Political Humor

Recently received a joke in my email that hit the spot:

Five surgeons are discussing the types of people they like to operate on.

The first surgeon says: 'I like to see accountants on my operating table, because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered.'

The second responds: 'Yeah, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is color coded.'

The third surgeon says: 'No, I really think librarians are the best; everything inside them is in alphabetical order.'

The fourth surgeon chimes in: 'You know, I like construction workers...those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over.'

But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed: 'You're all wrong... Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There are no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains and no spine. Plus, the head and the ass are interchangeable.’

Hey, you gotta be able to laugh; or else you might have to cry.

CP

Economics 101 and responsibility

The major story for the past several weeks has been the ever climbing price of gasoline in the USA.

To be sure, it is climbing to unprecedented levels in the US. But even $4.09 /gallon is cheap compared to many parts of the western world. In Italy, the locals pay Euro 1.57 per liter. That works out to something like $2.50 per liter, or $9.11 per gallon. To put this into perspective, I recently paid slightly over $32 to fill up the 5-gallon gas tank on my motorcycle!

But perhaps I digress.

Regardless of how much others pay for gas, Americans are feeling the pinch in their wallet. Those that have little in the way of discretionary income, are having to cut back in other areas to afford the gas they need to get to work, school, etc.

In Salt Lake City, a pair of "angry" kids protested, because their mother decided to cancel the Cable contract to save money for gas.

Whilst I applaud the kids for using democratic means to voice their opinion, it also shows that the mother missed a golden opportunity to teach her children basic economics, not to mention to reinforce the notion of responsible money management. She probably can't be blamed for the former, as like most Americans she is probably woefully undereducated about economics.

Gas prices have raised because of the simple principle of supply and demand. Simply put, demand has steadily increased globally while supply is constrained. Those that say that drilling in Alaska or offshore would have no effect are lying or naive. Increase supply, and cost will go down. And it will happen sooner than the ability to actually get any of that oil to market, as it will send the speculators out and cause others (OPEC, Venezuela, etc) to increase production now.

Of course, there are other parts of the equation, not the least of which is our woefully inadequate US refinery capacity, currently working at near 100% capacity. This needs to be increased with new refinery construction using the newest technologies. But the first and foremost thing that will help the prices we pay at the pump is increased output, and you only get that from more drilling.

True, you can attack the problem on the demand side, as well. And we should. Alternative sources of energy, conservation, etc... all will help on the demand side. But we must realize that demand is global, and while we may conserve and shift our sources of energy, other economies will continue to increase demand overall. So again, the best way to address this is to increase production.

Mrs. Vance missed this opportunity to teach her kids a basic truth. Rather, she was apparently happy to have them go out and "demonstrate", as if there is some power (government? big oil?) that can wave a magic wand and reduce the prices we all pay... for anything?

The other opportunity Mrs. Vance missed was in instilling in her children the notion of responsible income management. How great it would have been for Sadie and Pyper to participate in the budget discussion at the dinner table... to compare income with what they spend, and analyze just what was necessary, and what was discretionary. Then help the family to decide what to give up to save the required amount. Perhaps they would have come up with something different... eliminating the weekly pizza dinners, or reducing some other area of their lives. Maybe they would have agreed with the cable reduction, but if they were a part of the process, they would have not only better understood the situation, and had buy-in for the solution, but would have learned something very valuable as well.

There are no free rides, and in life we have to make decisions and compromises. Responsible people choose to pay for necessities first, and only then to buy those things that are nice to have, but not required.

CP

Patriotic Triplets in Cadillac, Michigan

In the heart of the flat-lined economy, in Cadillac, Michigan, comes a story of unusual patriotism.

Three triplet siblings, two boys and one girl, have all joined the United States Marine Corps.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,370641,00.html

This wasn't some sort of publicity stunt. Apparently each came to the decision to enlist separately, and for different reasons. Still, what an awesome display of patriotism and maturity by these three young adults.

It is stories like this that buoy my soul when I fear too much for our Republic.

Semper Fi, Andrew, Sam and Elizabeth Foltz

Slim Pick'ns!

The last sitting Senator to be elected President of the United States was John F. Kennedy.

When the current election season started, we had a number of Senators vying for the office, but also a few prominent current or past Governors, and a former mayor of New York City. One of the former Governors also had successfully planned and executed an Olympics... no small feat considering the construction, security and logistics involved over numerous years.

But now, we are basically down to two Senators to choose from: one Republican and one Democrats. By the time November rolls around, they will have done everything in their power (and the power of their war chests) to make people believe they have had much more actual experience than they truly have. They will still be "just" Senators.

I don't mean to belittle Senators. They are a significant part of our government, a pillar of the Legislative branch. Their name and responsibilities hearken back to the Roman Empire, and the first Senate.

But as superior a legislative body the Senate is, it is fairly easy to be all things to all people over time. Like John Kerry, it is no big trick to be able to say you were for something before you were against it. The way bills are crafted, with amendments and riders... it is nearly impossible for the common citizen to truly know what his Senators stand for and represents.

The sad fact is, many of them only truly stand for themselves and their re-election.

And let us not forget, they are not held accountable for their results. It is all too easy for our congressman to avoid responsibility when bills they voted for or even sponsored go wrong, have unintended effects or are later ruled unconstitutional.

