Thursday, August 6, 2009
house bill part 3
I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but some folks have actually complained about the information I’ve tried to supply the last few weeks regarding the House Health Care Bill.
Most, but not all of the questions have arisen from someone jumping to an unwarranted conclusion based upon the information they skimmed over.
For example, in one section of the bill, it talks about end-of-life counseling. One gentleman chided me for knot doing my research, referring me to a Snopes’ article on euthanasia.
I never mentioned euthanasia. I mentioned end-of-life counseling. It was this gentleman’s assumption that connected the two.
That’s what I mean about jumping to conclusions. Several have suggested I used biased sources, left- or right-wing pundits. They’re all over the place, but they’re just as bad as flipping a coin—usually.
My primary source of information is the house bill itself. On one hand, I have the bill so I can go through it line by line; on the other, I have my document upon which I relate my own personal interpretations of the rules.
I might pose ideas with which you might not agree, but they are not lifted verb-by-verb from another’s equally inept interpretation.
Now, all that being said, and with assurance I’m not copying right- or left-wing regurgitation ad nauseam, let’s talk more about the bill.
Now when the president says ‘everyone’ will have health insurance, he ain’t just whistling Dixie (except for himself and those around him). Not only does the bill lay hefty penalties up to eight percent of the payroll on employers who fail to offer acceptable health plans, but they hit taxpayers with similarly harsh penalties.
In section 59B, we read the penalty for having no coverage. The bill states in subsection (a), TAX IMPOSED- in the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of acceptable health insurance according to subsection (d) at any time during the taxable years, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of: the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year---but it shall not exceed the applicable national average premium for such taxable year, an amount determined by the Secretary and the Health Choices Commissioner (this is a new one on me too)
The penalty is even more harsh if you fail to cover your dependents.
Makes you wonder how those Washington whiz kids are going to handle the cardboard-box-sleeping-under-the-bridges constituents of their voting blocs.
Now, a couple pages farther, AND THIS REALLY TICKS ME OFF, page 170 to be exact when the bill addresses exceptions to this penalty. Nonresident Aliens - Subsection (a) – the subsection mentioned above – shall not apply to any individual who is a non-resident alien.
By the way, a non-resident alien is a person who is not a US Citizen and who does not meet either the ‘green card’ test or the ‘substantial presence’ test described in IRS Publication 159, US Tax Guide for Aliens.
The way I read this is that American citizens will have to pay the penalties, but illegal aliens will not.
I wish you critics would read it and tell me if I’m wrong on this interpretation. If I’m right, does that mean you and I are paying for old Tequila Joe?
Now, if you’re good hearted enough you don’t mind for the next illegal wading across, how about pickup up the next two or three for me, okay?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
physician, patient-- protect thyself
Physician and Patient, Protect Thyself
No one likes the hassle of buying new health insurance, but at least, we can shop around.
But no more! The House Bill doesn’t give you a choice, not really. If you like to comparison shop, forget it. There will be nothing with which to compare the benefits.
On page 65 of the Health Bill, it states that the ‘Secretary of Health and Human Services’ shall establish a temporary reinsurance program to provide reimbursement for participating employment-based plans with the cost of providing health benefits to retirees and eligible spouses, surviving spouses, and dependents of such retires. To me, and probably also to you, health benefits means medical, surgical, hospital, prescription drugs, and such other benefits as shall be determined by the SECRETARY whether—(read this carefully), whether self-funded or delivered through the purchase of insurance or otherwise.’
In other words, as I see it, that means even if I have the funds to pay for a high-dollar operation or procedure, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services approves, I cannot get it.
Read it. Tell me if I’m wrong. I hope I am, but I don’t think so. It appears to me, the older folks are bearing the brunt of this savage attack on our welfare. Of course, you are well aware the Obama administration had suggested taking 500 billion from Medicare to help pay for this all-encompassing health bill. With that much ripped from Medicare, I can only imagine what benefits will necessarily not be available any longer. How about you?
A friend of mine mentioned a movie from years back with Edward G. Robinson, ‘Soylent Green.’ Soylent Green was the food the government of the future provided for the population. In the movie, the government runs your life to the point of telling you when it’s time to die. The death is peaceful and serene, and then the body was dumped at a processing plant that produced—what else? You guessed it, Soylent Green.
Now, I’m not suggesting anything like that, but this section of the bill will dictate procedures you, depending upon your age, will be eligible to receive—or not.
On page 72, a government Health Exchange is being set up to establish standards for all insurance companies offering health benefit plans through the Health Insurance Exchange. In effect, the government is bringing private health care plans under its control. It mandates—as in NO CHOICE- mandates ALL benefit levels for all plans. It other words, they are telling us what we can get in our healthcare plans even if you buy from a private company.
