Hiatus…
Hellfire and Brainstorm will be taking an official hiatus. I apologize to my readers. I hope to be back later this year.
“Free” Health Care
This morning on ABC there was a story about a group of doctors in Los Angeles that had decided to offer free medical care to the first 1500 people through the door. Is that a good idea? Sure, why not. It was their choice to do so and their money to burn; it’s a free country. The kicker is that they were SWAMPED with people (far more than the 1500 showed up) and people were waiting all night for a place in line to get a coveted ticket. Now, I’m sure that many if not most of those people had legitimate reasons to be in line and perhaps some relatively serious medical issues, but I think we can still say that this is a pretty good illustration of what happens when medical care is advertised as “free”. People will show up to take advantage of what they perceive as a free ride whether they really need it or not. I would be willing to bet that there were plenty of people in that line that were actually in financial need (and for that reason I applaud the doctors and medical professionals involved), but I am also of the mind that there were probably some freeloaders in the line. This is really a microcosm of what will eventually happen if the Congress passes this ABYSMAL health care plan that is on the board right now. Once the private insurers are out of the way (and that WILL happen under this legislation regardless what the president says), the public option will rule and everyone will be on the same coverage… meaning anyone can go to the doctor for any minor illness or injury. No matter the reason, they will show up, because it’s free… they don’t have to worry about the consequences at all. Got a runny nose, go see a doctor. Got a small cut, go see a doctor… you see what I mean. There are so many other ways to solve this issue. Even giving money to hospitals to cover people that don’t have health care under certain circumstances would be more palatable that this…
Anyway, that’s my quick observation on it…
Early morning “eco-grab-bag”
Well folks, today’s installment of truth for the masses is a smattering of small, but collectively annoying pieces of liberal thought. I hope you enjoy them.
First out of the box is the label on my Deer Park water bottle. How, you might ask could that possibly qualify? Today, it’s the “Be Green’ label on the back. Frankly, I’m getting a little tired of all this “green” thought. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good chance to protect some nature and promote healthy ecosystems, but the things that people are doing now to “be green’ has become ridiculous to the point of embarrassment. Deer Park decided that they would reduce the size of the label on their plastic water bottles to use less paper. Good for them. How the heck do you need a lot of paper anyway? Could it be the extensive ingredient list that is contained in your standard bottle of spring water? Perhaps a legal disclaimer stating the dangers of drowning in half a liter of your product? Nah, just easier to see on the shelf, probably. So Deer Park has made a decision that will undoubtedly save it a pile of money in paper and they want to spin it as a ‘green decision’…
Horsecrap.
The bottle says that the smaller labels save the equivalent of 30,000 trees in a year. Ok, but what does that mean? Are we to believe that these smaller labels will result in lower numbers of evil, axe-wielding, backhoe-driving maniacs riding around in the pristine, old-growth forests of the world? (By the way, nobody cuts down old growth hardwood for paper pulp. They grow entire plantations of PINE TREES to use for paper.) Pine trees are one of the fastest growing trees in the Southeast (where I live) and are an ideal renewable resource for use in the making of paper. So are we actually ‘saving a tree’ with these smaller labels? No, not really. The trees that would be saved have already been planted and will require harvesting whether they are used or not. It may affect the future planting of trees (by preventing the planting of the same number of trees). In fact, a reduction in the consumption of paper will really have the net effect of ‘unsaving’ somebody’s job. Less demand for paper means less sales on the retail and wholesale levels therefore, less manufacturing, less harvesting and less planting. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that part… these chainsaw toting demons RE-PLANT the trees.
So, really the effect of using less paper is to have an overall negative effect on the economy. Now, I toodled around the internet and found a few websites that make claims of massive global tree destruction because of the global paper industry, but most of the information seemed a little on the vague or useless side.
For instance:
Industrialized nations, with 20 percent of the world’s population, consume 87 percent of the world’s printing and writing papers. (Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme, Keynote Address UNEP’s 7th International High Level Seminar on Cleaner Production, 29-30 April 2002)
This quote was taken from Green America (Formerly Co-opAmerica)’s website. So, the people with the technology and the economies that drive the entire globe use more than their fair share of paper? SO WHAT? Why is this even a noteworthy fact? Of COURSE industrialized nations use more paper. There isn’t much use for a ream of neon yellow astrobright paper when you live in the Serengeti…unless you can find a way to stick it on the lions that might otherwise eat you for lunch.
