I’m having one of those evenings where nothing is peaking my interest. 
March 8, 2007
I Got Nothin’
YUCK!
We’ve heard a lot about Borat, so we thought we’d check it out. I thought it was suppose to be funny, or at least amusing. To be honest, I guess I just don’t have a sophisticated sense of humor, because so far, I haven’t found it to be even mildly amusing. Actually, I’ve found most of it highly offensive. Is that the purpose, to offend? We’re 40 minutes into it, and I’m not sure I can stomach much more.
I Didn’t Hear A Thing!
Early morning fire destroys Waupun home
(Since the sun is now down, I’d say this was no longer the “breaking news” the Distorter claims.)
No one was home at the two-story house at 339 Carrington Street when a police officer out on patrol observed flames shooting out of the windows around 1:40 a.m. Waupun firefighters were able to rescue a cat from the duplex.
“We could hear it crying inside,” said Waupun Fire Chief Jeff Berry. “I don’t know how it survived with all the fire in the house.”
Cats are amazing creatures. Just ask mine! Glad no one was home. Oddly enough, Mr. Ol’ Broad tells me his folks lived in that house right after they got married.
Something to Consider
With Republicans Like These, Who Needs Democrats?
Do we really want to throw serious Conservative candidates under the bus in favor of “star power?” Since the Republicans dumped Conservative Tom McClintock because moderate Arnold Schwarzenegger was a “sure win” in the 2003 recall election, California’s Governator has moved so far Left that Grey Davis might as well have been left in charge. Sure, the man’s got an “R” after his name, but letters don’t make policies — people do. Now weak-willed Republicans propose to make the same mistake on a larger scale.
This is a real interesting posting covering a few fundamental differences between the array of GOP presidential hopefuls. Go. Read.
Happy Teeth
A pleasant afternoon spent at the dentist. Yeah, right! My dentist has been taken over by some company based in the Madison area, which almost takes away the majority of the “small town feel”. It’s sad really, because it seems that a lot of medical and dental places have gone that way. Instead of us being able to pay the bill after we get one in the mail, they now offer a 5% discount if you pay the full amount before you walk out the door. All well and good, if you can afford to do so. Plus the prices have pretty much doubled, so even if you can pay the whole amount, you really aren’t saving much. They have all kinds of new fancy gadgets WE are getting to pay for, doncha know. sigh… Just a plain ol’ cleaning was $65. Now, it’s $120. For what? They aren’t really doing anything differently, just charging more for it. Add in a couple of x-rays, you’ve got a nice car payment.
So, there I am, reclined, with some strange woman’s hands in my mouth, and yes, of course, she has to ask me questions. When did she think I was going to be able to answer? When she was finished? I don’t remember what the heck she asked 2 seconds later, I’m going to remember more than 2 minutes? I don’t think so. After all that scraping and poking with sharp, pointy objects, she starts the polishing. Who knew that stuff could fly up your nose? I know now, although I wish I didn’t. Isn’t it suppose to stay on the tooth, in the mouth?
Next, I get the dubious pleasure of having to have some work done to keep me from grinding my front teeth to nubs. What that adds up to is what it would cost for use to spend another 10 days in Jamaica. sigh… Well, at least I’ll get to keep my teeth. Chewing is a good thing. Besides, I don’t want to look like some of those ya see on the news after their double wide has been blown away by a tornado. (No, we didn’t buy a trailer!)
Left Coast Nannies
Big mother is watching with new laws in mind
Democratic proposals to regulate behavior draw Republican scorn.
Some California lawmakers want to change your ways. They’ve planted a crop of proposals this year — “nanny” bills, as they’re called — that would:
• Restrict the use of artery-clogging trans fat, common in fried and baked foods and linked to heart disease, in restaurants and school cafeterias.
• Bar smoking at state parks and beaches, and in cars carrying children.
• Open a savings account, seeded with $500, for every newborn Californian to use at 18 for college, a first home purchase or an investment for retirement.
• Fine dog and cat owners who don’t spay or neuter their pets by 4 months of age.
• Require chain restaurants to list calorie, saturated fat and sodium content on menus.
• Phase out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, which are less energy-efficient than compact fluorescent bulbs.
How many people actually realize the slow erosion of our personal rights is continuing? It seems many such laws are introduced on one coast or the other, and the middle follows along like sheep.
“Could you imagine the founding fathers dealing with — I don’t know — wearing a helmet when you’re in the buggy?” said the Assembly’s Republican leader, Mike Villines of Clovis.
“We all know you can’t mandate behavior; it just does not work,” he said. “It creates criminals of people for things that are not criminal behavior…. You can’t legislate for stupidity.”
I really think that living in an area with a large population is extremely damaging to mental stability. If we could “legislate for stupidity” all politicians would be behind bars!
Political scientists say legislative paternalism can be taken as a sign of economic success. It’s “post materialist,” said Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, because such measures are about quality of life, not survival.
Economic success? For who? Mainly the government!
“These post-materialist concerns may be ahead of the curve,” Cain said. “Some of the things we did that seemed kooky 20 years ago are now widely accepted.”
No, actually, thinking people, with an ounce of common sense STILL think y’all are “kooky”.
Morning Coffee 3/8/07
Busalacchi vote still planned in Senate
The state Senate plans to vote Tuesday on whether to reconfirm Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi, despite questions being asked by FBI agents about his role in efforts to resolve a delinquent tax bill for companies owned by a now-indicted donor to Gov. Jim Doyle.
Is it any wonder that people are getting sick of gubmint? They go out of their way to make sure people believe they are corrupt, but that it doesn’t matter. Not only do they NOT condemn law breakers, they embrace them.
