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The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
does not protect patients and is not affordable |
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If you're not mad you aren't paying attention |
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"The most dangerous myth is the demagoguery that business can be made to
pay a larger share, thus relieving the individual. Politicians preaching
this are either deliberately dishonest, or economically illiterate, and
either one should scare us...
Only people pay taxes, and people pay as consumers every tax that is
assessed against a business." Ronald Reagan |
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The United Nations is not a peace organization and the
EPA is not an environmental one |
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A good read about over-reaching governments at all
levels -
http://midimagic.sgc-hosting.com/mybelief.htm |
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Hypocrisy at its finest
Hollywood types are the loudest
proponents of ever more gun control, yet vast portions of their own
income rely on violence by the very weapons they choose to demonize.
When they stop making those films and when they no longer travel with
armed guards themselves, then maybe they'll have a more valid argument
about gun control.
Maybe there should be a law against
murder - that would solve it all, right? Oh wait - we already have that
don't we? And that law clearly works just fine - so add some more
equally strict laws that nobody will heed and that'll make everything
peachy. |
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Political Correctness
When people are forced to remain silent when they are
being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to
repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of
probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in
some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything
is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is
easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has
the same effect and is intended to -
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Thomas
Jefferson warned us to …
Avoid
Sustainable Development:
“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we
shall become as corrupt as Europe.”
Avoid the
Welfare State:
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are
willing to work and give to those who would not.” “I predict future
happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting
the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
Avoid
Massive Government Debt:
“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A
principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”
Avoid
Government Over-regulation:
“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results
from too much government.”
Avoid
Control of Individual Gun Ownership:
“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” “The strongest
reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a
last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
Avoid
Compulsive Taxation of Income:
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas
which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” |
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The 10 "Cannots"
An
outspoken political conservative, Rev. Boetcker is perhaps best
remembered for his authorship of a pamphlet entitled The Ten Cannots
that emphasizes freedom and responsibility of the individual on himself.
Originally published in 1916There are several minor variants of the
pamphlet in circulation, but the most commonly accepted version appears
below:
You cannot
bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot
strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot
help little men by tearing down big men.
You cannot
lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot
help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot
establish sound security on borrowed money.
You cannot
further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot
keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot
build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and
independence.
And you
cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should
do for themselves.
Boetcker
also spoke of the "Seven National Crimes"
I don’t
think.
I don’t
know.
I don’t
care.
I am too
busy.
I leave
well enough alone.
I have no
time to read and find out.
I am not
interested. |
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Gardening and self-support/government
"assistance"
Recent articles in the news have discussed hunger, both in
Maine and across the country. How many hungry people planted a garden this
spring? No room for one in your yard? Maybe some of the food given away by the
government should be grown by inmates in and visitors to our many jails and
prisons. That would be more helpful than just handing out free lunch. People who
are under-employed would have the opportunity to work side by side with inmates
in the fields around the prisons. The inmates would interact with the visitors,
and kids would see why they might want to abide by the laws of polite society.
Prisoners would have the benefit if having produced a useful commodity and that
would be good for everyone. Self-esteem doesn't grow when people get things
without having to work for them. The health benefits of real food you grow
yourself are obvious. Working the soil builds strong bodies, both in the
production and the eating.
Why do we think
the government needs to pay for so much of what we need? Protesters of the 60s
and 70s didn’t trust the government – and rightly so – which is why I
can't imagine why we should have any more faith in government today. Just
because folks you happen to agree with are now in control doesn’t mean they are
any more trustworthy than earlier leaders. When we hand over the control of our
lives to someone other than ourselves we hand over more than the financial or
nutritional responsibility. We also give away the right to make our own
decisions about things. Health care and food supplies are things we should not
be relying on the government to pay for and control. You might think that your
elected leaders today have your best interests at heart, but what happens when
the leadership changes again in a few years? Won't those you don’t trust be in
control of your destiny again? It’s unreasonable to expect that things will stay
as you want them to. Life is dynamic. Always has been and always will be.
Politicians say what they need to say to get elected and re-elected. Currently
they seem to think that saying they want to “give” you health care and other
things is what you want to hear. Why is it that we are content to pay for tires
and checkups and oil changes for our car but we don’t feel we need to pay for
checkups and normal costs associated with our bodies? Health insurance should be
used for the expensive stuff, not the maintenance stuff in our lives. Try using
your car insurance like your health insurance and see how the premiums increase.