Here’s another winner:
Global production in the pulp, paper and publishing sector is expected to increase by 77% from 1995 to 2020 (OECD Environmental Outlook, 2001, p.215)
Now, before I even tackle the substance of the quote, let’s look at the source. OECD is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The tagline at the top of the page is “For a stronger, cleaner, fairer world economy”. Oh geez… there’s that word again. Fair.
That combined with the fact that the owners of the site and the server are both French is enough to make me second guess the validity of the statement. But, we will parse it anyway. 77% eh? Why the hell is publishing in this category? Doesn’t publishing mean the distribution of information? Books? Education? Commerce? Why, yes it does. Are we double-counting the pulp used to publish these various pieces of info? The whole idea of categorizing an end product use with a raw material statistic is a little misleading and innacurate, don’t you think? Would they categorize corn, maize and Fritos in the same way? How about Rice, Soy and General Tso’s Chicken? I think you get my point. The world can expect to become more knowledgeable in the future as information is distributed and shared with new groups of people that have to this point not been able to collect or absorb such knowledge. That’s good, isn’t it? At the same time, how much paper DOESN’T get used any more by the industrialized nations of the world because of email?
So you see, the end user and the reason for that paper use aren’t considered, just the gross number.
So, don’t worry about the trees, save the people. After you read this, print it and hand it to a friend. Tell them to copy it a couple times and hand it to a couple of their friends. It’s all for the good of the economy!
Why is this not causing outrage?
This may have happened in previous administrations, and if it did, it is equally disgusting, but it appears that the face of the US abroad is being sold to the highest bidder…
Several US Ambassadorships were filled yesterday by some of the biggest fundraisers and donors for President Obama’s campaign. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t these jobs be going to people who have some sort of qualifications other than the fact that the president wants to give them a long-term, paid vacation in another country? What an abysmally stupid way to run a country… no matter WHAT you party affiliation.
Future Memorial Days
I would like to take the opportunity presented by the serious nature of today’s national holiday to address the current news cycle as it pertains to our Military men and women present and future. As of this morning, the world is fully aware that North Korea, an internationally recognized dictatorship and rouge nation, has the capability of launching a nuclear warhead that is reportedly on par with Hiroshima. It is now clear (and probably has been to those that serve in the region) that our US men and women that serve in the pacific theater are now under a direct threat of a nuclear attack, should the ‘Glorious Leader’ Kim Jong Il, decide to toss a bomb at someone close by.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect that he will (NUTS as he may be) because it would entail the immediate and very purposeful decimation of his entire ‘crackpot kingdom’ (surely starting with his very visible and well publicized assassination). The point is that the threat IS THERE.
It is now possible to imagine a future where memorial day is taken much more seriously by the largely ignorant American populace because of this nut job’s decision to proceed with an internationally condemned nuclear test. Of course, without the lackadaisical, ever-trusting left wing of American politics, this may not have been the present reality. What does it say that the Democrats are more willing to believe a certifiably insane Communist dictator (with a long history of lying to the world, exaggerating his own benevolence, and killing those that disagree with him) than they are the loyal opposition of their own country?
Pyonyang says: “We’re just looking for nuclear power for our country to make electricity”.
Pelosi, et al say: “We should talk to them to see if they’ll stop, and in the mean time offer them some technology and aid money and food to knock it off”.
George W. Bush says: “Saddam is a ruthless thug dictator that is a threat to the US”.
The very same left wing cabal shout: Bush is a liar! Impeach Impeach!!!! War Crimes!!! Torture!!!
Can anyone tell me how a person with a proven mental instability (and a voracious appetite for expensive liquor) can be allowed to have a nuclear weapon at his dispsoal? Do we also routinely let violent, pedophlie sex offenders visit our preschools with shotguns and grenades? Hell no, of course we don’t. Doing so would be too great a threat to those whom we seek to protect. Kim Jong Il is a BIG problem. It should be active, open US policy to see that he and his entire power structure in North Korea are quickly and decisively deposed and incarcerated. Keep in mind that this is a man that had his military kidnap a Korean filmmaker and his wife for his own personal film-making pleasure. The man is a certifiable loony tune. Anyone living in this country having taken the same course of action would be locked up in the crazy house for the rest of his days. He is a threat to not only our safety, but to that of our Pacific allies.