During World War II, we were told what we could buy and could not buy. That was called ‘rationing’, a word that has been popping up more and more frequently in regard to this bill.
On page 91, lines 4-7, the bill states that each insurance company will provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and health services. That means only one thing to me--this plan is designed to cover the twelve million (who knows how many?) illegals still in our country.
Sure, there are many folks without health care, but illegals, using the gov’t’s own figures, make up twenty-five percent of that number, while the shiftless, the potheads, the indifferent, the cheats, the-get-something-for-nothings also make up a large part.
How many of us had the initial impression that this bill would treat everyone the same, benefits, etc…? Guess again. There are five different levels of participation in regard to cost-sharing. Uh, oh! Cost Sharing? Horrors! You mean we’re going to have to fork over cash?
You got it. Five different levels with five different cost-sharing provisions. You have more money, you buy a better plan.
Strange, that seems like what we’re doing now.
They even tell doctors what they can and cannot charge by relegating them to ‘preferred’ and ‘non-preferred’ status.
Welcome to the future.
No one likes the hassle of buying new health insurance, but at least, we can shop around.
But no more! The House Bill doesn’t give you a choice, not really. If you like to comparison shop, forget it. There will be nothing with which to compare the benefits.
On page 65 of the Health Bill, it states that the ‘Secretary of Health and Human Services’ shall establish a temporary reinsurance program to provide reimbursement for participating employment-based plans with the cost of providing health benefits to retirees and eligible spouses, surviving spouses, and dependents of such retires. To me, and probably also to you, health benefits means medical, surgical, hospital, prescription drugs, and such other benefits as shall be determined by the SECRETARY whether—(read this carefully), whether self-funded or delivered through the purchase of insurance or otherwise.’
In other words, as I see it, that means even if I have the funds to pay for a high-dollar operation or procedure, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services approves, I cannot get it.
Read it. Tell me if I’m wrong. I hope I am, but I don’t think so. It appears to me, the older folks are bearing the brunt of this savage attack on our welfare. Of course, you are well aware the Obama administration had suggested taking 500 billion from Medicare to help pay for this all-encompassing health bill. With that much ripped from Medicare, I can only imagine what benefits will necessarily not be available any longer. How about you?
A friend of mine mentioned a movie from years back with Edward G. Robinson, ‘Soylent Green.’ Soylent Green was the food the government of the future provided for the population. In the movie, the government runs your life to the point of telling you when it’s time to die. The death is peaceful and serene, and then the body was dumped at a processing plant that produced—what else? You guessed it, Soylent Green.
Now, I’m not suggesting anything like that, but this section of the bill will dictate procedures you, depending upon your age, will be eligible to receive—or not.
On page 72, a government Health Exchange is being set up to establish standards for all insurance companies offering health benefit plans through the Health Insurance Exchange. In effect, the government is bringing private health care plans under its control. It mandates—as in NO CHOICE- mandates ALL benefit levels for all plans. It other words, they are telling us what we can get in our healthcare plans even if you buy from a private company.
During World War II, we were told what we could buy and could not buy. That was called ‘rationing’, a word that has been popping up more and more frequently in regard to this bill.
On page 91, lines 4-7, the bill states that each insurance company will provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and health services. That means only one thing to me--this plan is designed to cover the twelve million (who knows how many?) illegals still in our country.
Sure, there are many folks without health care, but illegals, using the gov’t’s own figures, make up twenty-five percent of that number, while the shiftless, the potheads, the indifferent, the cheats, the-get-something-for-nothings also make up a large part.
How many of us had the initial impression that this bill would treat everyone the same, benefits, etc…? Guess again. There are five different levels of participation in regard to cost-sharing. Uh, oh! Cost Sharing? Horrors! You mean we’re going to have to fork over cash?
You got it. Five different levels with five different cost-sharing provisions. You have more money, you buy a better plan.
Strange, that seems like what we’re doing now.
They even tell doctors what they can and cannot charge by relegating them to ‘preferred’ and ‘non-preferred’ status.
Welcome to the future.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
obama's health care bill
Trust Me, I’m from the Government
Hey, believe it or not, Obama’s administration has real plans to give the elderly a helping hand in monitoring their health and welfare.
That’s the truth. One thousand and eighteen pages of help—at least the way they interpret health.
So, if you have family beyond or even approaching the age of Social Security, let them know the president is offering them assistance as they travel along the long road of life.
Yep, not only will the health Care Bill restructure health insurance into a drastically different process, they will also insist, as in MANDATE, senior citizens undergo Advance Care Planning Consultations. In other words, they will help every American over a certain age make plans for dying.