Muslims boycott Charlotte talk show
Some local Muslims are urging people to boycott advertisers of WBT’s “Jeff Katz Show,” saying the conservative radio talker insults their religion with “hate-filled” comments on the air.
Here’s a thought. If you don’t like the guy’s show, don’t bloomin’ listen to it. If he’s anything like most conservative talk show hosts, I’ve no doubt Muslims do get a bit annoyed by anyone putting the truth out there.
IAEA freezes nuclear technical aid programs to Iran
Delegates to a 35-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday approved the suspension of nearly two dozen nuclear technical aid programs to Iran as part of UN sanctions imposed because of the country’s nuclear defiance.
No, I don’t think this means diddly.
Buildup in Iraq Needed Into ’08, U.S. General Says
The day-to-day commander of American forces in Iraq has recommended that the heightened American troop levels there be maintained through February 2008, military officials said Wednesday.
Shouldn’t we be listening to the generals? Of course not, the leftists cut and run crowd know best. PFFT!
Fire in New York City Home Kills 8 Children and 1 Adult
Eight children and one adult were killed in a three-story brick home in the Bronx during one of New York City’s deadliest blazes in recent memory, authorities said.
Why is it always the children?
Killing food tax would hurt state, says finance chief
Tennessee could face a $228 million revenue shortfall in five years if legislation to phase out the food tax is approved, according to new figures released Wednesday by state finance officials.
Thirty-seven Republican legislators have signed on to a bill that would cut the 6 percent food tax by half a cent over the next 12 years.
Gov. Phil Bredesen has strongly opposed the measure.
Of course Bredesen opposes a tax cut. He’s a Democrat. Cutting state spending is never an option, is it.
Bill seeks to have all high school seniors apply to college
Taking a cue from a Maine high school, Maine’s House speaker is proposing legislation requiring graduating high school seniors to complete at least one college application before getting their diplomas.
While I think an advanced education is a good idea for many students, legislating high school kids applying for college is a ridiculous idea. Aren’t there more pressing issues for the Massachusetts to deal? If a kid wants to forgo college, or the family can’t afford it, then what business it of so called lawmakers? Who’s going to pay for it if they are accepted? SHEESH!
Nanny Nonsense
Statewide workplace smoking ban would ‘create level playing field’
Let’s get a few facts straight about the proposal to provide smoke-free workplaces statewide and why it’s so important to those of us in public health and tobacco control.
Ya gotta love that word. It seems to pop up all over the place when someone is trying to bend you to their mold. Control! That one word says a great deal about the “speaker”.
First and foremost, it’s about the second-hand smoke, not the person smoking. Research from the past 20-plus years is clear: There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke and the only way to remove the risk is to eliminate the smoke.
I distinctly remember reading a UN report a few years ago that stated the hazards of second hand smoke were practically nil. I’ve never been able to find it again. Guess it got buried with all that money they gave to Hussein.
It’s time to place safety above convenience. For the safety of all workers and customers, people who smoke should take it outside.
I’m sure these do gooders think they are righteous in their desire to ban grownups from indulging in a legal habit. However, are they considering the winter? This is Wisconsin, and unless they are completely oblivious, they should have noticed by now, it gets bloomin’ COLD! Are they saying it’s better for people to freeze to death?
About one-fifth of all health insurance costs in the state are used to pay for smoking-related diseases. More people die from second-hand smoke than traffic accidents.
“More people die from second-hand smoke than traffic accidents”. Yep, that does it for me! Give me a break. Do they also take into account the person long term health? Was the person blowing snow and had a heart attack? But wait. There was that guy he had drinks with at the bar a couple of times a month who smoked. VIOLA! A second hand smoke related death!
As for personal rights, since when does the right to pollute the air others breathe (instead of stepping outside) take precedence over a citizen’s right to breathe clean, unpolluted air? It doesn’t matter if the person is a worker or a customer.
Since when does a sanctimonious hack have the right to force people outside, in the cold? If you go to a bar that has smoking, and don’t smoke, that’s your personal choice. There are bars and restaurants that have already chosen to ban smoking. That is their choice.
Historically, loss of business has been a common argument from the hospitality industry against smoke-free laws. Those claims were made when Fond du Lac’s current ordinance went into effect, but no businesses filed for an exemption.
The last time I went to Applebee’s in Fond du Lac, you could smoke at the bar. If they’ve changed that, I’m not aware. The bar was always full of people, so it was hard to get a seat. The time I was there, few people were sitting at the tables to have their meals, they were all at the bar. As people who eat out frequently, there are many places that never get our business due to the “no smoking” sign.
In Madison, 39 new liquor licenses were issued one year after the implementation of its smoke-free workplace ordinance.
Good for them. What is the number of businesses that are no longer there due to the ban? How many people don’t bother with go out in Madison, but choose to drive a few extra miles to a place that allows smoking, in a different town?
Taverns contain four to six times the levels of second-hand smoke of other businesses. Public health advocates have consistently heard from tavern owners that they want a “level playing field.” A statewide law does just that.
It’s a bar! People are doing more damage to their liver. Ban drinking! By making bans mandatory, you are NOT “leveling the playing field”. You are heavily tipping it to YOUR side, but then, that’s the whole idea, isn’t it. Turn people into your mind numbed little robots. “Oh yes, that is bad, we must destroy!” I’m so sick of that phrase.
I’ve smoked for 40 years. I’m going to die. I would still die if I had never started smoking. Do I have health problems? Oh, you bet, I’m old. But NOT ONE is smoke related.
An Ol' Broad's Ramblings 