I’m sure there are those out there who would call me a war-monger or imperialist hack for saying that, but if a man expresses a very real dislike for me and my family and follows that by waving a weapon in my face, he’s not going to live long enough to think about the ramifications of his actions… but that’s just me caring about the well-being of my family.
One thing is absolutely certain. America’s soldiers, due to the ignorance, political posturing, and naivete of the left in this country are – and will continue to be – at a greater threat of becoming part of the remembered on memorial day rather than those that do the remembering. God hold our troops close… past, present and future.
Wanna show congress how dumb they are?
This weekend will provide you with a fantastic opportunity to lay a good bone-crushing hit on all this pork-smelling stimulus garbage that congress is kicking around these days. On Sunday, buy soda, buy pizza, buy wings…heck, buy a new 60″ LCD hdtv! Watch the superbowl and then go out and buy stuff from the companies with the best commercials! Let’s see if we can put an uptick on the economy before we’re beaten over the head with a mindless spending package that will NOT stimulate anything.
Oh, and just for legal reasons:
Hellfire and Brainstorm does not in any way advocate expenditures that will exacerbate any current financial stress you may be suffering. If you got it, spend it! If you don’t, find a friend having a party and volunteer to bring napkins!!! Of course, this will not stop these idiots, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to have a little fun while they’re burning down our whole country…
Loony toons… every last one of ‘em.
Filed under: Economy, Education, Foreign Policy, Politics, Taxes, Uncategorized, Waste
A couple of subject are under my microscope today. Each of them is appaling in it’s own right. First, we have Gov. Blagojevich in Illinois. Is there anyone on the planet that actually believes this guy to be innocent? Now in all fairness, I must give this man his due process.
Evidence toward his guilt: Audio recordings of the man saying that he is trying to profit off of the appointment and may actually appoint himself if nobody wants to pay him what he thinks the senate seat is worth.
Evidence of his innocence: He says that he hasn’t done anything wrong and that ‘they’ are out to get him in order to make it easier for the democrats in Illinois to raise taxes.
Verdict: Guilty as the day is long.
Now, what makes this amusing is that he is making the rounds today on all the lefty morning shows protesting his innocence and demanding that this is some sort of unfair ‘witch hunt’. Then he says that he is being denied due process and makes the case that his being “railroaded” legally speaking is dangerous to all the rest of us because if the government can deny him his due process then they can do it to us. As far as answering to the tapes:
“I can’t address what is on those tapes”.
Does anyone hear a tinge of “I don’t recall senator” in there? In order to believe this guy you have to:
a) Disregard audio recordings of the man describing his intent to commit a crime and conspiring with someone else to do so.
b) Believe that he has a witness (any witness) that will be able to put any of that ‘back in context’ so that we can all understand what he really meant by “this think is f*ing golden, you don’t just give it away for nothing”.
c) Intentionally ignore the fact that he immediately shifts focus to this being a personal vendetta against him when he is directly questioned about any of it.
Blago has to be clinically insane. Egomania and an ability to disregard the obvious truth on this scale is a sickness. I think he honestly believes that he has done nothing wrong. Either that, or he is working hard on a basis for a book deal later. When the democrats are throwing their own under the bus, there’s a good chance that they are pruning ‘obviously diseased’ branches off the vine. I say ‘obviously diseased’ because the whole liberal vine is infected with ignorance and arrogance on a lethal scale. Kinda like a tapeworm. Yeah, that’s a good analogy.
On to more lunacy!
