I'm going to skip going into who is to blame for the terrorist being allowed in America- there are enough people out there with axes to grind who are going to blame everyone from Al Qaeda to President Obama to airport security in the Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Knowing some people, they'll probably try blaming global warming. 

My question is how ridiculous we are going to allow security to get.  New measures being taken: passengers must remain in seats for the last hour of the flight, they must have EVERYTHING stowed for the last hour of flight, increased pat-downs, X-raying of objects, and increased secondary screenings. 

Some airports have 3-D body scanners that pick up hidden objects that may be concealed around the body underneath clothing.  This scanner would have easily picked up what terrorist Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was carrying, which was PETN (an explosive).  Others think that the VERY accurate picture made by the 3-D scanners is the same as a public strip search. 

There is one fact that is certain: it was a passenger who started restraining the man, causing other passengers and the flight crew to join in and help restraining the terrorist.  Passengers, on the average, have gone from being inactive sheep who blindly follow commands to active participants who feel responsible for the safety of others on the plane. 

I don't have the solution to stop terrorists.  But I can tell you that x-raying breast milk 10 times when a mom is carrying her baby with her isn't going to stop a terrorist.  Refusing to let someone use the bathroom for the last hour of the flight isn't going to stop anything.  If the terrorist can't blow up the plane during the last hour, he's not going to say "Oh, well, I guess I'll blow up the plane another day."  He's just going to act sooner.  And making me take off my shoes and walk on the dirty airport floor IS NOT GOING TO STOP A TERRORIST.  Can we get real?  They're are a hell of lot of places on the human body to conceal stuff.  The shoe bomber was not only a wanna-be terrorist, he was also a damn idiot.  And our now making everyone take off their shoes just makes up bigger idiots.

What is YOUR opinion of increased airport security?  Does it help?  Any ideas on how to increase security in a meaningful way (not with idiotic gestures)? 

Senate has voted to limit debate on the health care bill and expected to vote on final passage on December 24th.  The already polarizing issue has become even more so with the decision to limit debate.  Opponents from both sides of the aisle have expressed regret with the way the bill was cobbled together. 

Despite these misgivings, Democrats DO seem to be planning on working together and passing the bill.  Of course, this is just the first step on the way to a final bill.  The House has to agree to the bill and it must be signed by the President.  Perhaps most worrying of all to those who favor the bill is the argument about the constitutionality of the new bill. 

What had started as a talking point has turned into solid plans to challenge the legality of the new bill.  Opponents of the bill say that the government cannot force a private citizen to purchase goods- in this case, health care coverage.  Another point of contention is the difference in requirements from state to state.  Some states have received "special bills", which opponents say is illegal as it doesn't provide equal protection under the law.

Perhaps most surprising of all- some STATES are planning on challenging the federal government over this bill, citing the 10th Amendment. 

Questions: Do you think the federal government has the power to force people to get health care coverage? 

Do you think any states are actually going to go through with their plans to sue the federal government?  Why or why not? 

Do you think the Senate health care bill should pass?

I think my blog post yesterday might have been a bit long.  So, I figured I'd cut it down a bit.  A Virginia mom killed her baby and won't go to jail.  There.  The video with the story is at the end of this post.

And I ask a question, as always, of you, dear readers....Do you think the woman is guilty of murder?  Why or why not?  

Also in the news today, 12 NFL players have agreed to give their brains to the Boston University Medical Department for a study to determine the effect of concussions on the brain.

From watching the commentators of the NFL games- most of whom are ex-players- I suggest that the NFL players don't bother waiting for death to donate their brains.  From what I've seen of them thus far, they'll be just the same without their brains.

Second question for the day: Do you think the average NFL player would really miss a part of their brain?  I mean, how many brain cells do you need to spend most of your adult life chasing around after a damn ball?  

Sorry, a bit sarcastic today.  Hopefully I'll be a happy-face mood tomorrow...