Hey, not only are those good old fellas going to do that, they will also MANDATE instruction and consultation regarding living wills and durable powers of attorney.
Wow! Isn’t that real humanitarian of them? Compassion drawn straight from Biblical teachings.
So now you forty- and fifty–year-olds with aging parents can breathe a sigh of relief. President Obama and his cohorts are planning your parents’ future. This includes an explanation by the practitioner (the doctor they choose for you) of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice as well as benefits for such services and supports that are available.
The only ones besides Democrats (and not all of them) who will benefit from this bill are the deadbeats and illegal aliens. In the past, I’ve seen Congress turn out such shabby legislation for which not even pre-schoolers would claim authorship. This one is the worst ever.
Now before you brush this off as sour grapes or the rantings of a sorehead, read what The Wallstreet Journal had to say about this Health Care Bill.
“When Mr. Obama says ‘If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what,’ he’s wrong. Period. What he’s not telling the American people is that the government will so dramatically change the rules of the insurance market that employers will find it impossible to maintain their current coverage, and many will drop it altogether. The more we inspect the House bill, the more it looks to be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever introduced in Congress.”
And dear reader, keep in mind Obama had not read the bill when he made the previous remarks.
What else is it the bill?
Well, thanks to Peter Fleckstein who waded through the monstrous bill and twittered his findings, we can see the chilling intent of the government.
On page 22 of the bill, the law MANDATES that the government will audit books of all employers that self-insure. (can’t have anyone competing against the government)
On page 29, it tells us our healthcare WILL BE RATIONED. Typical of this administration, no details are provided.
On page 30, Section 123, it states ‘there will be a government committee that decides what treatments and/or benefits you get. (a committee yet)
Twelve pages later, we’re informed the Health Choices Commissioner will choose your health care benefits for you. You will have no choice.
If you can’t read between the lines here, it is saying the older you are, the fewer choices you’ll have.
I hope some of you choke on this next one. On page 50, health care will be provided all non-U.S. citizens, illegal or otherwise.
On page 58, we’re told the government will have real-time access to individual finance information, and a national ID healthcare will be issued.
And there’s more, much more, 960 pages more.
This is all spelled out in Peter Fleckman’s twitter online and in the bill. It’s a chore to read, but this is one chore you should undertake before it’s too late.
Hey, believe it or not, Obama’s administration has real plans to give the elderly a helping hand in monitoring their health and welfare.
That’s the truth. One thousand and eighteen pages of help—at least the way they interpret health.
So, if you have family beyond or even approaching the age of Social Security, let them know the president is offering them assistance as they travel along the long road of life.
Yep, not only will the health Care Bill restructure health insurance into a drastically different process, they will also insist, as in MANDATE, senior citizens undergo Advance Care Planning Consultations. In other words, they will help every American over a certain age make plans for dying.
Hey, not only are those good old fellas going to do that, they will also MANDATE instruction and consultation regarding living wills and durable powers of attorney.
Wow! Isn’t that real humanitarian of them? Compassion drawn straight from Biblical teachings.
So now you forty- and fifty–year-olds with aging parents can breathe a sigh of relief. President Obama and his cohorts are planning your parents’ future. This includes an explanation by the practitioner (the doctor they choose for you) of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice as well as benefits for such services and supports that are available.
The only ones besides Democrats (and not all of them) who will benefit from this bill are the deadbeats and illegal aliens. In the past, I’ve seen Congress turn out such shabby legislation for which not even pre-schoolers would claim authorship. This one is the worst ever.
Now before you brush this off as sour grapes or the rantings of a sorehead, read what The Wallstreet Journal had to say about this Health Care Bill.
“When Mr. Obama says ‘If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what,’ he’s wrong. Period. What he’s not telling the American people is that the government will so dramatically change the rules of the insurance market that employers will find it impossible to maintain their current coverage, and many will drop it altogether. The more we inspect the House bill, the more it looks to be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever introduced in Congress.”
And dear reader, keep in mind Obama had not read the bill when he made the previous remarks.
What else is it the bill?
Well, thanks to Peter Fleckstein who waded through the monstrous bill and twittered his findings, we can see the chilling intent of the government.
On page 22 of the bill, the law MANDATES that the government will audit books of all employers that self-insure. (can’t have anyone competing against the government)
On page 29, it tells us our healthcare WILL BE RATIONED. Typical of this administration, no details are provided.
On page 30, Section 123, it states ‘there will be a government committee that decides what treatments and/or benefits you get. (a committee yet)
Twelve pages later, we’re informed the Health Choices Commissioner will choose your health care benefits for you. You will have no choice.
If you can’t read between the lines here, it is saying the older you are, the fewer choices you’ll have.