Nancy Pelosi is at it again, opening her skeletal maw to spew forth stupidity on a grand scale. Now we are being informed by her highness that government provided contraceptives will stimulate the economy. Uh, well I suppose if we were all prostitutes that might be true. The long and the short of this is that she is trying to cut costs on wards of the state by making less of them. Good plan. While your at it, why don’t we just put all of our seasoned citizens on old rusted out freighters that have no more use in the fleet, run them out in the deep water and sink em! That would mean less Medicaid payments, less Medicare part ‘B’ costs, less stress on the medical industry, less frustration for the younger drivers in florida… the list goes on and on…
This type of idiocy is beyond words. Almost. I actually wonder why Nancy is trying to cut down on her voting base. Poor, stupid, dependedent people vote for democrats. It’s a fact. The more dependent people there are, the better off the democrats are in terms of keeping power in DC. So this seems a little counter intuitive. I suppose that we have to consider the long-term effects of this program. First, just because you hand ‘em out doesn’t mean that they’ll be used. Second, if you give something to the dependent class and get them used to it, then you can use it as a threat in future elections. “If you vote for them, they’ll take away your *insert entitlement here*. Heck, they’ve been doing that for years with the old folks and medicare (Which is probably why the frieghter thing I mentioned is a no-go). None of what they have listed in the stimulus bill will to the first thing to lift the economy. In fact, most of it will damage it further. We’re talking about state and county-level projects that ought not be funded on that level by government, much less by FEDERAL government. Art Programs? Money for schools to teach Native American language classes? How the heck does that help? How about a tax cut, you idiots? Here, check this out:
If congress sends ME the money, then I use it to buy things. If they send me enough money for long enough (or let me keep my own money in the first place) then I am more likely to buy things like cars, televisions, movie tickets, dinner out… you get the picture. All of those things are (guess what) part of the American economy!!!! Giving money to local governments to build their pet projects does little to nothing for anyone but the contractor who gets the job. But then again, he’s being taxed through the floor so that it can be built. What I would LOVE to see is a local county or state government apply for a big chunk of the money (but not disproportionately large) and allocate it for a big fat tax cut to the taxpayers of that municipality. Could you imagine the positive repercussions if, say, the State of Georgia did that? Suddenly, there would be a flash of monetary input for the market and the lending institutions as people pay down debt. Either way, that helps my personal economy. If we all do better, then so will the economy. If the engine requires gas, why don’t they give us all a little gas and let us get the engine started again? Well, that makes a little sense, so I guess that won’t be happening. Perhaps I could get a billion or so in the meantimeto do a study on why my cat is snoring right now. Loudly, in fact. Yeah, a billion should cover it. I mean, some of that has to buy earplugs for me and the dog… and buying earplugs stimulates the economy, right?
We MUST save Chicago!
It’s going to feel like 40 below in Chicago this week and they are set to experience the coldest temperatures in a decade. Stupid global warming. I sure wish it wasn’t so dang hot all the time….
This has brought me to an epiphany. I personally have solved the sudden global cooling crisis all by myself. SUV farms. Yes folks, that’s right. Acres and Acres of SUV’s parked on permeable paved surfaces. These farms will be strategically located in areas that are predicted to suffer catastrophic cold this winter and perhaps in winters to come. Long about Thanksgiving, armies of presently unemployed persons would go to ‘the fields’ to fuel up all these climate control machines with the requisite fossil fuels to prepare for winter. When the cold air starts blasting in from up north, the farms could be started up. This would (according to popular opinion) have the effect of instantaneously warming the atmosphere in that area to abnormally high temperatures for the season; battling the cold and saving the potentially doomed citizens from an Icy death.
What could be better than that you ask? How about fixing the economy at the same time???Where are all of these new SUV’s going to come from? From Detroit! That’s right, not only will these farms save us from the planet’s worst cold snaps, but building, maintaining and occasionally replacing them all would put thousands of union Autoworkers back on the job! Praise BE!! You see what a little ingenuity can do???!
Um, can Elmo count that high?
Filed under: Finance, Foreign Policy, Politics, Uncategorized, Waste
Many of you will remember the days when you actually waited impatiently for the end of Sesame Street to hear the phrase: “Sesame Street was brought to you today by the letter ‘A’ and the number ’12′ (or whatever the generously inclined alphanumeric benefactors were for that day). Well, I want to know if they are going to have an episode that is brought to you by the number 3,000,000,000,000…
Given that congress stands ready to burden the children of today with a ‘bailout’ tax bill that carries the same number, I would suggest that “The Count” get himself a packet of no-doz and a pot of coffee. It’s gonna take a hell of a long time to count that high…
One! One Woefully Wasted dollar! Ah AH AH… Two! Two Terminally Taxed Toddlers! Ah AH AH!
Who on earth REALLY thinks that this is a good idea? I mean seriously… do these idiots go home and tell their kids that if the piggy bank doesn’t have enough that they can raid the “Monopoly” box for the rest?
AUGGGGGGHHHH!!!! I could spit nails. In fact, I might. Just to see if it helps.