Just last week a Virginia mother killed her baby and will NOT be charged with murder. The reason: it was still attached to her via its umbilical cord. Therefore, it was not its own person. (see video below for news story). In all fairness to the state of Virginia, this law was originally passed to protect mothers who gave birth to stillborn babies. In the past, they had been accused of killing the child and punished.

This is actually the second case that has occurred in just a year in Virginia- when lawmakers were pushed to change the law; they declined, saying it was “too close to the abortion issue.” So, an outdated law that allows murder stays on the books out of “political correctness” and worries over “offending the other side.”

This brings up what is very central to the abortion debate. When is a baby a baby? Partial-birth abortions can and are performed into the third trimester (the third trimester begins at 27 weeks). Most occur after 20 weeks. It is generally believed that any baby past 23 weeks has a chance of surviving if medical care is available. There are even cases of 22 weeks old ones surviving.

For those who don’t know, a partial birth abortion is when the baby is induced and all of it except its head is through the cervix. They then puncture the skull, killing it (most of the time), and pull it the rest of the way out. Oh, by the way, if it lives through this and is still breathing, they can kill it once the baby is out.

Is it a baby at the moment of conception?
When the heart starts beating?
When it has hands?
When it can survive on its’ own outside the mother’s body?
When it is in the birth canal?
When it is outside the birth canal?
After it is separated from the mother?

I’m not in the least bit trying to tell anyone what to think, what to feel, or what you morals should be. You may notice I HAVEN’T stated which of the above I subscribe to.

I’m simply pointing out that this is where the constant arguing, protesting, suing, and law-passing have gotten us. A woman (or doctor) can kill a breathing baby and it is legal. I think almost everyone can agree that we’ve let this go a little bit too far.

Can this story be applied to other situations? I would say ‘yes.’ So much of the “work” being done in Washington is compromise: a game of “we’ll drop this from the bill if you vote for it.” Political correctness is running rampant. For example, God forbid anyone say that someone without insurance shouldn’t get free care at the hospital. In my opinion, that’s b.s. (excuse my language). I didn’t have insurance for three years. Did I go to the emergency room when I was depressed (I’m bi-polar) and beg for free meds? Did I show up at the local welfare clinic asking for free doctor consultations?

NO! Not because they weren’t available, but I was brought up to believe in being responsible for oneself and in not taking other people’s money just because you won’t/fill in your excuse/can’t earn your own.

It’s time for the lawmakers to listen to the people. It’s time for common sense and moral values to return. No matter your opinion on abortion, common sense dictates that a living, breathing baby outside of the woman’s body shouldn’t be killed.

Common sense dictates that if you give products for free to some people, no one is going to want to work to earn those products- after all, they can not work and get them for free.

Common sense dictates that without strong beliefs- whether liberal or conservative- everything becomes available for negotiation. And when everything is available for negotiation, the underlying REASON for passing a bill in the first place is wiped out under the constant pressure to compromise. Leaving both sides unhappy with the bill that is being passed, let alone the common people.

What is your opinion?


-----Here are some quotes from both sides of the abortion debate. Feel free to skip this section if you like. As always, make up YOUR OWN MIND on what you believe.

If the anti-abortion movement took a tenth of the energy they put into noisy theatrics and devoted it to improving the lives of children who have been born into lives of poverty, violence, and neglect, they could make a world shine. ~Michael Jay Tucker

Abolition of a woman's right to abortion, when and if she wants it, amounts to compulsory maternity: a form of rape by the State. ~Edward Abbey

No woman wants an abortion as she wants an ice cream cone or a Porsche. She wants an abortion as an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg. ~Frederica Mathewes-Green

George W. Bush will protect your unborn fetus, then send your grown child to die in war. ~Rick Claro

"I found much distress in the clinic, but it involved not only the women. I saw the pain of the babies who were born burned from the saline solution used for late-term abortions. I saw the bits of feet, bits of hands, the mangled heads and bodies of the little people. I saw pain and felt pain." ~One time clinic worker Paula Sutcliffe in "Precious in My Sight" "Pro-Life Feminism: Different Voices" Gail Garnier-Sweet, editor

