Just how dumb are we?

Why is it that Chevy, Dodge or Ford have to have a tough guy sell their tucks? They always have someone with a very deep voice talking about "guy" stuff. (whatever happened to the word "men" btw?, "guy" seems rather French to me).

Why can't they just say, this is how much this truck will pull or haul, this is the tire sizes available and here are the different engine options?

They have to show a picture of a crane dropping a load into the back of a truck fro 20 feet up. Like this is what we do in the real world.

Or we have Craftsman trying to sell us tools. Do they really think we are gullible enough to put up with some male model (who is prettier than most women) turning a bolt or nut the wrong way in a commercial and think that this will make us want to buy a tool from them?

Now we have soap commercials for men. Unbelievable. We now have our own special soap. I still can't get over men who wear cologne. Apparently some advertising campaign in the past got some men past the normal revulsion of wearing perfume like a woman.

My point is, these advertisements must work.........even if the do offend those that mostly use these products. Disregard the male perfume for this last sentence.

This brings me to my main point. Comrade Charlie Wilson.

The deficit spending, debt increasing 6th District mistake of a Congressman.

He just sent out an email to subscribers telling us that he is worried about our national debt. The debt that he voted into existence, no less.

I'm afraid we'll fall for this deception for two reasons.

1. We've proven that we will fall for anything, as described above
2. No one pays attention to the actions of politicians. We listen to their slick words. They are usually divergent.

Here's his words on the deficit that he has saddled us and our children with:




"Dear Friend,

I share the concerns that many Americans have about our country’s financial future. With escalating spending and a growing national debt, there is a legitimate concern about how we begin to correct our economic course. I take tackling our debt very seriously, and I know you do too. I want to hear what you think we should do to reign in our national deficit. Where do you think we need to save and where should we spend? I hope you'll take a moment to complete this three question survey."

Here's what you can do Charlie. Resign now. You created this debt and now you want to pretend to fix it to help your re-election chances.

Voter, here is what you can do to get rid of people like Comrade Charlie:

Attend Bill Johnson's fund raiser. He is running for the 6th district seat.

August 10th

625 Warren Chapel Rd.

Marietta, OH

7-9pm, $100

RSVP by Aug 5th to Erika Robaugh @ 724-322-2917

Or, if you can't attend, send a donation any way to:

The Bill Johnson For Congress Committee

3755 Hunters Hill

Poland, OH 44514

Just back from West Virginia

Took the girls and boy for a week long trip to West Virginia this week. Some thoughts from our 65 deg low humidity vacation.

