News cameras spotted our distinguished Mayor of Philadelphia (Nutter Dem.) as he proudly walked the hallowed littered streets of Philly feeling good about the newly passed law requiring restaurants and food establishments to post calories of food for all to see. It warms my soul as well because I’ve always wondered how many calories a Starbucks Vente Caramel Machiato with double cream contained. And thankfully I can also see right away the calories in a Boston Cream Filled Dunkin Doughnut.  No more for me!!  That did it!

This along with the new tax proposal to add 25 cents to the cost of colas for inner city kids is something we can all feel good about.   This is heart warming.  Just think of those kids now refusing to pay an extra quarter for Coca Cola and turning instead to the OJ section of  Florida’s fresh squeeze. And besides we all know that increasing taxes improves diet and health as well as creates jobs.  Right? Right. Behavior modification is just another thing our government has excelled in.

The tax on vendors using plastic bags for groceries will help to eliminate trash on the streets too.

Mayor Blumberg of NYC can also boast about mandating restaurants to stop cooking with saturated fats and too much salt.

This is what I want my government doing for me.  Who needs better roads or decrease in crime when we can have them looking out for our dietary needs.  So today I am thankful for all that my government does for me and my family!!

I’ve been asked “where is this anger coming from?”  So I’m trying to think through this question.  Why are people angry at our politicians?  Why are we angry with each other?  Is there in fact increased anger today or is it more in plain sight because of increased visibility created by the blogosphere, the internet, success of talk radio, and of course FB?

I am very concerned anytime government expands and creates a larger dependent population.  I don’t  ”hate” anyone but I do hate high taxes.  It robs me of my  hard earned money and ultimately the more taxes I pay, the less I have to spend on manufactured goods, home improvements, travel, entertainment, and savings. Increased taxes results in less job creation. And where do the taxes go?  I posted a comment earlier this week asking if anyone could name a single entitlement managed by the government, funded by tax payers that was doing a good job.  There is none.  Why would anyone believe this entitlement is any different?  I’m angry because this is not the hope and change promised.  Obama never crossed the isle as a senator (for a full 18 months) and he has shown so far the same partisan politics. We were promised by Obama that “all this will be seen on C Span,” which was a lie.  This bill was passed with sleaze, deals, and largely behind closed doors. Is this the political transparency Obama promised?  Have you heard Obama speak lately?  Can any objective listener say that he doesn’t sound divisive and angry?

I’m angry that people apparently don’t understand what debt is and at citizens who have little concept of “pay as you go.”  It’s a simple concept, balance your checkbook.  Someone has to pay for government services but we hear little about how things will be paid for.

The liberals I’ve spoken with are still mad at Bush/Cheney.  They refuse to place any blame for problems of the past year on Obama or the Democratic leadership (Reid and Pelosi) who, by the way have been in power for several years now.

Yes there is anger.  Political and Religious beliefs go deep into the heart and soul of people. Individuals dig into their beliefs and refuse to listen and learn from each other.  When this happens, pride slips in and prevents us from seeing the “big picture.”  In this case, I believe the “big picture” is the growth, protection, and success of The United States of America, the greatest nation on earth.

Oh well.  So much for promises from a politician.  In my short 49 years, (OK, 56 short years), I’ve never seen or heard of so much name calling, charges of incivility, racism, and division in our great land.  Of course all of this was predicted by my friend and mentor Rush L.  He said during the election that if BO was elected, racism and division would increase dramatically.  Once again, he was right.  Why is it that when the Republicans or conservatives disagree with Team Obama they are labeled as racist, Nazi’s, and protests at town-hall meetings as originating from  “astro turf;” not “grass roots”.

I have some first hand knowledge of a friend who recently joined in the Tea Party protest held on the mall in Washington.  My thanks to Kate D. for taking the time to show her loyalties to our country and constitution.  I’m planning on doing the same the next opportunity I have.  I know her personally, and I know her kind.  She’s not racist, not a bigot, not a kook, not part of any “astro turf” movement sponsored by an insurance company or hateful drug company.  She’s not a Nazi.  She is a concerned citizen that doesn’t want to see the government run everything from banks, to cars, to hospitals.  She sees and hears, as I do the contradictions spewed from Team Obama 24/7.   George Will described it this way:

He says America’s health-care system is going to wrack and ruin and requires root-and-branch reform—but that if you like your health care (as a large majority of Americans do), nothing will change for you. His slippery new formulation is that nothing in his plan will “require” anyone to change coverage. He used to say, “If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period.” He had to stop saying that because various disinterested analysts agree that his plan will give many employers incentives to stop providing coverage for employees.

He deplores “scare tactics” but says that unless he gets his way, people will die. He praises temperate discourse but says many of his opponents are liars. He says Medicare is an exemplary program that validates government’s prowess at running health systems. But he also says Medicare is unsustainable and going broke, and that he will pay for much of his reforms by eliminating the hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and fraud in this paragon of a program, and in Medicaid. He says Congress will cut Medicare (it will not) by $500 billion—without affecting benefits.