Sometimes the mind wanders when I'm hoeing and swatting…Get out and Grow
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On this Great Experiment called America
In "Democracy in
America," Alexis de Tocqueville anticipated people being governed by
"an immense, tutelary power" determined to take "sole charge of
assuring their enjoyment and of watching over their fate." It would be a
power "absolute, attentive to detail, regular, provident and gentle,"
aiming for our happiness but wanting "to be the only agent and the sole
arbiter of that happiness." It would, Tocqueville said, provide people
security, anticipate their needs, direct their industries and divide their
inheritances. It would envelop society in "a network of petty regulations
-- complicated, minute and uniform." But softly: "It does not break
wills; it softens them, bends them, and directs them" until people resemble
"a herd of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the
shepherd." |
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The "Do Not Call" list
Why is that when politicians pass a law they exempt themselves
from that same law? The 'Do Not Call" list is a prime example of this. If I
don't want other people calling me at inconvenient times then I certainly don't
want to listen to canned diatribes from politicians or poll takers either. Do
Not Call means Do Not Call. What's so hard to understand about that simple
concept?
If a law is good then that law is good for everyone. No
exemptions or no law. Pretty simple. |
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On the "Stimulus Package" from The Federal
Government
Please Sir, may I have a bowl of porridge?
The entire nation is now being encouraged to beg for what it wants instead of
working for it. Every community thinks that some other more wealthy community
will get gored and the poor ones will come out ahead. Nobody will come out
ahead. We all lose when we stop striving to have an honest, hardworking life.
Goodbye America |
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A Tale of a Different Bumper
So, you finally bought that new
car. How long was it before someone dinged it in a parking lot? Was it some
inconsiderate slob who didn’t pay much attention to how close he/she parked
and opened the door too fast and too hard and too far? Or was it someone pulling
in or out of a space turning too soon and dragging a bumper down the side of
your vehicle?
Washing my wife’s car the other
day, I discovered six spots where someone had either scraped or dented the car.
None of the offenders had the courtesy to leave a note for her saying they were
even sorry. Maybe they didn’t hear the crunch with the cell phone stuffed in
their ears?
Just last week I had the occasion to be in the bank (getting a new credit
card because someone needed to steal my money instead of just getting a job, but
that’s another story). I was in the bank for no more than 20 minutes and when
I came out someone had managed to squash the corner of my rear bumper in by
about six inches. They were too lazy, or too busy or just plain too
irresponsible to walk inside and inquire as to who owned the car. There were
only four people in the bank at the time. It wouldn’t have been difficult to
determine who owned it. I suppose whoever did it just assumed that if I could
afford a new car I could also afford the eight hundred dollars for a new bumper
on my new car. Rude, and just plain irresponsible people seem to be fast
becoming the norm.
So here’s my idea. Everyone start carrying a note pad and pen. When you
see someone damage a car make a note of the plate number of the person doing the
damage. Watch them. If they don’t leave a note on the windshield of the car
they damaged, perhaps we should leave a note saying what the license plate was
of the person doing the damage. I don’t think it’s tattling when we hold
people responsible for that which they should feel responsible for in the first
place. Maybe if people thought they were going to be caught anyway they might
just be honest enough to fess up in the first place. When did it become
acceptable to damage other property and not take responsibility for it anyhow?
As
an aside, I found that by taking the inner tube from a wheelbarrow or other small
tire and letting the air out, then stuffing it into the plastic bumper you can
pretty much repair a dent like this. After inserting the tube, replace the valve
stem in the tube and begin to inflate it. Warm the dent with a hair dryer as you
add air to the tube. Shortly you'll see the dent begin to fill out and with just
a little patience the dent will pop out and be good as new.
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On PizzAmore and Life.
My response when asked why I do what I do
Why do I do the things I do? Well,
I built my house the way I did because it was an economical way to build it. 38
years ago nobody seemed all that worried about how they heated their homes.
We’d been through the artificial oil shortage of the 70’s and most folks had
tossed wood stoves on the dump when they switched back to oil. Those same people
suggested that heating a home in Maine with the sun was just plain silly.
That was just one reason to build a solar house. If someone, especially
someone from a government entity, says it’s a bad idea I'm pretty sure to go
ahead and try it. Now those folks are asking lots of questions about how we did
it and how they might be able to retrofit their own places to be more efficient.
The combination of passive solar and a masonry heater, backed up with oil heat
allow us the opportunity to shift easily from one source to another or use all three, and to be comfortable at the same
time.