1. West Virginia is truly almost heaven. The weather, the temperature, the scenery, etc.
2. Surprise (not really): Joe Manchin (the current democrat Governor) is going to run for the US Senate. He appointed an assistant to Sen Rockerfeller to Byrd's seat. Then Manchin announced 12 days later that he will run for this seat this fall. Still seems more unseemly to do this than for Manchin to just appoint himself to the seat and get it over with. I'd have a hard time not voting for Manchin, even if his is a democrat. He will definitely fight for coal. Byrd was caving on this issue. Actually, he was getting a little out there on many issues.
3. Cass railroad is just as cool now as it's always been. I'm still not sure how they keep the old steam engines from overpressuring and blowing up without relief valves.
4. Seems like every bridge, road and building is named after Robert C. Byrd. There are still a few still named after A James Manchin and Jennings Randolph. but they are getting fewer as the reality of the "what have you done for me lately" politics takes hold more firmly in our mob rule democracy. It's as if Byrd personally paid for all these projects out of his own pocket. Of course, if you named a bridge "Taxpayer's bridge" how does that help you get reelected?
5. Dolly Sods is the best place in the entire state. Don't, however, travel this with just passenger car tires. One should have puncture resistant tires (or at least 6 ply tires) as the gravel is sharp. We punctured a left front tire. And, of course, the spare had very low air pressure. So for the 5-7 mile trip down the mountain we drove no faster than 5mph. With the low tire on the front we where dragging in the middle when we went over large boulders. I was really concerned with puncturing the oil pan and losing the oil out of the engine and then was worried about how we were going to travel on a real road with very low air pressure in the left front and having no spare. The girls were loving it. Got to the bottom of the mountain and stopped at the first house. They were sitting on the front porch (you see a lot of that in WV) and told us to use their air compressor to add air to the spare. They then directed us to a service station 3 miles down the road. I told them that it was 6:30 in the evening and that it would be closed. They told me that the owner lives there and will open for me. They were right. The owner plugged the punctured tire and we were able to put it on the car. He tried to charge me $3 and argued when I told him to keep the change from the $5 bill I gave him. This is why I love WV.
6. Absurdity of the Federal Government: While we were at the service station, my son asked the owner's wife if the station had a restroom. She told him no. but when she over heard the little girls need to go "potty" she showed them where to go. The absurdity part of this story is: the federal government (thanks to George HW Bush) requires businesses, if they have a restroom to conform to the "Americans with Disabilities Act" by making all restrooms wheel chair accessible. However, if they don't have a public restroom, they don't have to comply with this law............because they don't have a public restroom. So, if you ask if you can use a restroom, you'll be told no....even though they have one.......but it's not a "public" restroom. This is something only our Federal Government or the East German Stasi could think up!
7. Why is it that a 1987 Buick Century with a 4 cylinder engine has plenty of power for the mountains of WV and still gets 31mpg on the highway...........yet we now have (in 2010) car manufacturers bragging about their new cars getting (get this) 31 mpg on the highway. If they could do this 23 years ago............is the American buying public so stupid they can fall for this non improvement in gas mileage.........and have the manufactures tell you it's a selling point?
8. All of West Virginia has about 1.8 million residents, about the same as the Columbus metro area. If you don't like to be around people, this is the place.......along with North Dakota.
9. Paula Dilley's Cottage was a great place to stay. Close to Cass and within reasonable driving distance of Spruce Knob, Canaan valley, Blackwater falls, Dolly Sods wilderness area and great trout fishing areas. Durbin (where her Cottage is located) is a nice little town in itself. Here's her website.
   

Having said all that, it's always good to get back to southeastern Ohio.....with it's Ohio river driven 98% humidity and 95 deg days.

Strickland officially completely out of touch with Ohio

I've always thought this guy was a little loony, but this proves it.

Dispatch story here.

He thinks it's wrong for people to keep their own money? He actually wants to make a campaign issue of this? How dumb are his advisors?

Ohio is the 47th highest taxes state in the nation. 1 being good. 50 being bad (unless your a democrat).

Mr. Strickland thinks your only a good Ohioan if you give him your money. So he, in turn, can give your money to more government leeches....

Didn't we fight (and win) a war over high taxes? (lower, BTW, than they are today).

Yet Strickland thinks it makes good political sense to bash those that don't want to pay taxes on death to the state and would rather give it to their children?

He thinks this is a winning issue? This guy is crazy!

Here's the winning quote: "Strickland said he found that comment revealing and disturbing, noting that Ohioans who grow up in the state and start successful businesses here benefit from the state's advantages."

So, because of this we have to pay up, just like the Mafioso? The state has many benefits in spite of the government, not because of it.

We need a governor that understands that people will move to locales that steal less of their money than Ohio does. Ohio has to compete with the Florida's and Texas' of this union or we'll keep losing good people to those states. This is not rocket science.

Mr. Strickland does not get it.

OFB's cave to the "humane society"

Isn't it a shame to see the Ohio Farm Bureau cave into the "Humane Society". Especially after winning last fall's ballot initiative to create an "Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board".

I thought that board was going to take care of all our upcoming issues? Especially since the board has the "humane society" on the board.

So, the OFB and others supported last fall's ballot initiative to create this board. The thought process was, that by creating this board, the issues would be handled by the board.

However, the initiative did not stop anyone from taking issues directly to the voters. So, what is the point of the board?

Then when the so called "humane society" threatens again to take livestock "care" issues to the voters, the OFB caves.

What is the old saying?..."with friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Makes one wonder if the Ohio Farmer's Bureau went ahead and put the "humane society" on their board. They are acting like it.

Mr. Strickland is trying to play both sides here. But just because he has his picture taken with OFB's vice president, in no way makes him a friend of farmers.