I hope some of you choke on this next one. On page 50, health care will be provided all non-U.S. citizens, illegal or otherwise.
On page 58, we’re told the government will have real-time access to individual finance information, and a national ID healthcare will be issued.
And there’s more, much more, 960 pages more.
This is all spelled out in Peter Fleckman’s twitter online and in the bill. It’s a chore to read, but this is one chore you should undertake before it’s too late.
Friday, July 24, 2009
ramming socialism down our throats
The Slot Machine Called Government Health
Not long ago, we paid a visit to one of the casinos across the river. I wanted to tell you about our misadventures, but upon picking up the morning paper in the restaurant, I saw that our president is pushing hard on the Health Bill.
Now, I know there are thousands upon millions who voted for him. That’s their privilege. This is America where we are free to choose or do anything we wish as long as it does not harm someone else. Right?
Well, for your information, some of those decisions are coming to a screeching halt unless this country wakes up and takes action.
The president’s health bill is 1018 pages long. He admits he hasn’t read it, and since none of our exalted congressional leaders bothered to read the stimulus bill before passing it, then we’ve got rocks in our heads if we expect them to read this one. The Democrats will vote for it because it is a Democrat bill. The Republicans will vote against it for that very same reason.
The fact there are millions of us out here affected by the results means very little to those one hundred Senators and 435 Congressman. They’re playing a stupid ‘me-first’ game with you and your children’s lives.
How does it feel, those of your who voted for Obama because he would bring about change, to know your life is going to be irrevocably changed to a culture contrary to the precepts of America. And you won’t be able to do anything about it?
Don’t believe me.
You better, for on on page sixteen of the health bill is this statement. “Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer (your insurance company) offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of the year the legislation becomes law.”
According to Investors Business Daily, July 15, 2009, this means after the federal health legislation is passed, you can keep private coverage, with exceptions. Those who currently have private individual coverage won’t be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers. Both must buy from the government.
If you’re happy with your current coverage, you keep it. If it ever changes, premium, coverage, etc., you’re sunk. You can’t take the new coverage. You’ve got to buy from the government.
Now, here’s the next step in this imbecilic change. The government plan will be 30-40% cheaper. Private insurance companies will lose customers and eventually fold, throwing all of us into the government plan.
That’s right. Your insurance company goes out of business, you go to government health—no choice. Read that once again, NO CHOICE! Current college kids as well as your progeny for generations to come will be forced to sign up for government health.
If Americans will take off their blinders and watch and listen, they’ll realize this administration will say whatever needs to be said to accomplish its goal despite any contradictions to previous explanations.
By the way, you do know you’ll be paying for this health care by an increase in taxes, don’t you? Already, there is talk of hitting the very rich with 51/4 percent surtax. Sure, many will say, they can afford it. That isn’t the point. What happens when Obama and his band of misguided idealists discover the surtax isn’t enough?
Listen to the administration and they’ll tell you everything is going to cost more. That’s the one thing they haven’t lied about. But, the catch is, they don’t know how much more just like they said unemployment would not go above 8%. It’s over 10% now, and in areas with high welfare, it’s over 12%.
Look out your window. Things keep going like they are, three generations from now, what you see out there will be a third-world country.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
Not long ago, we paid a visit to one of the casinos across the river. I wanted to tell you about our misadventures, but upon picking up the morning paper in the restaurant, I saw that our president is pushing hard on the Health Bill.
Now, I know there are thousands upon millions who voted for him. That’s their privilege. This is America where we are free to choose or do anything we wish as long as it does not harm someone else. Right?
Well, for your information, some of those decisions are coming to a screeching halt unless this country wakes up and takes action.
The president’s health bill is 1018 pages long. He admits he hasn’t read it, and since none of our exalted congressional leaders bothered to read the stimulus bill before passing it, then we’ve got rocks in our heads if we expect them to read this one. The Democrats will vote for it because it is a Democrat bill. The Republicans will vote against it for that very same reason.
The fact there are millions of us out here affected by the results means very little to those one hundred Senators and 435 Congressman. They’re playing a stupid ‘me-first’ game with you and your children’s lives.
How does it feel, those of your who voted for Obama because he would bring about change, to know your life is going to be irrevocably changed to a culture contrary to the precepts of America. And you won’t be able to do anything about it?
Don’t believe me.
You better, for on on page sixteen of the health bill is this statement. “Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer (your insurance company) offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of the year the legislation becomes law.”
According to Investors Business Daily, July 15, 2009, this means after the federal health legislation is passed, you can keep private coverage, with exceptions. Those who currently have private individual coverage won’t be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers. Both must buy from the government.