He says the nation’s economic health depends on controlling health-care costs. Yet so important is the trial bar in financing the Democratic Party, he says not a syllable in significant and specific support of tort reforms that could save hundreds of billions of dollars by reducing “defensive medicine” intended to protect not patients from illnesses but doctors from lawyers. He has said he will not add a dime to the deficit when bringing 47 million people into government-guaranteed health care. But Wednesday night, 17 million went missing: “There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage.” Almost 10 million of the uninsured are not citizens, and most of them are illegal immigrants. Presumably the other 7 million could get insurance but chose not to. Democrats propose fines to eliminate that choice. He suggests health-insurance companies are making excessive profits. But since 1996, profits of the six such companies in the S&P 500 have been below the 500′s average. He says a “public option”—a government insurance program—would not be subsidized to enable it to compete unfairly with private insurers. (The post office and the government’s transportation -”public option,” Amtrak, devour subsidies.) He says the public option is vital for keeping health insurers “honest”—but that it is only a wee “sliver” of reform. About that, Nancy Pelosi -disagrees.

The protests aren’t about one specific issue whether it be health care reform, taxes, banks, jobs.  This isn’t about the color of some-one’s skin.  Can we disagree and not be called a racist?  It’s about keeping government small.  It’s what our founding fathers had in mind.

Although polls have consistently shown that just over half of Americans think the health-care system is in need of reform, a substantial majority say they are satisfied with their own insurance and care. Any hope of change will require their support, according to experts and advocates across the ideological spectrum

I think it may be finally sinking in that in order to cover the 47 million uninsured (including illegals) it’s not necessary to completely overhaul or reform what doesn’t need reforming.  The fact is that most people in this country have access to competent and caring doctors.  Obviously there are exceptions.  Most citizens (253 million) are satisfied with their plan.  Again, I’m sure there are exceptions.  I had an interesting experience today at the pharmacy.  Yes I have a drug plan with a 20 dollar co-pay.  However, what I didn’t know is that the pharmacy I shop has a deal that certain classes of anti-biotics are free.  I know that other pharmacies do the same to attract customers (free enterprise and capitalism at work).  BO, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi or some other Washington bureaucrat didn’t have to mandate it or pass a law to require it.  I also had to pick up another medicine (prednisone, and don’t worry it’s nothing serious).  I took them up on their offer to fill it with a generic (God have mercy on my soul) and it cost me 4 dollars.  So, 2 prescriptions, and a 4 dollar co-pay.  Go figure. Go Reform?

If you ever have the privilege, take a Singapore Airlines flight.  Even in coach class, as soon as you walk on the plane you are greeted by a well groomed, well dressed, and attractive flight attendant offering you fruit juice (or an adult beverage).  Now think back to the last time you flew on a US airline.  The flight attendants can barely pass the aisle.  Most are over weight and grouchy. We’re herded in like sheep and goats.  Singapore Air is one of the more profitable  companies.  See a connection?

It wouldn’t take a lot of money or effort to offer first rate service to paying customers.  It might take some training and senior management who can see the connection between great customer service and customer loyalty.

Kathy’s cousin has a ranch near the Black Hills of S. Dakota just across the state line in Wyoming.  Sprawling prairies, tall Ponderosa Pines reaching upward from rocky soil, black hills, mountain goats, antelope, deer, wild turkeys and elk.  All this is about 50 miles from Mt. Rushmore and Devil’s Tower.  We rode horses and four wheelers until our rear ends were chapped.  But I don’t mind stretching my hemorrhoids with a work out riding one of God’s greatest creatures, the horse, slowly winding up through beautiful canyons of fragrant sage grass, wild flowers, alfalfa and blue skies.  We gathered eggs from the hen house, roasted a pig, shot prairie dogs (who actually harm the land and cattle) and hiked along the creek that runs through 5000 acres of seemingly untouched land.  All this land is taken care of and treated like a well tended  garden by …you guessed it, the environmental haters, global warmers, and polluters known as humans.

Actually, if I were king for a day, I’d have live FOX news coverage (ok CNN too) interview my wife’s cousin Doug.  Doug along with his wife owns and runs a log mill in Hulett Wyoming called BearLodge.  He could explain to all the dopes out there and loony tree huggers about the real environmentalists and how they work to save trees and forests in a responsible way.    They are people like Doug Mills who treats the forest with respect and prunes them so they are more productive and less likely to be overcrowded and flare up in flames by lightning strikes.  Not because some government agency is telling them to do so, but because they understand the importance of preserving and tending God’s creation.  Proper, responsible,  logging produces more trees, healthier trees that are more productive as well as increases available  grazing land for their sheep and cattle.  People like Doug who started his own wood “pellet” manufacturing facility on site where tons of saw dust are recycled and packaged that could be sent around the world to help heat homes in the winter.  Nothing is wasted.  And what’s more, it didn’t require government mandates to make it happen.  It was good common sense and a spirit of entrepreneurship and capitalism that drives the men and women like Doug and Dena.  It’s a family affair too.  Their 2 boys and a girl (below ages 12) have been fully trained to run the mill if they needed to.  They load carts, run the machines, sweep up, and bag pellets (I hope OSHA doesn’t find out) and also milk the cows.  The government so-called environmentalists who have little experience in actually saving and growing trees are clueless when it comes to responsible forestry.  All they know is what some pin headed professor in our liberal schools tell them or what they read from a book.  My suggestion is for them to ask people like Doug, his parents, and Dena’s parents who have been doing this for many many years and who know how to grow everything from garden vegetables to Pondersa Pines.

But all this is symptomatic of what is going on in Washington today.  From the President on down to the cabinet appointments, not a single person there has ever held a real job.  They are all policy wonks and life long politicians educated at liberal northeast universities and have held government jobs their entire career.  They need to meet and hear people like the Mill’s family explain a few things about life.

More about our trip to the Rodeo later.