Shotgun Friday…Fair and Balanced Edition

Major Mike

Dixie Chicks Hit #1

The Dixie Chicks are now seeing some success with their new album “Taking the Long Way,” hitting number one on both the Country and the Pop charts. Maybe America is ready to forgive and forget…we’ll see. At least they don’t have to travel on the Neil Young Anti-war Loser Bus Tour this summer.

I hope they can still get an invite to The View, and if they do get an invite…will they show? What would Bruce Springsteen do?

Major Mike prediction…they soon change their name to simply The Chicks…I think they’ll kick country music to the curb with some variation of dropping the “Dixie” part of their name…just a guess on my part.

Speaking of guesses…

Ouija Board Predicts Atlantic Hurricane Season

A family living in a duplex in Lodi, California disclosed to CNN today, that their Ouija Board predicted a total of 17 tropical storms and 9 hurricanes. This prediction happened to coincide with predictions coming out of a Colorado State University forecasting team. Eeeerie.

Are you kidding me…the same idiots who told me I would have rain showers on Tuesday, and are doing the victory dance on Wednesday for the 1.0 times 10 to the (-9)” of spit that actually fell. And, oh by the way, CNN laps up this dribble as if it has some actual value…I think my farmers almanac from 1913 may have the same prediction…did anyone check with Nostradamus?

Idioclones masquerading as journalists, trying to scare people into a frenzy, and laying the foundation for blame, should mother nature decide, in her own random way, to impact the lives of those who live in the hurricane prone states. This is not “news.” Put this in the entertainment section and get serious about your business.

News Flash…Restaurants Cause Obesity

A new government study has concluded that restaurants are the root cause for Americans becoming obese. This government study also concluded that most Americans are too stupid to figure out that the more you eat, and the less you exercise, the fatter you will become. So in an effort to stem the tide in the wave of obesity swamping our nation, the FDA has concluded that advertising the caloric content of meals is the answer.

I guess this will be like the warning labels on cigarettes and alcohol… that works.

Look, putting overly onerous requirements on restaurants and eateries, because Americans want to overfill their pie holes, is not the solution. Government needs to butt out. It takes about a second grade education to figure out what makes a person gain weight, and a college degree to understand how to calculate your caloric intake, measure it against myriad of “recommended daily allowances,” anti-oxidant contents, and a host of other questionably scientific datum, in order to have a prayer of translating these posted calorie counts into weight loss.

Here is the right message…eat less, gain less. Restaurants, food producers, and fast food franchises are not to blame…people are.

State Constitution? Economics? Who Needs ‘Em?...Oregon Kicker, Part Deux.

Like any good Democrat, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski is eying the taxpayers' money with lip-smacking greed. Seems, besides the previously mentioned Corporate Tax Rebate, totaling about $200M…commonly known in Oregon as the “kicker,” individual ratepayers have overpaid their taxes compared to previously determined budgets by about $800M…any good Dem’s first reaction…keep the money. Kulongoski doesn’t disappoint he goes right after it…wanting to put it back into the “Oregon economy.”

I am on the floor laughing for a dozen reasons…

First…State Constitution. Ever heard of it? It would seem that the “kicker” provision in the State Constitution, in play since 1979, is wholly unknown to the sitting Governor. Gov. “K” seems unbothered by the restraints of existing law, and the repeated, and clear message from the people in the State regarding the use of this mechanism in holding budgets down. He simply wants to appropriate the money for his own vote buying purposes this election season.

Second…use the money to “boost the economy.” That is rich. Somehow, the lessons of the latest, consumer driven recovery must be completely lost on the esteemed Governor. It was tax cuts, interest rates, and predominately consumer spending that pulled us out of the last economic dip…not pandering to the Teacher’s Unions, spending money on out of state textbook producers, or any localized subsidies. How is it possible that a sitting governor can miss the biggest economic reality of our generation…lower tax rates stimulate spending, increase demand for goods, which stimulates economic growth, which increases the total taxes collected…even at the lower rate. For three cycles this has been the clear solution…not further bloating of governmental institutions known for wastefulness and incompetence.

Third…even simpler…why does the State have to collect my tax money to put it into the economy? Don’t I do that everyday? I buy groceries, and gas, and things at the hardware store. I invest in companies AND pay taxes…why does the State have to be any more involved?

Four…the kicker is in place precisely to avoid the pain the California went through on the latest slowdown. It is obvious that left unchecked…Dems would drastically increase “services” budgets in good times, and tax to support those bloated programs in bad times…precisely the wrong combination of events in facilitating economic recoveries. I think the voters in Oregon have shown wisdom in forcing legislators to budget for lean times rather than for boom times. Services should be designed to meet the need, not fill to out bloated budgets.

Five…the Governor confirms what we have always know about Dems…they want to take your money and give it to someone else…sorry let them work as hard as I do, then they can have the same amount of money as I do. I don’t think that it is the State’s job to redistribute the wealth amongst its citizens.

I could go on, but I am tiring…suffice it to say, Kulongoski’s actions are pure Blue party thinking…take more; spend more. He needs to be stopped.