Manchin and mob rule democracy

Why is it that Governors are afraid to follow the intent of the founders when they have a chance. Gov. Manchin had every right to appoint a replacement for Robert Byrd. That appointment would have been good to 2012.

What's wrong with that? He could have appointed himself. He'd be a great Senator.

The States governments should have more representation in Washington. The 17th amendment (which allowed direct election of US Senators) was and is nothing but a step towards mob rule.

When people can vote for whoever promises more goodies....this is how we got into the position we are now.

This is what kept Robert Byrd in office so long.

The 17th amendment needs repealed. The State Governments should appoint US Senators. We would not be in the mess we are now if we had somebody looking out for state's rights.

On another note, Joe Manchin vs. Shelley Moore Capito....not sure how I'd vote if I lived in WV. Joe Manchin is not your typical limp wristed democrat.

Charlie Wilson votes to continue deficit spending without a budget

Going along with his apparent belief that he knows better than the voters: Comrade Charlie Wilson votes to keep up his rate of spending this country out of existence. This time by voting to keep up the massive spending without even voting on a budget.

Rather than making the tough choices (which he's incapable of) of cutting spending, he votes to "deem a bill passed". This lets him keep spending without a vote on the actual budget.

This guy needs to go.

Liberals' view of self defense in a nut shell

I've never heard it said by a liberal in such an open and honest manner.

"In his dissenting judgment, Breyer said there was no consensus over a fundamental right to self-defence. "The historical evidence is, at most, ambiguous.""

These people really do believe that you have no right to self defense.

Thanks to President Bush (via his legacy, Supreme Court Justice nominees) the Supreme Court decided that we actually do have a right to self defense.

"In their majority opinion, the five conservative supreme court judges, led by Justice Samuel Alito, said that the Chicago handgun ban was unconstitutional because it breached the right of the individual to own guns in his or her own home. "Self-defence is a basic right, recognised by many legal systems from ancient times to the present, and individual self-defence is the central component of the Second Amendment", the opinion says."

On a side note, how far have we digressed that we actually have to have an argument like this?

Didn't we fight the British to prove that these rights were not given by the government (which can take them away) but were God given?....meaning, of course, the government can't take them away.

Charlie Wilson strikes again

Here a Dispatch story about the rising cost of health care. The increased cost to Ohio tax payers (this is just the first quantifiable hit we are going to see) is $1,450,000,000.

This is due to our new socialized medicine bill that Comrade Charlie Wilson voted for.

2 fathers

Who would have ever thought that one day, we'd look back and think of the Impeached Clinton years with high regards.

Here, our president is bragging about "non-traditional" families and holds up for esteem, two perverts living together. But not just living together, raising children.

His Muslim brothers won't think highly of this sort of thinking.

Link to his "proclamation" on fatherhood.

Athens "farmer's market" and WIC

Here's an Athens News story about the Athens "farmer's market".

Lot's of quotes from local officials bragging about it, etc.... same old stuff.

"This summer, the Athens Farmers Market is using grant funding that will allow area residents who receive Food Assistance benefits to receive even more fresh fruits and vegetables at the market.

“The Food Assistance Program is wonderful,” Jack Cantrell, president of the Athens Farmers Market, said in the release. “We are having more and more participants all the time.”

In 2009, area residents spent about $21,000 in Food Assistance benefits on fresh fruits and vegetables at the Athens Farmers Market. This accounted for nearly half of all of the Food Assistance benefits used at farmers’ markets across the state.

“We are proud that we have such a group that works together to help people out in southeast Ohio. It’s just a good example of how by working together we can make things better for everybody,” Athens County Commissioner Lenny Eliason said in the release.

“I think it’s a win-win for everyone involved,” added County Commissioner Larry Payne who is a past president of the Farmers Market. “The Farmers Market has a history of providing fresh fruits and vegetables for people in our area. With this partnership, it allows people with lower incomes to have access to these products that they may not have had on their own. It’s just a great program.”"

Larry has one thing right, its a "win-win", just not for everyone.

