Driving down to Austin from West Texas yesterday was quite an experience. Starting out, the countryside was pretty lush from recent rains. The crops looked pretty good all the way to Sweetwater and beyond.
Between there and Brady, on the western edge of Texas' Hill Country, the landscape was pretty average for summer in Texas. A bit hot, of course, but not entirely bone dry.
Once past Brady, however, it became a sudden desert. Temps were over a hundred degrees, and the land was parched like I have never seen it in the Hill Country, which covers 70 years.
The Pedernales River was bone dry as I crossed it on Highway 71. Boathouses were stranded on the cracked, dry riverbed for as far as one could see downriver.
I am told that Lake Travis is much the same in many areas.
Sad.
Pray for rain.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Utopia Versus Freedom
Thomas Sowell has a very thoughtful article on this subject over at Real Clear Politics. He is absolutely right about what he says.
We are in the midst of a great debate between liberals who want to impose, through the government, a utopia on all of us, and those who would rather preserve their freedom. His thought:
"... If everything that is wrong with the world becomes a reason to turn more power over to some political savior, then freedom is going to erode away, while we are mindlessly repeating the catchwords of the hour, whether "change," "universal health care" or "social justice.""
And that is it in a nutshell. Turning your life over to the government erodes your freedom. Its really as simple as that.
He goes on to say:
"Ultimately, our choice is to give up Utopian quests or give up our freedom. This has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government should "do something" about anything that ticks you off, or anything you want and don't have, then you have made your choice between Utopia and freedom."
Our health care system is not perfect, but 80% of Americans are satisfied with their coverage. Everytime we ask the government to do something about that, or anything else, it usually leads to more imperfections. The track record of the government is not good. See the Veteran's Administration for the operation of hospitals, and see Medicare and Medicaid for its operation of insurance. Nothing the government has ever done in this area has been done without far exceeding its projected costs. The example of the VA is horrendous. Medicare and Medicaid are merely broke
Anytime you get politicians involved in anything, it is all about distributing largesse, not about doing it right.
The message I have to all the people who want the Democrats to lead us to a socialist utopia is to understand that people who love their freedom will not stand for it.
A hat tip to William Katz at Urgent Agenda.
We are in the midst of a great debate between liberals who want to impose, through the government, a utopia on all of us, and those who would rather preserve their freedom. His thought:
"... If everything that is wrong with the world becomes a reason to turn more power over to some political savior, then freedom is going to erode away, while we are mindlessly repeating the catchwords of the hour, whether "change," "universal health care" or "social justice.""
And that is it in a nutshell. Turning your life over to the government erodes your freedom. Its really as simple as that.
He goes on to say:
"Ultimately, our choice is to give up Utopian quests or give up our freedom. This has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government should "do something" about anything that ticks you off, or anything you want and don't have, then you have made your choice between Utopia and freedom."
Our health care system is not perfect, but 80% of Americans are satisfied with their coverage. Everytime we ask the government to do something about that, or anything else, it usually leads to more imperfections. The track record of the government is not good. See the Veteran's Administration for the operation of hospitals, and see Medicare and Medicaid for its operation of insurance. Nothing the government has ever done in this area has been done without far exceeding its projected costs. The example of the VA is horrendous. Medicare and Medicaid are merely broke
Anytime you get politicians involved in anything, it is all about distributing largesse, not about doing it right.
The message I have to all the people who want the Democrats to lead us to a socialist utopia is to understand that people who love their freedom will not stand for it.
A hat tip to William Katz at Urgent Agenda.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sheer Stupidity
The Washington Post today has a story that the Obama Administration is studying moving some of the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay to a prison in the United States where thay could be tried by courts or military commissions.
Now we have a very secure facility down at Gitmo that is a virtual country club compared to prisons in the United States, but we are going to close it down and move the terrorists to the US?
Why?
Sheer stupidity, that is why.
Its the same reason why in the middle of a deep recession we are going to tax everyone's energy, and raise another $1 trillion to finance socialized medicine.
It makes one feel like Alice in Wonderland.
Nothing Obama does makes any sense, unless he is trying to destroy our country.
Now we have a very secure facility down at Gitmo that is a virtual country club compared to prisons in the United States, but we are going to close it down and move the terrorists to the US?
Why?
Sheer stupidity, that is why.
Its the same reason why in the middle of a deep recession we are going to tax everyone's energy, and raise another $1 trillion to finance socialized medicine.
It makes one feel like Alice in Wonderland.
Nothing Obama does makes any sense, unless he is trying to destroy our country.
Will ObamaCare Ration Health Care to Seniors?
Absolutely YES.
Senator Brownback, in a post on NRO lays it on the line:
"This became abundantly clear when Senator Mike Enzi (R., Wyo.) introduced an amendment designed to ensure that the new center could not put a value on life-saving treatment by using “quality of life” and “cost-effectiveness” measures “for the denial of Medicare benefits to patients against their wishes.” Because Democrats rejected the amendment in a party-line vote, the proposed new entity would be able to impose restrictions on access to treatment, as is common in European countries with socialized medicine. Elderly, disabled, and medically dependent patients would be at greatest risk of being denied necessary care."
