Can't wait and what's the rush?

So far, Obama's "leadership" has been to continue campaigning.  He's more like a used car salesman than statesman.  We've seen him rush to:

Bail out the banks
Pass a stimulus ("now")
Force Chrysler to be sold
Force GM into bankruptcy
Pass ObamaCare
And lately even securing the 2016 Olympics for his hometown.

But when it comes to Afghanistan:
He's only met with the commander once (via video conference)
He still can't decide whether to commit more troops. 

He has the time to fly to Europe to petition the International Olympic Committee for the 2016 Summer Olympics.  He even has the time to get the British PM involved.  But deciding on Afghanistan, the Taliban, and al Queda?  That apparently can wait.  This is a war he reminds us that he "inherited"; yet he seems to have just heard about it yesterday and has to examine all the angles.  Makes you wonder since he was ready 4 months ago to take over our healthcare just how long he's been working on that.

National Health Care

The next time you hear Obama or Congress claim that Obama’s health care plan will cost $50-65 billion per year, remind them that when Medicare came into existence in 1966, its projected cost in 1990 was $12 billion.  They only missed that estimate by 900%. 

What would my dog say if she could talk?

I often thought "if Peanut could talk (that's our Golden Retriever) , what would she say?" I mean look at the picture - doesn't she look like she would say at least one of these?

"Well, YOUR breath doesn't smell so good either."

"No, I don't know why my leg does that when you scratch me."

"You're acting weird, so it must mean we're going to the Vet."

"They want to express my what??!!!"

"The next time the Vet does THAT, somebody's gonna get bit!"

"Don't tell me it's going to be okay. Does your doctor do THAT to YOU?!!"

"Yoo hoo! Dog's gotta go wee-wee!"

"Oh. It's only you. I thought it was somebody."

"Pet me? . . . . . . . . . . Pet me. . . . . . . . . . . . PET ME!!!"

"Dog food again?"

"I didn't do it."

"Squirrel!"

"I'll make you a deal - I'll stop staring if you'll stop eating that steak."

"Go ahead - blame the dog."

"I saw you slip that pill in with my dog food."

"Tell you what, while we're at the Vet, let's pretend you're the dog."

"It was the kids. Honest."

"How can you look at this face and not feed me chicken?"

"What?"

"I'll trade you one bowl of dog food for one steak bone."

"Woof!" (which means "Hey!" in human language)

"You threw it. YOU go get it."

"It's slobber. Get used to it."

"Haven't you ever scooted your booty across the carpet? You oughta try it sometime."

"I sleep so much during the day because you snore so much during the night!"

And while at the dog park: "Hey mister, you call THAT a dog??!!!"

Presidential Vacations

Here's a blast from the past. The New York Times, July 9, 2001, reports on George W. Bush's first summer vacation as president:

On Friday, as new unemployment figures painted a newly troubling portrait of the American economy, Mr. Bush placed himself in the same scenes--golfing and fishing in a New England paradise--that once caused his father electoral grief.

Simply amazing.

Here's the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, dated July 6, that "painted a newly troubling portrait of the American economy":

The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.5 percent, five-tenths of a percentage point higher than the average for 2000.

As Barack Obama embarked on his first summer vacation as president last week--also in a "New England paradise," Martha's Vineyard--the most recent unemployment rate was 9.4%, more than double the summer 2001 figure. Covering the Obama jaunt, the Times offers no hint that there's anything wrong with a president taking a vacation during a time of genuine crisis. Indeed, it offers this justification:

Mr. Obama, whom aides described as being amused by all of the gloom-and-doom prognosticating over his health care agenda, did not even consider skipping his vacation.

ObamaCare

The White House has found another way to save money under the ObamaCare plan: once the program runs out, the government will simple transfer the "Cash for Clunkers" department and title over to the new government healthcare department!

Whenever Obama utters the works "reform" or "fix", just remember, he has zero experience doing either. . . . and unfortunately it shows.

Washington

"Hush!  I know what's best for you" may work for a parent to a child, but it sure sounds sorry coming from Washington.

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."