"Sometimes we lied. A girl might ask what her baby was like at a certain point in the pregnancy: Was it a baby yet? Even as early as 12 weeks a baby is totally formed, he has fingerprints, turns his head, fans his toes, feels pain. But we would say 'It's not a baby yet. It's just tissue, like a clot.'" ~Kathy Sparks told in "The Conversion of Kathy Sparks" by Gloria Williamson, Christian Herald Jan 1986 p 28

"Now, the baby I aborted was eleven weeks old, and can you imagine what this did to me when I saw this baby with the hands and face, sucking his thumb? And they told me it was a cluster of cells!" ~Carole K. State Director of Women Exploited By Abortion. From "Women Exploited"

Sources: NPR- “Partial Birth Abortion- Separating Fact from Spin”

Public Agenda – “States with Restrictions on Post-viability Abortions”

NRLC- “Aren’t Third Trimester Abortions Rare”

NRLC- “For What Reasons Are Partial-Birth Abortions Usually Performed”

I found out that someone else had started "What the Hell Wednesday" about two weeks before I started my "WTF Wednesday."  Though, obviously, I didn't steal their idea (trust me, I'm cynical and creative enough to come up with my own ideas...ha-ha), out of respect for my fellow bloggers, I've switched mine to "What the F*** Friday," which has a nicer ring to it anyway.

So, what the f*** is up with ugly metallic dresses:

Repeat after me: metal for cars, dresses for girls...metal for cars, dresses for girls.  I can see a metallic purse, but a whole dress? 

WTF is up with people talking on their bluetooths while in stores....I always think they're talking to me, turn around, and see the little gadget sticking out of their ear.  And if you must talk on it, can you not SHOUT!!!  I don't care about the stock prices of your portfolio....or if you're in Wal-mart, I don't care about how your cousin's red-neck baby-daddy was arrested again. 

WTF is up with people talking on their cell phones while in a toilet stall.  First of all, who talks to someone else while they're using the restroom...secondly, in a public bathroom?  Again, I keep wanting to answer them...or shout loud enough for the person on the other end to hear "They're taking a p*ss while talking to you...shows what they think of you!" 

WTF....people who write like they text message.  Come on people, write with whole words...sorry, but "txtUb4party" is not a sentence. 

WTF...America's Next Top Model abbreviations.  Tyra Banks has actually placed a copyright on "H2T" and "smize"....for you "not fans" out there....H2T is head-to-toe modeling and smize is "smiling with your eyes."  Stupid, I know, but that's why it's on this list. 

As always, post your own "WTF" moments, and I'll include them in our next edition of WTF Friday!!

The President and Congress are doing everything they can to bring a new government institute into being: “Consumer Financial Protection Agency.”

As I said in my previous post, this will take power away from the not-politically-influenced Fed and turn over much of that power to the new agency, which will be under Congress’ control.

Obama is also putting pressure on the banks to help boost the economy by lending more. Am I the only one who is confused here?

Unemployment is at 10%. 14% of borrowers are in trouble with their mortgage. US National debt is at 12.1 trillion (and rising) and our unfunded liabilities are at 106.5 trillion (funny you never hear about that number, isn’t it?).  To see the national debt clock: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

So, the solution to our problems? Spend! Yes, you heard me right, spend more, borrow more! Hell, maybe it will help to buy a bigger house that you can’t afford?

So, I have questions for you, dear readers, today:

Do you think consumers spending more will help the economy?
Do you think a government agency should have the power to close businesses that are not breaking any laws and are doing well?
And, lastly, WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO PAY THE DEBT????

Capitalism, in our country, is always regulated to some extent. And most people agree that most of those regulations are good- food quality, building safety that protects us from buying unsafe houses and/or places of business, and rules against both false and subliminal advertising, among other things.