Medicare certainly needs fixing, but there are many ways to do it that do not include denial of health care to the elderly and infirm.
The fact that we are being lied to about it, makes it even worse.
I am working and then out of town most of this week, but I do have some thoughts about how to help fix the Medicare problem that I will try to post at some point.
The conduct of the majority party in Washington is shameless.
Senator Brownback, in a post on NRO lays it on the line:
"This became abundantly clear when Senator Mike Enzi (R., Wyo.) introduced an amendment designed to ensure that the new center could not put a value on life-saving treatment by using “quality of life” and “cost-effectiveness” measures “for the denial of Medicare benefits to patients against their wishes.” Because Democrats rejected the amendment in a party-line vote, the proposed new entity would be able to impose restrictions on access to treatment, as is common in European countries with socialized medicine. Elderly, disabled, and medically dependent patients would be at greatest risk of being denied necessary care."
Medicare certainly needs fixing, but there are many ways to do it that do not include denial of health care to the elderly and infirm.
The fact that we are being lied to about it, makes it even worse.
I am working and then out of town most of this week, but I do have some thoughts about how to help fix the Medicare problem that I will try to post at some point.
The conduct of the majority party in Washington is shameless.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Birds of a Feather?
In the early hours of the morning on June 28 this year, soldiers of the Honduran Army, bearing an order from the Honduran Supreme Court, arrested and then exiled Honduran President Zelaya.
The order from the Supreme Court, with the approval of the duly elected Congress of Honduras, came after Zelaya had disobeyed a direct order from the Court and was proceeding with a referendum that had been found to be unconstitutional.
A member of Zelaya's own party was appointed by Congress and sworn in as temporary President until an election could be held on November 29.
The hue and cry from the Marxist/Communist/Socialist dictators from south of our border was instant and loud.
The esteemed Hugo Chavez vowed to reverse the situation. The socialist government of Ecuador announced they would not recognize the new government.
The Castros of Cuba were outraged and demanded sanctions.
The old Sandinista from Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, joined the other extreme leftists.
And then came Barack Obama. He stepped into it with both feet.
Eventually the Organization of American states demanded that Zelaya be restored, and called for sanctions.
The United States immediately suspended military aid, and has since revoked the visas of four diplomats representing the new government.
So let us get this straight.
We have a guy in Honduras, Zelaya, who is trying to establish a dictatorship, a la Chavez in Venezuela, who is legally removed for having violated the Constitution of Honduras, and the President of the United States is helping him, and trying to get him restored to power.
Somehow, that just seems un-American for some reason. There are thousands of reasons we might have to avoid having another Chavez, or Castro, or Ortega in Central America, but I cannot think of a single, solitary reason why the interests of the United States could be served by having another Marxist/Communist/Socialist dictator down there.
So why would Obama take that position? Could it be that he is birds of a feather with Castro, Chavez, Ortega and the others?
My Mom always told me that birds of a feather flock together.
Perhaps his associations with Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dorhn, Rev. Wright and the other radicals that hate the United States were not so benign after all.
The order from the Supreme Court, with the approval of the duly elected Congress of Honduras, came after Zelaya had disobeyed a direct order from the Court and was proceeding with a referendum that had been found to be unconstitutional.
A member of Zelaya's own party was appointed by Congress and sworn in as temporary President until an election could be held on November 29.
The hue and cry from the Marxist/Communist/Socialist dictators from south of our border was instant and loud.
The esteemed Hugo Chavez vowed to reverse the situation. The socialist government of Ecuador announced they would not recognize the new government.
The Castros of Cuba were outraged and demanded sanctions.
The old Sandinista from Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, joined the other extreme leftists.
And then came Barack Obama. He stepped into it with both feet.
Eventually the Organization of American states demanded that Zelaya be restored, and called for sanctions.
The United States immediately suspended military aid, and has since revoked the visas of four diplomats representing the new government.
So let us get this straight.
We have a guy in Honduras, Zelaya, who is trying to establish a dictatorship, a la Chavez in Venezuela, who is legally removed for having violated the Constitution of Honduras, and the President of the United States is helping him, and trying to get him restored to power.
Somehow, that just seems un-American for some reason. There are thousands of reasons we might have to avoid having another Chavez, or Castro, or Ortega in Central America, but I cannot think of a single, solitary reason why the interests of the United States could be served by having another Marxist/Communist/Socialist dictator down there.
So why would Obama take that position? Could it be that he is birds of a feather with Castro, Chavez, Ortega and the others?
My Mom always told me that birds of a feather flock together.
Perhaps his associations with Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dorhn, Rev. Wright and the other radicals that hate the United States were not so benign after all.
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