal grant program. Problem solved- no need to have the Mexican government pay to have the trucks upgraded in order to travel and trade freely in the U.S., nope the taxpayer is happy to pick up the bill. (and how!)

“It’s about establishing this relationship on environmental issues,” says ADEQ Director Henry Darwin. “It’s especially important on air quality because you can’t stop the air from moving across the border.” Darwin says the best solution is to use the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) money to fix the Mexican big rigs. (Seriously?)

However, independent U.S. truckers are not entitled to the same deal. “If I don’t pass my smog test I have to pay to fix my truck in order to get it registered,” says Tom Matthews of San Diego. “Not only are these rigs getting taxpayer money to upgrade their trucks, but they are competing with me for work. That’s just plain wrong.” (um, yeah?)

While Mexico does very little to protect the environment, it remains to be seen if retro fitting their fifth-wheeler trucks will change anything in the grand scheme of things. For example Mexico still burns its trash and the majority of the cars on the road are big-time polluters. But Darwin contends, “That it’s really the first step.”

Matthews just wishes he could get the same deal.

~~

Is there no end to the madness? (Is it any wonder American business can't compete?)

Enough is enough, people.

~~

Found this article via the Facebook page of my friend Mason Weaver. He's a Conseravative warrior on the Left Coast. I met him once after hearing him SPEAK in Winston-Salem, and consider him a good friend.

If you're on FB, find him & join him in the fight for the heart & soul of our nation.

~~~

When Johnny met Harry

....so then John Boehner says to Harry Reid,

"Okay honey, I'm calling the credit card company to raise our limit. But in the future, we need to seriously cut down on our spending."

And Harry answers back, "I knew you'd see it my way, dear."

Disgusting.

~~~