Pure capitalism, in its unvarnished form, requires every consumer to be an expert and have extensive knowledge of every competitor in order to avoid being cheated and/or hurt by substandard products or services. And most people don’t have a problem with a SMALL amount of government regulation for the people.

But where do we draw the line?

The banks and financial institutes (fi from this point on) took TARP funds-taxpayer money- in order to avoid failure. A good portion of those banks/fi paid back that money. Yet the government attempt to interfere with their current business practices has not stopped.

Our President being undignified enough to refer to Wall Street executives as “fat cats” isn’t a real problem, though it does show a lack of understanding of subtleties. Many of these “fat cats” fought against practices that caused harm; many have VOLUNTARILY taken pay cuts and turned down bonuses; and others are just men and women who do their job. On average, these people don’t sit in their offices rubbing their hands together cackling madly about screwing over the average American.

Name calling is one thing. But the House had passed a wide-acting bill that changes the business practices of everybody from mortgage brokers to banks to Wall Street firms. The most troubling part of this bill is that it allows a new agency created by the bill to shut down a bank/fi simply for “hurting the economy.” It doesn’t matter if the firm is solvent. It doesn’t matter if they’re not taking taxpayer money. THE GOVERNMENT CAN DECIDE TO CLOSE DOWN A PRIVATE BUSINESS. More disturbing, the Fed is stripped of almost all power, and Congress- always politically influenced and affected by lobbyist- would be in charge of consumer protection and be able to overrule the Fed’s financial decisions.

-Continued tomorrow

Jennie was watching on the news that they ran out of limos over at the Copenhagen conference and that even though public transport was provided for the conference attendees, they didn't use it.  Also, the airport is so overpacked with all the private jets that were flown to the conference that they are having to fly to other regional airports or Sweden to park. 

She's had the solution for global warming awhile, but has kept it quiet.  It's very simple: everyone worried about global warming needs to stop breathing. 
Obviously, if they're not breathing, they won't be exhaling carbon dioxide every few seconds.  As an added bonus, since they'll die, they won't need to fly all those private jets or use all those limos!  I bet that would solve the problem once and for all! 

The only problem with the solution is that they're isn't a way to make money off of it.  But that's all right.  I also suspect that she had an affair with Tiger Woods, crashed the White House party, and is somehow involved in that hacked data that resulted in Climategate.  As soon as I get some proof, she'll be all over the news.....I'll be able to buy a ton of cat treats with the tell-all book she'll be able to write. 

Off to dig through her e-mail again...the proof is there somewhere...I know it.
Spooky the Cat

Maybe it’s because I’m cynical, but with Planned Parenthood handing out free contraception to anyone who walks in the door, I don’t think 93% of abortions in this country should be because someone got pregnant and doesn’t want to take the responsibility…or won’t even just give birth and put the child up for adoption.

There are many issues about the health care bill that various factions are on the verge of waging war about. But one of the most explosive is abortion. Abortion is hotly contested- the battle over keeping or overturning Roe vs. Wade, parental consent for minors, partial birth abortions, and when life begins are only a few of the divisions in the abortion debate.

But what does abortion have to do with the new health care bill?

The biggest issue relating abortion to the new bill is whether taxpayer dollars can be used to fund abortions. The House version of the bill has an amendment that does not allow taxpayer dollars to subsidize health insurance that COVERS abortions. The Senate recently rejected a similar amendment which was introduced by Nelson (D- Nebraska) and Hatch (R- Utah).

I have a basic question: Is abortion a necessary procedure? Does the average woman get an abortion because her life is in danger –or- because “they played, but don’t to pay”? (We’ll exclude rape/incest and ‘danger to the mother’ cases for this discussion- which account for 1% and 6% of all abortions, respectively.)

According the U.S. Census Bureau, over 1.2 million abortions took place in 2005.

If someone’s health insurance is going to be subsidized in part- no matter how small- would we pay for: Plastic surgery?
Viagra?
Gastric bypass?
Botox?
Colon cleansing?