If you’re happy with your current coverage, you keep it. If it ever changes, premium, coverage, etc., you’re sunk. You can’t take the new coverage. You’ve got to buy from the government.
Now, here’s the next step in this imbecilic change. The government plan will be 30-40% cheaper. Private insurance companies will lose customers and eventually fold, throwing all of us into the government plan.
That’s right. Your insurance company goes out of business, you go to government health—no choice. Read that once again, NO CHOICE! Current college kids as well as your progeny for generations to come will be forced to sign up for government health.
If Americans will take off their blinders and watch and listen, they’ll realize this administration will say whatever needs to be said to accomplish its goal despite any contradictions to previous explanations.
By the way, you do know you’ll be paying for this health care by an increase in taxes, don’t you? Already, there is talk of hitting the very rich with 51/4 percent surtax. Sure, many will say, they can afford it. That isn’t the point. What happens when Obama and his band of misguided idealists discover the surtax isn’t enough?
Listen to the administration and they’ll tell you everything is going to cost more. That’s the one thing they haven’t lied about. But, the catch is, they don’t know how much more just like they said unemployment would not go above 8%. It’s over 10% now, and in areas with high welfare, it’s over 12%.
Look out your window. Things keep going like they are, three generations from now, what you see out there will be a third-world country.
rconwell@gt.rr.com
Monday, July 20, 2009
Days of Vengeance
Recently, one of my editors asked for a short discussion on the backstory of my newest Leisure Western, 'Days of Vengeance.'
I figured some of you might be interested in the tenuous chain of ideas that somehow coalesce into the plot lines of a novel.
Here's copy of my reply to them which should be out on their website in August.
Days of Vengeance
By
Kent Conwell
My first lucky break in this life was being born in the Texas Panhandle within spitting distance of Adobe Walls and Custer’s 1867 attack on Black Kettle’s Cheyennes at the Washita River; second was coming from families who helped settle the Manifest Destiny of our great country; and the third was having garrulous old grandfathers and their sidekicks who loved to reminisce about the old days.
On my maternal grandfather’s side, an old cowboy with the ubiquitous name of Slim was as much a part of the Holley family as I, a grandson. Slim had come to work for them and having no family of his own, never left. I was twelve before I realized Slim wasn’t blood kin.
From Papa Conwell, Papa Holley, and Slim—you know, I never did learn his last name-, I heard stories not only of their own experiences late in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, but also those of their fathers and grandfathers that included most of the Nineteenth Century.
As a youth, I’d stand on the crest of one of those rolling sandhills in the Panhandle and peer across the prairie, their stories tumbling through my head. Somewhere on that vast, rolling prairie, I’d see single files of Cheyenne and Comanche warriors and columns of blue coated soldiers on prancing horses.
Many nights I listened from the shadows as Papa Holley and Slim sat around the wood burning stove reliving the past.
Just as often, I sat on the porch with Papa Conwell watching the horse drawn wagons hauling cotton to the gin, soaking up his own stories of his adventures from Tennessee to Texas as a runaway youth on a ox train.
I was too young to understand it at the time, but those three had lived through sixty-seventy years of history and had heard first hand of the previous sixty or seventy years of the westward movement. Little did I realize how fortunate I was to be privy to one hundred and forty years of oral history.
Many of their stories come to my mind, and one of the most enduring is the never ending struggle the early settlers faced not only with survival, but also the greed of those coming for quick wealth.
The average emigrant from the early 1840s on simply wanted a better life, not necessarily wealth. The ones who survived, who didn’t drop out along the way, were tough, determined, and persevering.
When land barons charged in to sweep up vast sections of land, they ran into fierce opposition from the settlers. Many of the emigrants, having cleared the land, planted crops, raised stock, refused to give in to money and political pressure.
In a country where the law was the hogleg on your hip, many, like Ben Elliott in ‘Days of Vengeance’, fought back with ferocious rage, going to extreme lengths to save the land over which he had shed blood and sweat.
Ben Elliott was not alone. There were thousands of Ben Elliotts who fought the battle. Some emerged victorious. Unfortunately, the majority was crushed by the power and politics of the greedy carpetbaggers and land barons.
To me, Ben Elliott is the epitome of America, a man of honor, character, and the bull-headed determination that no man will take away his God=given rights, rights so succinctly enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.
I figured some of you might be interested in the tenuous chain of ideas that somehow coalesce into the plot lines of a novel.
Here's copy of my reply to them which should be out on their website in August.
Days of Vengeance
By
Kent Conwell
My first lucky break in this life was being born in the Texas Panhandle within spitting distance of Adobe Walls and Custer’s 1867 attack on Black Kettle’s Cheyennes at the Washita River; second was coming from families who helped settle the Manifest Destiny of our great country; and the third was having garrulous old grandfathers and their sidekicks who loved to reminisce about the old days.