"I often find myself thinking that if liberals didn't have double standards, they wouldn't have any standards at all." --columnist Burt Prelutsky

You've Heard of the Bridge to Nowhere, but You Probably Haven't Heard of This

You’ve undoubtedly heard of the “Bridge to Nowhere”.  How about the “Airport in the Middle of Nowhere”?  Thanks to Sen. John Murtha (D-PA), tens of millions of tax dollars have been spent on an airport in Pennsylvania that serves 3 flights and about 20 people per day.  What’s more, it’s getting a face lift as part of the “stimulus”.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7415354

North Korea Must Be REALLY Scared

North Korea has been busy lately, testing nuclear weapons and missles.  This is in direct violation of UN resolutions that they stop developing nuclear weapons.  So, what is the UN response?  You guessed it - another resolution!  It's as if the UN actually believes the N. Koreans will obey this time.

Gitmo to remain open for business (or terrorists)

Apparently, the same Democrats who for 5 or 6 years have been eager to close Gitmo have had a change of heart now that they are in power. With Obama's determination to make good on a campaign promise to close the prison, Dems in Congress have now decided that the place is acceptable. Now, both Obama and Congress can have it both ways: Obama can claim he made good on his promise, but was thwarted by Congress (and will leave out "Democrat-controlled") and Dems in Congress will claim they were keeping America's security in the forefront. And no one will ask about all those times the Dems insisted that the facilty be closed. Nope. Can't question the Dems about doing an about-face on one of their campaign themes from 2006 and 2008. That might mean questioning the Dems true intent of their campaign themes.

You're From Houston If . . .

Okay, so I wasn't born and raised in Houston. I wasn't even born in Texas. But I think I've lived here long enough that I'm beginning to understand this area. So here are MY takes on living in Houston. Not all of these apply to everyone. Traffic:

• You know what a ‘Texas exit’ is . . . and have done it.
• You allot 20 extra minutes to drive somewhere in case of traffic, even if the trip is only 5 miles.
• You think ‘Speed Limit’ is merely a suggestion.

Entertainment:

• Your church cancels services for ‘Go Texan’ day.
• The rodeo features Clint Black, Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith, Beyonce’, ZZ Top, Snoop Dogg, Black Eyed Peas, and Dave Matthews . . . and that’s just for the first week.
• You get to root for 3 losing professional teams all at once, no matter what time of year.

Weather:

• You think 6 inches of rain in a day is ‘a little bit’.
• A threat of snow 200 miles to the north is enough to have special coverage on the evening news.
• A hurricane somewhere in the world is all that’s needed to throw a Hurricane Party.
• You think 70 degrees is ‘just right’; 60 is ‘a little chilly’; 50 is ‘sweater weather’; and 40 is ‘time for the parka’.
• You think there are two seasons: ‘Summer’ and ‘Really Hot’
• You get warm water out of the Cold tap.
• Your rose bushes are in full bloom . . . in January.
• You name street intersections by the amount of floodwater they hold, as in “Saw an 18 wheeler floating in Ten Foot Gulch today” (i.e. I-10 and Beltway 8).
• You light up the fireplace when it’s 50 degrees outside.

Outdoors:

• Your biggest outdoor exercise fear is laying unconscious on the asphalt and cooking to death.
• Someone tells you there’s an alligator in the neighborhood swimming pool, and your response is “Again??”
• You know at least one person who’s lost a pet to an alligator.
• You know of someone who was knocked off their bike by a wild hog.
• Other areas have songbirds, but all you have are grackles.

Living:

• You pay dues to a homeowners’ association (HOA) but can’t figure out what it does.
• Gaining approval from your HOA to plant a single rose bush in the front yard requires more paperwork than your tax return.
• You lost your pet to an alligator and your HOA sends you a letter reminding you about the deed restrictions on not feeding wild animals.
• Your HOA deed restrictions carry more weight than state law.
• The county Mosquito Control department sprays year-round . . . and from airplanes.
• Your garage is bigger than your backyard.
• You can easily name 20 people who work in the Oil & Gas industry, not counting yourself and your children.
• There are 3 Wal-Marts all within 20 minutes from your house (okay, 40 with traffic).