It's a win for the hippies selling stuff.
It's a win for those receiving free taxpayer money to buy products from the hippies.

Two wins make it a "win-win"

However its a "lose" for the taxpayers. Taking money from people that work and giving it to people that don't.

I wonder if any of these local officials, or The Athens News for that matter, have ever wondered why prices are higher when the WIC coupons are handed out...........on sight....believe it or not.

Some "farmers" actually have two prices for the same product side by side. Higher prices for those paying with WIC coupons and lower prices for those paying cash.

Other "farmers" just have one set of higher prices during the time frame that the WIC coupons are in effect.

So, it looks to me that the taxpayers are getting hosed with this grand scheme. Yet our local officials all think it's great.

How does this make any sense?

I'm sure Charlie Wilson will support this bill

The democrats will stop at nothing, turn over every rock, looking for different ways to steal money from you.

Here they are trying to increase taxes on homebuilders. Which, of course, means the costs for building houses, or any other construction work, will rise.

Who pays this increase? (I feel the obligation to connect the dots for really slow democrats) The home buyer. So much for democrats wanting affordable housing.

Then we'll put more people out of work, which of course justifies more spending (according to government) because we have an increased (government caused) need.

On another note, this is the first time I've been disappointed with Cordray. I was actually thinking about voting for him (can't vote for RINO DeWine). I hope this isn't a habit of Cordray's, that is, to act like a liberal.

Of course, when / if this bill gets to the house, I'm positive this it is socialist enough for Comrade Charlie Wilson to support.

Charlie Wilson's debt

The author of this Forbes.com story gets it. Charlie Wilson with his obama supporting votes have increase the debt on our children exponentially.

"Since our overleveraged economy was the cause of the great recession, how can we avoid going into a double-dip recession if leverage is still being added?"

Weirdness at Federal Hocking's graduation

One of the girls graduated yesterday. Attached to her diploma was something that was strange to me, as I've never seen anything like this before. Maybe this happens all the time, but I've never seen it before.

It was a letter from our State Representative Debbie Phillips. I didn't find it odd that Debbie Phillips would want to hand out "congrats" letters to all the graduates. It makes good political sense to congratulate them, especially since they are all, now, voting age.

What I found odd was that the school would do her bidding for her.

Then, I remembered that George Wood (the high school principal who handed out the actual diplomas attached to this letter after the ceremony was over) is (or at least was) a member of the Athens County democrat Central Committee.

Makes me wonder of Jimmy Stewart (our State Senator who happens to be a Republican) was offered the same deal as Debbie?

I've been around Athens County too long not to think something fishy is going on. Maybe not??

Then, once you get to the letter itself, you realize that Debbie doesn't do herself any good when she refers to the graduates in the manner that she does. Or, more importantly, how the graduates interpret the tone of her letter.

Here it is, the phrase that really turns off the young ladies that I'm sure she feels are her voters anyway.

"Being from Southeastern Ohio, you have confronted challenges, etc........"

So, the implication is, you are really dumb, you're a hillbilly from Appalachia and it's a real achievement that you even graduated........you know.

More than one of my daughter's friends noticed this slight of hand in this letter.

I know the young people around here don't like being labeled as stupid and needing "help" just because of where they live geographically in Ohio. They see this labeling as nothing more than Bolshevik's trying to get more tax money for their socialist programs.

Here's a message to the label making politicians:

1. We have high speed Internet already, we don't need your help. If you'd get out of the way, private businesses would have had DSL to all the folks in SE Ohio by now.
2. We have and know how to use cell phones.
3. We even have color TV!
   

We don't need or want your "help". But if Debbie Phillips wants to continue to insult our young people, that's OK with me, she's just helping the GOP candidate for the 92nd district.

Cash for Clunkers coming home to roost

Remember when the dumb idea of the cash for clunkers program was implemented? Remember my post about the unintentional consequences of decreased supply of affordable used cars? And because of the limited supply the increase in prices in the future?

Well, the future is now.

See this Kiplinger's.com story

One more dumb idea by the democrats.

Strickland does one thing right

"Ohio has had more executions than any state outside the South."

Nothing to be ashamed of with that.

Dispatch's slanted story here.