Governors, mayors and businessmen are ultimately and immediately accountable when things go wrong (they seldom get the credit when things go right, however). Chief executives, of government or business, must be cognizant of the bottom line. They must achieve results. They have run large organizations and have the experience we should want in the highest office in the land.

Obama has only organized campaigns for his political pursuits. He hasn't had to make a profit, nor has he been responsible actually run something.

Hillary (who may end up on the Democratic ticket as the VP candidate?) likewise has only been a Senator, an occasional lawyer and investor, and a spouse. Granted, keeping Bill Clinton's many faults obscured, and his scandals controlled counts for some experience, but not like running a business or state.

McCain, led people in combat and in non-combat military positions for a 22 year career. He acted honorably and courageously while in combat and even more so while in captivity as a Prisoner of War. But, almost immediately after retiring from the Navy, he went into politics, first as a US Representative, then a Senator. Aside from the military, he also has never been accountable to be a chief executive of something, ultimately responsible.

The office of the President of the United States of America is arguably the most powerful and important position in the world. Decisions made by the President affect nearly everyone on the planet, and certainly every American... good or bad, permanently or temporarily. It is a position for a proven, seasoned veteran of executive management and leadership, not an intern. It isn't an entry-level executive position. We elect someone inexperienced at our own peril... unfortunately the field of contenders at this point in 2008 doesn't contain anyone thusly qualified.


CP

If the Republic Shall Fall...

... it will not be because of patriots like this. It will be because succeeding generations were not worthy of their sacrifice.

Jack Lucas Dies At 80; Earned Medal Of Honor At 17

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied his way into the military to serve in World War II and became the youngest marine ever to receive the Medal of Honor, died Thursday in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he made his home. He was 80.

Mr. Lucas had been hospitalized with leukemia and died after asking doctors to remove a dialysis machine, said his wife, Ruby.

Jacklyn Lucas, known as Jack, was just six days past his 17th birthday when, in February 1945, his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the medal. He used his body to shield three members of his squad from two grenades and was nearly killed when one exploded.

“A couple of grenades rolled into the trench,” Mr. Lucas said in an interview with The Associated Press shortly before he received the medal from President Harry S. Truman in October 1945. “I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades.”

But “I wasn’t a Superman after I got hit,” he added, recalling the scream he let out “when that thing went off.”

Mr. Lucas was left with more than 250 pieces of shrapnel in his body and had 26 operations in the following months. He was discharged as a private first class.

The youngest member of the military to receive the Medal of Honor in any conflict other than the Civil War, he became a symbol of patriotism in the ensuing decades, meeting presidents and traveling the world to speak with frontline troops and fellow veterans.

Mr. Lucas, born in Plymouth , N.C. , on Feb. 14, 1928, was a 13-year-old cadet captain in a military academy when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor .

Big for his age and eager to serve, he forged his mother’s signature on an enlistment waiver that would have allowed him to join the Marines at 17 rather than the usual 18. But in fact he was by then only 14, though the military did not learn of that until censors discovered it through a letter he had written to his 15-year-old girlfriend.

“They had him driving a truck in Hawaii because his age was discovered, and they threatened to send him home,” said D. K. Drum, who wrote Mr. Lucas’s story with him in the 2006 book “Indestructible.”

Mr. Lucas eventually stowed away aboard a Navy ship headed for combat in the Pacific. He turned himself in aboard ship to avoid being listed as a deserter, and volunteered to fight.The officers aboard “did not know his age,” Ms. Drum said. “He didn’t give it up, and they didn’t ask.”

After the war, Mr. Lucas earned a business degree from High Point University in North Carolina and raised, processed and sold beef in the Washington area. In the 1960s, he rejoined the military, becoming an Army paratrooper to conquer his fear of heights, Ms. Drum said. On a training jump, both of his parachutes failed, she said, and Mr. Lucas later said his stocky build and a last-second roll as he hit the ground had saved his life.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Lucas is survived by four sons, a daughter, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

What have you done for your country lately?

CP

Nothing New Under the Sun?

It has been said that the "information age" has changed all the old paradigms, has rendered old truths to be invalid.

Perhaps.

But maybe it has just sped up things more.

I stumbled on an interesting blog recently that illustrates what I mean.

In the not-so-long ago days before the internet... or even Television. When Radio was a novelty, and few private homes had a phone line, we had blogging of a sort.

They just called it writting letters.

Of course, instead of instant-mass media, it was usually addressed to just one person, or perhaps a small intimate group like a family.

The media was different, but the purpose largely the same.

During WWI, a young soldier with the British 9th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, sent letters to his wife and other family members from the front. In their entirety, they constitute a runnning dialog on the things that mattered most to him (and by extrapolation, one can assume most of the soldiers in the same situation).

Private Harry Lamin's grandson has established a blog, www.wwar1.blogspot.com, and is posting the individual letters on the dates they were written plus 90 years. Thus, a letter written by the Private from the trenches of France on July 1, 1917, was posted on July 1st, 2007. And so on.

90 years ago, the battles were still raging in France, it was the summer of 1918. The cannons did not fall silent until November 11th, so there are 5 more months of blog entries to look forward to... if Private Lamin survived, which his grandson is not saying. An intriguing concept for a blog, methinks.

Once we accept that freedom is not free, we owe it to those who have paid for it to understand what they went through for us. This blog provides just such an opportunity to learn. I recommend it.

CP