Immigration:

• You’re unquestionably in favor of immediate deportation of all illegal immigrants . . . except for your lawn care guys.
• You think Spanglish is a real language.
• You have at least one friend of Mexican-Vietnamese heritage (Mexinese).
• You are surprised when the person behind the fast food counter actually knows English.
• You think Tex-Mex is a fusion cuisine.
• You see nothing unusual about a Mexican cook working at a Chinese restaurant.
• English is no longer the first language option on your bank’s ATM.

Economists & Weathermen

I am convinced that the only people who can get it wrong time and again and still get paid to give advice are economists and weathermen. Okay, add baseball players to that too (where else can you fail 7 out of 10 times and still be praised and paid millions for being a .300 hitter!). The news today is that economists once again got it wrong when it comes to the state of our economy. It appears that the "experts" are surprised that Americans are pulling back on their spending in light of employment uncertainty. Well, DUH!

English Optional

According to the U.S. Justice Dept., you apparently don't have to know English very well to become a citizen. Already, voting ballots in the Houston area have to be in 3 languages - English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Why stop there? Shouldn't we add Cajun, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Bronx, Chicagoan. Pretty soon, someone will just say "we will just cast your vote for you so you won't have to." At least they tried that in Florida in 2000, but that was AFTER the election (where "voter intent" became a new term).

This should work. Shouldn't it?

So we will put money into the economy by first taking it out of the economy, then putting it back into the economy, and taxing it along the way? Yeah, that should work.

Late Night Jokes

From Jay Leno: The Obama administration asked General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner to step down, and he agreed. This is good news for Obama; the last time he tried to get someone to quit, it took months -- and even then, he had to promise her a job as secretary of state. According to the government, Rick Wagoner was forced to resign because of poor performance. That's embarrassing -- run an organization that loses billions of dollars and then get fired by a guy who heads up an organization that loses trillions of dollars. Obama also said if you buy a new car, you will able to deduct the sales tax from your income tax. Or you can just take a job at the White House and you wouldn't have to pay taxes at all. President Obama said this week that things will get worse before they get better. That's something you never hear before the election -- "Let me tell you, if I'm elected it's going to get a lot worse." Ironically, Obama downplayed the economy during the campaign - Van

April Fool's 2

Being April Fool's, I thought I would write something about how our President fired the CEO of a major publicly held corporation and appointed his own CEO, and wants members of his administration to sit on the Board of Directors. Unfortunately, our President beat me to it - only it was for real. Then I thought I would write about our President creating some position titled the Director of Recovery for Auto Communities & Workers, but the "Workers" part sounded too Marxist. Unfortunately, our President beat me to that one too - and yes, it too is real. Then I had the bright idea of writing that many of the people making fiscal decisions affecting your paycheck and bank accounts over the next 4 years couldn't figure out how to do their own taxes. I mean, most people who make what these people make use CPAs, or at least a tax professional, unless they're trying to hide something. But unfortunately, this too turned out to be all too real, with Kathleen Sebelius being the next person who will impact your paycheck and can't figure out her own taxes. Finally, I thought I would write about our President's "what is he thinking" $3.5 trillion budget, which is $11,500 for every man, woman, and child in America. Since not all pay taxes, you can pretty much double that. And that's for only one year! Then I realized all this has been anything BUT a joke! many thanks to Rich Galen for the ideas.

April Fool's

Yes, today is April Fool's day. A day which, 9 years ago, my son Thomas was almost born. Being born on April Fool's would've been fitting given his personality. As it was, he was only fooling us and decided to wait another 24 hours. I keep reminding him that 24 hours of back labor means he has to be extra good on Mother's Day. Every Mother's Day. Now, if only he would practice that every day.

Sweet Tea Anyone?