When a friend asked if I wanted to help him build a wood-fired
pizza oven that was all I needed to begin research into the idea. Having built
one at his house, building another here at our house was much easier. The
refractory work that makes up the internal parts of the oven go together easily
once you have a concept of how high temperature brick is different from regular
building bricks. After the interior of an oven is complete the exterior becomes
a palette to practice your own artistic talents. We chose Monson slate for the
exterior. It matched what we used throughout the house that we’ve built, and was much less expensive than
planed slate, which ends up looking like it was manufactured in a factory. The
natural faults of rough slate only enhance the appearance of an outdoor oven
here in the woods of central Maine.
But
that only answers the question of why I built a house and a pizza oven. The
other reason for having a wood-fired oven is to meet new people and expand your
own knowledge of how others view the world. Personally, I enjoy seeing people
experience something new in their lives. Life has become too predictable. No
matter what big box store you enter, they look alike the world over. Chain
restaurants serve predictable food that tastes the same no matter where you are.
While that’s ok if all you want is to feed your body, it doesn’t begin to feed
the soul. We must try new things, whether experiences or food. If we do the same
things all the time and eat the same foods all the time after a while we’re only
eating to feed out bodies and doing things just to keep busy. Now that we’ve had
the oven for awhile and served food from it about many times I've discovered
that the food, while good, is only half the fun. It’s great when people visit
each other while waiting for the next pie to come out, and even better when they
come in where I'm cooking to ask questions and feel the
dough. Who would have thought that such a thing would be interesting? Many
people have commented that they never imagined that whole-grain dough could be
so smooth, fine and tasty. Trying new dough recipes and adding various herbs to
them to see how they taste with different toppings is always an adventure.
Sometimes a combination doesn’t work. Most of the time even the most outrageous
combinations are really interesting. When I first put together a marmalade/
pulled pork topping on spinach crust with oregano some people made a face that
indicated they thought that rather odd, but the sweet marmalade over the savory
herb, mixed with the smokiness of the pork turns out to be a perennial winner no
matter who’s here for pizza.
We try to make at least one new
combination at each session. The latest was a ricotta cheese over spinach
multi-grain crust with shrimp scampi and asparagus. The succulent Maine shrimp
marinated in lime juice and Bartlett Maine Estate Winery’s Honey Mead wine and
then sautéed at 900 degrees for less that a minute in the oven before being
used as a topping was terrific – at least that was the word from the tasting
floor.
Sharing Maine’s bounty and the products of Maine’s niche
producers is just one of the pleasures I get from cooking, both with the outdoor
oven and in general. Maine has some of the most interesting foods, wines and
beers you'll find anywhere. I try to introduce as many people as I can to as
many of the products I like. When possible I also try to have the producers of
great Maine products here to talk about those products. It’s not about marketing –
it’s about sharing knowledge and getting folks to think more seriously about
what they eat. When we get a great mix of people we also get a great mix of
ideas along with them. I often find that if we can get together as friends
around a mutual table we can better understand why people think the way that do
about issues we all face. |
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On Vacationland
Ramblings on the season
Maine is a great place to be any time of the year. Come on up and take
advantage of our seasons and our interesting events, restaurants, wineries,
breweries and places to
stay. If you're not sure what’s going on there’s always the Internet or you
can just call us and ask what’s up. Maybe PizzAmore!
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On the "War on Poverty" (And the lack of exit
strategy for it)
"By the mid-1930's, thanks to
the New Deal, self-reliance had begun to be left behind, prompting H.
L. Mencken to declare: 'There is no genuine justice in any scheme of feeding
and coddling the loafer whose only ponderable energies are devoted wholly to
reproduction. Nine-tenths of the rights he bellows for are really
privileges and he does nothing to deserve them.' Despite the billions spent on
an individual, 'he can be lifted transiently but always slips back again.' Thus,
the New Deal had been 'the most stupendous digenetic enterprise ever undertaken
by man.... We not only acquired a vast population of morons, we have inculcated
all morons, old or young, with the doctrine that the decent and industrious
people of the country are bound to support them for all time. The effects
of that doctrine are bound to be disastrous soon or late." |
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My own opinion on public
support of art?
If all the people who think
government should take money in the form of taxes and then spend it to
"support the arts" actually spent their own money buying real art, the
perceived need for government support of art would disappear. |
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Success in life
It is not the
strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.
It is the one that is the most adaptable to change - Charles Darwin
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