Obama has given TWO BILLION dollars to Brazil to assist in off-shore drilling, something he won’t permit done off the United States shorelines. By agreement, all oil discovered will go to China. Why we are providing money, and jobs, to Brazil may be explained by the fact that Mr. Soros is a major stock holder in the company doing the drilling. Soros, of course, is a major contributor to Obama and the Democratic Party.

Page A5 of the Wall Street Journal (November 14-15) had a headline “War-Zone Counselors in Short Supply” which speaks to a shortage of mental health professionals to work with the troops in combat areas. War has certainly changed. In my day, the only counseling we were provided came from experienced Sergeants on how to stay alive. 

During O. J. Simpson’s trial there was a general belief among people I knew that any Black on the jury who voted “guilty” would be unable to again live or walk in a Black neighborhood. Now we have Islamic terrorists, or, to be politically correct, human disaster providers, on a public trial for the murder of over two thousand people. How would you like to be on a jury that found these killers guilty? In the past few years, we have had Islamic radicals in the United States who indiscriminately killed innocent peOople from California to New York to the Carolinas – anywhere they chose.  The jurors and their families would be promising targets.

Considering Obama’s expected cuts to Medicare and the establishment of a board to determine the “value” of medical treatment I look at other members of the Cardiac Club and wonder how many of us would have received treatment as persons “of value” to society. My heart surgery cost a combination of Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield approximately two hundred thousand dollars.  To date, that has given me three additional years of life. During this time, I have participated in community events and supported a family. How many years must I do this to justify the cost? Worse yet, I have been surprised by the number of our members, mostly in their seventies and eighties with one couple in their nineties, who have had replacement knees and replacement hips. These are expensive also. Are they worth the cost? But there is also a cost in not doing surgery. Nursing homes would be required for those persons whose knees and hips no longer operate. They could live for years. That would be very expensive to society. So how does this balance? On one side of the scale we have years of nursing home treatment. Perhaps the surgery is cheapest.

Each day, I tune in to Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity to hear what they have to say. Today one of them, I believe Hannity, said that our Democrat controlled government’s plans will take away the money of the wealthy.  He was wrong.  It won’t. The wealthy, the Kennedys, Pelosis, Clintons, Soros and other multi-million and billionaires have so much of their money tied up in tax exempt “foundations” and other tax exempt situations that the government could take away all of their salaried income and they would still be wealthy. The plans our government is making will only PREVENT others from becoming wealthy in addition to impoverishing the middle class.

President Obama has made his decision. He will send thirty thousand additional troops to Afghanistan (instead of the forty thousand requested by his generals) and withdraw them in three years. Great! All the Taliban and Al Qaeda have to do is lie low for three years and then take over. It is an extended dithering. In the meantime thousands of American soldiers will have their lives up-ended or destroyed, to go with those who have had that happen during the six months before this decision. There is certain to be criticism following these three years, whether for not sending the needed fighters or for not withdrawing immediately, I don’t know. But I do know it will be Bush’s fault.

I like Sarah Palin, I like her background and her history, my sole problem concerning her is that she is the only conservative Republican taking leadership at the this time.  We don’t need one, we need many. Where are the others?

Meanderings

By

William D. Dannenmaier

Media stars complained that Sarah Palin was sending the same message every time. That is a problem for a person who has values and beliefs. They don’t change daily. Perhaps that is why the media personalities favor Obama, he is for change. He changes on economics, he changes on Iraq, he changes on so much it is hard to keep track. But he can be depended on for something new every time he talks. 

My son Bill reported that the damage to the homes he and his brothers Chris and Eric own in Galveston has been much worse than expected and he wondered if Stephen and Andrew could use their spring vacations to come and help.  I asked Andrew and his immediate answer was “Yes.” While Stephen was preparing to leave for school I asked him if he would go, provided his half-brothers paid his transportation down and back. I liked his immediate answer. “Certainly, one has to help family.” 

Some may recall that early in Obama’s run for the Democratic nomination he visited Africa. Accompanied by photographers and news media, he recalled his family heritage which included a visit to his half-brother. In a follow-up visit by a reporter from a European newspaper, the half-brother was reported as living in a hut on a dollar a month and said that his one wish was to get enough money to go to school to be a mechanic, so he could earn a decent living. (Dinesh D’Souza, Townhall.com, September 8, 2008) If one considers it, the faith of some people is amazing. Obama, a millionaire, will not send his half-brother the few hundred dollars that would enable him to obtain the education that he needs to escape poverty, yet people believe that if he elected, he will do great things to help people he doesn’t know.

Following a small incident at the Cardiac Club, I am again under house arrest until I receive approval from my cardiologist – no exercising, no lifting of objects over 10 pounds, and a report from Sheila on my daily diet, heart checks three times a day, etc. I telephoned Dr. Smith’s office to protest (Dr. Gary Smith is my G.P.) in anticipation of visiting him immediately. His delayed reply was that he had broken his foot. I e-mailed in return that he should stop kicking the wall when he heard that I planned an office visit.

Sheila had a laugh on me today. It was time to take the trash to the dumpster, so I began carrying the bags out to the four-wheeler, when Sheila bustled in, pushed me out of the way and carried the heavier bags and put them in the trailer. As I drove down the driveway and headed to the dumpster, I was laughing to myself that it hadn’t occurred to my bride that I would lift them out and throw them in the dumpster. After I arrived at the dumpster and had thrown in a lighter bag, Andrew pulled up in Stephen’s car. Sheila had sent him racing down to unload the trailer. She enjoyed that petty victory over me out of all proportion (in my opinion) to her triumph.