You can always tell when you're in the South when you ask a waitress for iced tea, and she replies "Sweet or unsweet". Yep, that's a sure fire indication that you're in the South. And you're in the Deep South when she uses words like "honey", "sugar", and "darlin'" while talking to you. Conversely, you can tell when you're NOT in the South when you ask for sweet tea, and they look at you funny or say something like "well, we have sugar and sweetener on the table". How sad. You can also tell you're in the South when beverage refills are free. Well, except for adult beverages. I know a man who was raised in New York City and was visiting places down South. He tried sweet tea and LOVED it. In fact, he downed a glass before his food arrived. When he asked how much the refills were, the waitress asked "Honey, you're in the South and down here, there is no charge for refills". He was ecstatic! In fact, he ended up moving down South. Here's my favorite sweet tea recipe. 3 Family sized tea bags or 9 regular sized tea bags a pinch baking soda* (about 1/4 teaspoon) 3/4 to 4/5 cups of raw sugar 1 gallon pitcher Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil. Add tea bags and remove from heat and cover. Allow to sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Add baking soda and sugar to pitcher. Pour tea into gallon pitcher. Fill remaining gallon pitcher with tap water. Refrigerate. *The soda takes out the bitterness and darkens the tea....this small amount doesnt change the taste.

Will Someone Please Take Away Obama's Credit Card??!!!

"The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week predicted that the Obama budget would produce deficits averaging nearly $1 trillion over the next decade." $10 trillion and counting. That's 10,000,000,000,000. Thirteen zeros. That's also the amount of all the mortgages held in this country, good and bad. Since Obama isn't buying up the good ones (which are 9 out of 10), what's he doing with the other $9,000,000,000,000? "After 2015, the blue chip forecast is a little brighter than the administration’s." Gee, that's AFTER Obama leaves office (assuming he's re-elected in 2012). Ironic that the picture gets rosy after he leaves.

Prosperity Preachers & Being Careful What You Pray

We often hear that God said of David that "he was a man after my heart". But what do you know about Josiah? Well, look at what God said about him. 2 Kings 23:25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. Wow! There was NO king like Josiah who turned to the Lord, not even David. So, you'd think everything would be hunky dory right? Wellllllllllll, look at the next two verses: 26 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” Wait a minute - aren't only good things supposed to happen to those who love God? The preacher on TV says so. Well, good things do happen to those who love God, but not always in the here and now. Josiah was good enough to be a notch above David in the pursuit of God, but it did not prevent bad things from happening to his kingdom just 12 years after his death. Since Josiah died at a young age, many of his fellow believers were no doubt subjected to the pain, torture, and sorrow that was to come. Yes, God's wrath was carried out on EVERYONE - believers and unbelievers alike. The conquerors didn't care. That's something the Prosperity Preachers seem to forget ( or ignore). Think about that the next time you're pondering, or even praying for, God's judgement on our nation for turning away from Him.

Liar, liar: Statements I think Congressmen would make if they were honest

Did you ever see the movie "Liar, Liar"? It's where the character played by Jim Carrey is put under a 'curse' - one where he cannot tell a lie. If our Congressmen were put under such a 'curse', I bet these are some things they'd say.

• "I rarely understand any of the spending bills I vote on. In fact, I don't read most of them. Instead, I rely on staffers to tell me what each bill says."
• "I don't allow staffers to tell me HOW to vote - that's for the lobbyists."
• "Congress holds hearings to cover up our own mistakes, hoping the public won't notice. Most of the time, it works."
• "We see televised hearings and press conferences as free advertising for our re-election. Without the cameras, we wouldn't show up."
• "If you call or visit my D.C. office and are told that I'm in a committee meeting, that's code for 'He's meeting with lobbyists.' If you're told that I'm working on important legislation, that's code for 'He's meeting with lobbyists in Jamaica.'"
• "It's a rule: we have to take a whole week off for every one day national holiday. We also get a whole month for two consecutive holidays."
• "We really, really, really don't like facing the voters back home. We'd rather be golfing with lobbyists. That's why you don't see us very much once we go off to Washington."
• "We sincerely believe lobbyists represent the needs of our constituents. Even if I represent Texas and the lobbyist is representing Inuits, I still believe that."
• "After a few years, we forget that most Americans cannot give themselves pay raises and benefits like we can."
• "99.999% of Americans would be fired for missing as much work as we do."
• "I spend more time raising money than I do reading legislation."
• "I know more lobbyists than I do constituents."
• "Lobbyists who call on me get my personal attention. That's why I can't be bothered with meeting you."
• "Most the the current economic mess was caused by too much meddling by government, not by too little. But we believe that by convincing the public otherwise is job security for us."
• "We can't be bothered with solving those problems. That's why we create government agencies."
• "Most Congressmen think they are smarter than their constituents."
• "Even though the average Congressman makes more money than 98% of Americans, we don't include ourselves in the category of 'rich'. That's for everyone making more than we do."
• "Most government agencies would fail if they were private businesses."
• "News of government waste kills our chances for re-election. That is why we work feverishly to find some corporate wrongdoing to distract voters."
• "Corporate wrongdoings pale in comparison to government waste."
• "We want government involved in YOUR lives, not OURS."
• "I really believe the country would fall apart overnight if I was defeated in the next election."