On my maternal grandfather’s side, an old cowboy with the ubiquitous name of Slim was as much a part of the Holley family as I, a grandson. Slim had come to work for them and having no family of his own, never left. I was twelve before I realized Slim wasn’t blood kin.
From Papa Conwell, Papa Holley, and Slim—you know, I never did learn his last name-, I heard stories not only of their own experiences late in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, but also those of their fathers and grandfathers that included most of the Nineteenth Century.
As a youth, I’d stand on the crest of one of those rolling sandhills in the Panhandle and peer across the prairie, their stories tumbling through my head. Somewhere on that vast, rolling prairie, I’d see single files of Cheyenne and Comanche warriors and columns of blue coated soldiers on prancing horses.
Many nights I listened from the shadows as Papa Holley and Slim sat around the wood burning stove reliving the past.
Just as often, I sat on the porch with Papa Conwell watching the horse drawn wagons hauling cotton to the gin, soaking up his own stories of his adventures from Tennessee to Texas as a runaway youth on a ox train.
I was too young to understand it at the time, but those three had lived through sixty-seventy years of history and had heard first hand of the previous sixty or seventy years of the westward movement. Little did I realize how fortunate I was to be privy to one hundred and forty years of oral history.
Many of their stories come to my mind, and one of the most enduring is the never ending struggle the early settlers faced not only with survival, but also the greed of those coming for quick wealth.
The average emigrant from the early 1840s on simply wanted a better life, not necessarily wealth. The ones who survived, who didn’t drop out along the way, were tough, determined, and persevering.
When land barons charged in to sweep up vast sections of land, they ran into fierce opposition from the settlers. Many of the emigrants, having cleared the land, planted crops, raised stock, refused to give in to money and political pressure.
In a country where the law was the hogleg on your hip, many, like Ben Elliott in ‘Days of Vengeance’, fought back with ferocious rage, going to extreme lengths to save the land over which he had shed blood and sweat.
Ben Elliott was not alone. There were thousands of Ben Elliotts who fought the battle. Some emerged victorious. Unfortunately, the majority was crushed by the power and politics of the greedy carpetbaggers and land barons.
To me, Ben Elliott is the epitome of America, a man of honor, character, and the bull-headed determination that no man will take away his God=given rights, rights so succinctly enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.
a weird world
A World Gone Mad
Is this world turning weird and screwy, or what?
Does anyone know is happening to our priorities? Other than I know they’re changing, I have no idea.
Whoever thought you would be penalized for being a success? You rich ones out there are getting ready to take a 51/4% tax surcharge. Yes, just because you’re worked hard and became successful.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s quite what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
A wiser person once said, from thoughts come words; from words come action; from action comes habit; from habit comes character; and from character comes priorities.
Is it the change in the character of our country that is skewing our priorities? That’s all I can figure.
Look at the most recent outburst of what I consider skewed priorities, Michael Mania.
Don’t misunderstand. My deepest sympathies are with the family over its tragic loss of a loved one and a talented musical artist. He was what he was, and I’m the last person in the world to judge anyone.
But his passing was turned into a circus, which to my way of thinking was an insult to him.
From adults on down to pre-teenagers, folks were falling down in the streets, bawling and tearing out their hair, wailing and gnashing their teeth and covering themselves with appropriate amounts of sackcloth and ashes.
I sure didn’t see any gnashing of teeth or writhing in agony on the streets when America brought home her last hero who died for you and me in the Middle East.
Naïve me, I figured sooner or later, the Michael angst would sort of be winnowed away by the winds of time.
But I was mistaken.
Call me cynical in situations such as this, but I can’t help believing that much of what has been and is going on is not so much out of concern for the deceased, but a means to keep names and faces in the media, i.e, a Michael tribute in a few weeks celebrating his birthday?
All you have to do is listen to the news and you’ll hear the seething accusations being hurled about.
And does the media cooperate?
Wow!
I thought President Obama had them in his hip pocket, but he’s a neophyte where the grieving survivors are concerned.
Though not quite as weird, over in South Carolina, is a governor who told his staff he’d planned to hike the Appalachian Trail, then scooted down to Argentina for a little hanky-panky. But that’s not so weird-boggling as the fact that prior to his little Argentine soiree, the governor repeatedly asked his wife’s permission to visit his lover during the months after she had discovered his affair.
Now, that’s weird.
If I’d pulled a stunt like that, the last thing I would have remembered was my wife screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘will someone show me how to reload this #! thing.’
But, this is a weird world, filled with people and stories that put fiction to shame.