I would never, ever, under any conditions suggest or even hint that my bride doesn’t anticipate needs, consider resources and plan in detail her delicious meals, that’s why I was a bit surprised when, as I asked her what was for dinner. She looked up from where she was bending over varied packages in the bottom of the refrigerator and said, “I don’t know. Probably what’s in this package as soon as I find out what it is.”

Still on the topic of brides, I noticed an empty Hershey’s wrapper the other morning, and accused Sheila of eating chocolate without sharing. Her reply, “I know you believe it is immoral to eat chocolate before noon, but I don’t. So I helped save a moral dilemma for you by not mentioning it.” When I replied that she was flip-flopping on morals, she said, “Absolutely not. I’m firm in my morals for me and I’m firm on my morals for you.” Husbands can’t win.

The other morning I awoke completely refreshed, noticed that Sheila was up and hopped up myself. Entering the kitchen, I noticed she hadn’t started my coffee so I began that, but decided a trip to the bathroom was more essential. On the way there, I encountered my bride returning. Going back to the kitchen, I started on coffee and then looked at the clock. It was 11:30! I had slept all of two hours. I quit on the coffee and returned to bed.

On a political note, I have enjoyed the picture of Pelosi and Reid standing together, not a Republican in sight, and proclaiming the success of their Wall Street Bailout. The picture occurred on the same day that headlines announced that the bill had failed in passage. Now, Pelosi puts the Republicans as responsible, forgetting to mention that 40% of the Democrats she leads voted against it. For once, members of the House of Representatives have represented their constituents’ wishes!

All in all, the month of September was not the best for either McCain or me. Our refrigerator quit cooling, the gas heater in the study was disintegrating, the microwave showed problems and I was unable to get the doctor’s approval to return to normal activity until he has put me through some tests and I have seen a surgeon. Now, we have a new refrigerator, a new gas heater, a replacement microwave and Sheila has been talking about how attractive some of the men in the Cardiac Club are.   

Stray Thoughts

By

William D. Dannenmaier

My son Stephen announced to me that he has finally figured out “global warming.” He says there is no such thing, but that politicians spend so much time in air conditioned offices, airplanes and automobiles that they are shocked by their momentary exposures to the out-of-doors. They are also concerned about all the energy consumed by their air conditioners. Their solution is “global warming.” By cooling off the planet as a whole, they won’t need to expend energy – or their suppliants’ energy – by turning on and off air conditioners. 

Obama has suggested that if we keep our tires filled, we will increase our gas mileage and reduce our dependence on oil. That is true, but he should expand that theme. For one, we should quit using plastics. Plastics are an oil derivative. Return to glass soda bottles, they don’t require the use of oil and they can be re-used. Quit using plastic pipes, which have a short lifetime. Return to copper pipes, which last for years. Quit paving roads with asphalt which is an oil derivative, use concrete which lasts forever. Women should quit using make-up, again an oil derivative. The government should quit paying for highways which encourage drivers and use that money to support electric streetcars and buses in cities. Return to coal fired locomotives. All of these changes would do much more to reduce our dependence on oil than filling up our tires. They would reduce our dependence on oil companies and our need to drill for more oil also. 

For the past fourteen years, Congress and Presidents, primarily under the lead of Democrats have prevented the drilling for oil in known locations. Now the Democrats are complaining about the economy. Hasn’t it occurred to any of them that sending hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of dollars to foreign countries every year for oil, while not using our own resources, is going to hurt our economy? It is remarkable, and a testament to the strength of our nation, that we have done as well as we have done during this stupidity.

Son Stephen said that people like Justice Thomas, Secretary of State Rice, Drs. Sowell and Williams and Star Parker aren’t real Blacks because they’re too busy being successful. He said it is only fair to say that Sarah Palin isn’t a REAL woman. While she has a successful, full-time career, she also has five children and a husband. No real woman would do that.  ((I have since read that the spokeswoman for NOW (National Organization for Women) has said that Palin isn’t a real woman!))

The cold that has plagued me through July and August has resumed its attacks. I mentioned to my bride that one of us should go to Dr. Smith and get enough medicine for two – a gentle hint that I KNOW she enjoys driving to Nashville. Her reply was that Dr. Smith never gives her medicine, only me. It’s a plot. To increase his business and the pleasures of my visits, he gives only me medicine. Knowing that Sheila and I are what you might call affectionate, he relies on the fact that as soon as I am well I’ll catch her cold again, requiring another trip to his office. (Actually, I’m afraid to return. I ate so many of their office brownies on my last visit – they may have been under the impression I was sharing with Sheila – that I need for Sheila to cook some treat before I return, which seems unlikely to happen until Christmas.)

Dinesh D’Souza ( Townhall.com, September 08, 2008) reports that Obama’s half-brother is living in poverty in Africa on a dollar a month. Obama visited that brother when he was publicizing his African “roots.” Then he left him in poverty. Obama has said great things about ending poverty for all, but if he won’t help his half-brother, what makes anyone, who is not a member of his clique, believe that he would help them? In a way, it was like his tour to Germany. When he found out that his press corps would not be admitted to the hospital in Landstuhl if he visited wounded veterans, he played basketball instead.  If it doesn’t profit Obama, forget it.

My bride was not disturbed by Obama’s reaction to his half-brother, but son Stephen was. He said that if any of his half-brothers or sisters were in trouble he would certainly do his best to help them, and I believe that. I also believe that those half-siblings would never permit their step-mother or half-brothers or sister to need help. In fact, two of them have already offered free housing to Stephen if he wanted to attend school in their communities. 

I was reminded the other evening of rule number three for helpful husbands. “Never take a shower immediately after putting a load of wash in on hot.” That comes immediately after rule one, “Always obey your bride,” and rule two, “always obey your bride.”