Did the Shuttle have a Stowaway?

It appears the space shuttle may have had a stowaway during this week's launch. Pictures show a freetail bat hanging onto the external fuel tank for dear life at liftoff. Its ride was probably short-lived as cameras lost sight of it shortly after liftoff. But the bat's chances for survival appear grim even if it did release its grip before the shuttle rose too far. My guess is it would've been cooked before it hit the ground.

Pelosi calls Illegal Immigrants "Patriotic"

In a speech given to legal and illegal immigrants, San Fran Nan said "You are special people. You're here on a Saturday night to take responsibility for our country's future. That makes you very, very patriotic." Yes, she knew she was speaking to illegal immigrants because her speech was actually condeming workplace raids by ICE. Speaking of those raids, which most Americans support as the primary means of cracking down on illegal immigration, she said "We have to have a change in policy and practice and again ... I can't say enough, the raids must end. The raids must end." Keep in mind that Pelosi is also against the border fence. So if we can't strengthen our border and we can't raid employers, just how do we solve the illegal immigration mess? I guess Pelosi wants us to just legalize them all and "poof" problem solved - no more "illegal" immigration.

Chutzpah

chutz·pah: supreme self-confidence : nerve , gall. In Hebrew, chutzpah is used indignantly, to describe someone who has over-stepped the boundaries of accepted behavior with no shame. In America in 2009, it could be used to define Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Last week, the good senator jumped on the Outraged at AIG Bonuses bandwagon and announced the government should move to impose a 100% income tax on those bonuses. Not a bad idea considering that AIG has received tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in an effort to stay afloat (which still seems questionable) and decided to pay a couple hundred million in executive bonuses. So where's the chutzpah? Well, just last month, Dodd blocked efforts to to keep bailout money from being used to pay bonuses. That's right - the Senator who is now all hot and bothered by the bonuses had no problem protecting those same bonuses last month. Or last fall, when the bailouts were being rushed through Congress with little discussion. Now, Sen. Dodd is claiming he did no such thing when he included an amendment to last month's bailout bill to protect bonuses; however, he stopped short of claiming someone forged his name, which is what he might as well do. Sen. Dodd was AIG's largest recipient of campaign cash in 2008 (yes, while AIG was going under and clamoring for a bailout, it was also giving away money to Congress). And one of AIG's largest offices is in Connecticut. Some coincidence? Oh, and this would be the same Sen. Dodd who deflected attempts to investigate the mortgage giant, Countrywide before its implosion. That would be the Countrywide that gave Sen. Dodd a sweatheart mortgage not available to most people. What does all this mean for Dodd? Well, for one, his hometown newspaper is saying his 2010 re-election bid is waning. But I bet that New England liberals will once again overcome their misgivings toward another corrupt politician and send the man back to Washington. After all, liberals love class warfare, and Dodd is sure to give them plenty of "turn on your fellow American" warfare before the election.

Why "The Reflux"?

Okay. I know "The Reflux" is probably not the name most people would choose to name their blog. I personally like the name for two reasons: most people have reflux and most people don't have a blog; therefore, most people would not choose this name because they don't blog. Get it?

Now I realize that the word "reflux" brings up thoughts of heartburn, regurgitation, and antacids. Since I'm blogging about all sorts of things, from politics to religion to family, and even dining out, I figured "reflux" fit pretty well. After all, some of those topics are likely to cause heartburn, and I will be "regurgitating" events that have happened, and I do take antacids from time to time. So there you have it - The Reflux. Besides, the name and web address were both available.

So check back from time-to-time to see what's been posted. If you like, you can receive an email when new postings are made.

(Truthfully, I was struggling to come up with a name when the dog belched. There you have it. Real creative.)