I can tell you about the marriage that didn’t even make it to sundown, or the poor kid in Africa with the Mowgli syndrome who flaps his arms and talks like a bird, but neither is quite as bizarre as the dead being reborn in diamonds.
A Connecticut woman, shaken by her pet’s death, had its DNA put into a synthetic diamond so she could have him with her forever.
Yep, DNA2Diamonds can do that for you. It ain’t cheap, and it takes a few months, and it’s weird, and the company does a booming business from what I hear.
In this weird world, I’m surprised someone hasn’t come up with the idea of putting celebrities’ DNA in diamonds and selling them.
Or, is that the next new marketing ploy in this weird world that is growing more so by the minute?
Is this world turning weird and screwy, or what?
Does anyone know is happening to our priorities? Other than I know they’re changing, I have no idea.
Whoever thought you would be penalized for being a success? You rich ones out there are getting ready to take a 51/4% tax surcharge. Yes, just because you’re worked hard and became successful.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s quite what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
A wiser person once said, from thoughts come words; from words come action; from action comes habit; from habit comes character; and from character comes priorities.
Is it the change in the character of our country that is skewing our priorities? That’s all I can figure.
Look at the most recent outburst of what I consider skewed priorities, Michael Mania.
Don’t misunderstand. My deepest sympathies are with the family over its tragic loss of a loved one and a talented musical artist. He was what he was, and I’m the last person in the world to judge anyone.
But his passing was turned into a circus, which to my way of thinking was an insult to him.
From adults on down to pre-teenagers, folks were falling down in the streets, bawling and tearing out their hair, wailing and gnashing their teeth and covering themselves with appropriate amounts of sackcloth and ashes.
I sure didn’t see any gnashing of teeth or writhing in agony on the streets when America brought home her last hero who died for you and me in the Middle East.
Naïve me, I figured sooner or later, the Michael angst would sort of be winnowed away by the winds of time.
But I was mistaken.
Call me cynical in situations such as this, but I can’t help believing that much of what has been and is going on is not so much out of concern for the deceased, but a means to keep names and faces in the media, i.e, a Michael tribute in a few weeks celebrating his birthday?
All you have to do is listen to the news and you’ll hear the seething accusations being hurled about.
And does the media cooperate?
Wow!
I thought President Obama had them in his hip pocket, but he’s a neophyte where the grieving survivors are concerned.
Though not quite as weird, over in South Carolina, is a governor who told his staff he’d planned to hike the Appalachian Trail, then scooted down to Argentina for a little hanky-panky. But that’s not so weird-boggling as the fact that prior to his little Argentine soiree, the governor repeatedly asked his wife’s permission to visit his lover during the months after she had discovered his affair.
Now, that’s weird.
If I’d pulled a stunt like that, the last thing I would have remembered was my wife screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘will someone show me how to reload this #! thing.’
But, this is a weird world, filled with people and stories that put fiction to shame.
I can tell you about the marriage that didn’t even make it to sundown, or the poor kid in Africa with the Mowgli syndrome who flaps his arms and talks like a bird, but neither is quite as bizarre as the dead being reborn in diamonds.
A Connecticut woman, shaken by her pet’s death, had its DNA put into a synthetic diamond so she could have him with her forever.
Yep, DNA2Diamonds can do that for you. It ain’t cheap, and it takes a few months, and it’s weird, and the company does a booming business from what I hear.
In this weird world, I’m surprised someone hasn’t come up with the idea of putting celebrities’ DNA in diamonds and selling them.
Or, is that the next new marketing ploy in this weird world that is growing more so by the minute?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
bizarre country
A World Gone Mad
Is this world turning weird and screwy, or what?
Does anyone know is happening to our priorities? Other than I know they’re changing, I have no idea.
Whoever thought you would be penalized for being a success? You rich ones out there are getting ready to take a 51/4% tax surcharge. Yes, just because you’re worked hard and became successful.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s quite what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
A wiser person once said, from thoughts come words; from words come action; from action comes habit; from habit comes character; and from character comes priorities.
Is it the change in the character of our country that is skewing our priorities?
That’s all I can figure.
Look at the most recent outburst of what I consider skewed priorities, Michael Mania.
Don’t misunderstand. My deepest sympathies are with the family over its tragic loss of a loved one and a talented musical artist. He was what he was, and I’m the last person in the world to judge anyone.
But his passing was turned into a circus, which to my way of thinking was an insult to him.
From adults on down to pre-teenagers, folks were falling down in the streets, bawling and tearing out their hair, wailing and gnashing their teeth and covering themselves with appropriate amounts of sackcloth and ashes.
I sure didn’t see any gnashing of teeth or writhing in agony on the streets when America brought home her last hero who died for you and me in the Middle East.
Naïve me, I figured sooner or later, the Michael angst would sort of be winnowed away by the winds of time.
But I was mistaken.
Call me cynical in situations such as this, but I can’t help believing that much of what has been and is going on is not so much out of concern for the deceased, but a means to keep names and faces in the media, i.e, a Michael tribute in a few weeks celebrating his birthday?
All you have to do is listen to the news and you’ll hear the seething accusations being hurled about.
And does the media cooperate?
Wow!
I thought President Obama had them in his hip pocket, but he’s a neophyte where the grieving survivors are concerned.
Though not quite as weird, over in South Carolina is a governor who told his staff he’d planned to hike the Appalachian Trail, then scooted down to Argentina for a little hanky-panky. But that’s not so weird-boggling as the fact that prior to his little Argentine soiree, the governor repeatedly asked his wife’s permission to visit his lover during the months after she had discovered his affair.
Now, that’s weird.
If I’d pulled a stunt like that, the last thing I would have remembered was my wife screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘will someone show me how to reload this #! thing.’
But, this is a weird world, filled with people and stories that put fiction to shame.
I can tell you about the marriage that didn’t even make it to sundown, or the poor kid in Africa with the Mowgli syndrome who flaps his arms and talks like a bird, but neither is quite as bizarre as the dead being reborn in diamonds.
A Connecticut woman, shaken by her pet’s death, had its DNA put into a synthetic diamond so she could have him with her forever.
Yep, DNA2Diamonds can do that for you. It ain’t cheap, and it takes a few months, and it’s weird, and the company does a booming business from what I hear.
In this weird world, I’m surprised someone hasn’t come up with the idea of putting celebrities’ DNA in diamonds and selling them.
Or, is that the next new marketing ploy in this weird world that is growing more so by the minute?
Is this world turning weird and screwy, or what?
Does anyone know is happening to our priorities? Other than I know they’re changing, I have no idea.
Whoever thought you would be penalized for being a success? You rich ones out there are getting ready to take a 51/4% tax surcharge. Yes, just because you’re worked hard and became successful.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s quite what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
A wiser person once said, from thoughts come words; from words come action; from action comes habit; from habit comes character; and from character comes priorities.
Is it the change in the character of our country that is skewing our priorities?
That’s all I can figure.
Look at the most recent outburst of what I consider skewed priorities, Michael Mania.
Don’t misunderstand. My deepest sympathies are with the family over its tragic loss of a loved one and a talented musical artist. He was what he was, and I’m the last person in the world to judge anyone.
But his passing was turned into a circus, which to my way of thinking was an insult to him.
From adults on down to pre-teenagers, folks were falling down in the streets, bawling and tearing out their hair, wailing and gnashing their teeth and covering themselves with appropriate amounts of sackcloth and ashes.
I sure didn’t see any gnashing of teeth or writhing in agony on the streets when America brought home her last hero who died for you and me in the Middle East.
Naïve me, I figured sooner or later, the Michael angst would sort of be winnowed away by the winds of time.
But I was mistaken.
Call me cynical in situations such as this, but I can’t help believing that much of what has been and is going on is not so much out of concern for the deceased, but a means to keep names and faces in the media, i.e, a Michael tribute in a few weeks celebrating his birthday?
All you have to do is listen to the news and you’ll hear the seething accusations being hurled about.
And does the media cooperate?
Wow!
I thought President Obama had them in his hip pocket, but he’s a neophyte where the grieving survivors are concerned.
Though not quite as weird, over in South Carolina is a governor who told his staff he’d planned to hike the Appalachian Trail, then scooted down to Argentina for a little hanky-panky. But that’s not so weird-boggling as the fact that prior to his little Argentine soiree, the governor repeatedly asked his wife’s permission to visit his lover during the months after she had discovered his affair.
Now, that’s weird.
If I’d pulled a stunt like that, the last thing I would have remembered was my wife screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘will someone show me how to reload this #! thing.’
But, this is a weird world, filled with people and stories that put fiction to shame.
I can tell you about the marriage that didn’t even make it to sundown, or the poor kid in Africa with the Mowgli syndrome who flaps his arms and talks like a bird, but neither is quite as bizarre as the dead being reborn in diamonds.
A Connecticut woman, shaken by her pet’s death, had its DNA put into a synthetic diamond so she could have him with her forever.
Yep, DNA2Diamonds can do that for you. It ain’t cheap, and it takes a few months, and it’s weird, and the company does a booming business from what I hear.
In this weird world, I’m surprised someone hasn’t come up with the idea of putting celebrities’ DNA in diamonds and selling them.
Or, is that the next new marketing ploy in this weird world that is growing more so by the minute?
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