An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 1 December 2009
Diversity on the Front Porch
Tax Cut Fails
Voters reject Concerned Citizens call for lower sales tax rate
Twenty-one percent of Hardin County’s 16,108 registered voters turned out for today’s referendum deciding one of the most controversial local issues in years.
By a vote of 804 to 2,553, the election determined the local option sales tax will remain unchanged at 2.5 percent.
Concerned Citizens For Community Schools, a grassroots group opposed to the current school consolidation project, forced the county-wide referendum by obtaining some 3,000 signatures on a petition calling for a special election on the sales tax rate.
The organization argued the Hardin County Board of Education and county commission broke their word when officials decided earlier this year to scrap a 1997 long-range school renovation and construction plan that did not involve consolidation.
Voters in 1997 overwhelmingly approved a one cent increase in the local option sales tax rate based on that plan and would not have done so at the time if they thought community schools would be shuttered, Concerned Citizens contended.
I still think they should have used my idea, and compromised at 2%. The fear tactics of raising property and wheel taxes seem to have worked.
They asked the residents to approve taxes for a specific purpose, then turn around and use said money for a different purpose. Sounds like a ‘political machine’ to me. Wonder if it is possible to clean the slate locally as well as nationally? Just a thought.
I’m Thinking…This Is A Good Thing
Tennessee Democratic Rep. John Tanner will retire next November, creating an open seat in an area that strongly favors Republicans.
Tanner’s decision, according to those familiar with it, was made weeks ago and based on his desire to return to the Volunteer State after more than two decades in Washington. The decision was first reported by the Hotline.
Tanner, first elected to the 8th district in 1988, has run without a serious challenge in recent years despite the fact that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won the seat with 56 percent in 2008.
Ok, all you folks over there in the Jackson area! Get it in gear! Dems need to become the MINORITY!
H/T: Mike Slater via Twitter
Tingles is a ___________ !!
BO Blabbing
yada yada…..yada yada yada.
blah blah blah blah……blah blah
um…um…um….er….
yada blah yada blah blah yada….er
blah blah….er….yada….um….blah yada
blah blah……it’s all Bush’s fault….blah blah
Bush did it…yada…Bush…
I am wonderful!
And there ya have it! In a nutshell. While B. Hussein is watching the ping pong ball, I’m getting ready to puke. He’s a lying sack of excrement!
Hardin County Tennessee
If you haven’t voted in the tax referendum, you have 30 minutes to get to the polls. Get up off your butt and do your civic duty!
Democrats = Socialists
Former DNC chairman, Howard Dean, puts it out there. He says it in plain language. NOW do you believe us?
Swiped from Real Conservatives.
Screw Ups
Iraq Soldier’s Mom Sues Over Letter Stamped ‘Deceased’
A Minnesota woman is suing the federal government after a letter she mailed to her son in Iraq was returned with the word “deceased” stamped on the envelope, even though the soldier is alive.
Joan Najbar of Duluth filed the lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, claiming emotional distress and negligence.
Najbar sent the letter to her son in September 2006. Several weeks later the letter was returned to her by the Postal Service with a red “deceased” stamp. Najbar contacted the Red Cross and learned her son had not been killed.
She filed a claim for injuries against the Postal Service in July 2008. That claim was denied. A letter from the Postal Service says its investigation found no negligence.
A call to Najbar’s attorney was not immediately returned. The government’s answer to her suit has not yet been filed.
Say whut? No negligence? I dunno….sure sounds like someone screwed up somewhere along the line.
I remember my dad’s family talking about the day my grandmother got a telegram during WWII, “We regret to inform you….”. News that the youngest boy had been shot down, and killed, over Germany, was devastating for the entire family. A few weeks later, my uncle walked through the front door, completely unharmed. Now, granted, people didn’t consider suing anyone at the drop of a hat, but you can see where such news could seriously damage a person’s mental health for a while.
The U.S. Military doesn’t notify families that their loved one has been killed with a stamp on letter. This pretty much points to some low level moron, either at the U.S.P.S, or in the military’s mail room. Either way, someone should step forward, and take responsibility. Should there be financial gain in a lawsuit? Oh, hell no. But a personal apology is not out of the question.
Some Questions Concerning Afghanistan
[ I received the following in an email, and all the searching didn't produce a link. 
But take my word for it, it IS from The Heritage Foundation. 
]
Q&A on Afghanistan
Top Ten Questions and Answers on Obama’s Strategy in Afghanistan
President Barack Obama will announce his new Afghanistan policy tonight at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Some news organizations have reported that President Obama will send anywhere from 30,000 to 34,000 additional troops to the region. To get you prepared for tonight’s announcement, The Heritage Foundation answers some of the most asked questions about President Obama’s proposal.
1. If the President sends 35,000 more troops to Afghanistan, does that count as a “surge?”
Simply put, no, because the use of that term implies an Iraq-like strategy of ramping up forces to the maximum of what the generals are requesting. It has been widely reported that General McChrystal’s assessment for additional troops to achieve maximum chance of success was between 60,000 and 80,000 troops. While the President’s decision is better than no new troops at all, it falls short of that assessment. Additionally, the White House plans to add troops over time as it sees fit, and not necessarily “surge” forces for maximum affect. We hope that the President’s far riskier strategy succeeds. If it does not, we must remember the options he had available to him before this decision. He had the chance to turn this war around; if he does not, the result will be his responsibility alone.
2. Is tonight’s announcement of a strategy the result of a thoughtful, deliberative process?
The delay in making a decision is inexcusable. Given that President Obama has been in office over 10 months; was privy to extensive briefings on the Afghan situation before that; the many months General McChrystal has been on the job; and the critical situation on the ground, the delay has put the mission and American soldiers in graver jeopardy. If McChrystal originally asked for 40,000 troops, as the White House would like you to believe, it is incomprehensible to believe that it took many months to simply lower that number by 5,000.
Blog Net News
UPDATE: Seems the problem is fixed. Whoo Hoo! Yep, the boss is a good guy! 
For reasons I cannot explain, the Blog Net News (“broken link”) site has vanished. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a nationwide directory of blogs from all sides of the spectrum. The main site with links to all states has just disappeared. I’ve tried contacting the head honcho, but haven’t had any luck. I’m hoping there will be an explanation eventually. In the meantime, Righty Blogs seems to still be up and running. Unfortunately, Progressisphere does not.
A Difference Worth Noting
American Thinker has some interesting correlations on unemployment depending on who is control of Congress. It’s worth a read! Guaranteed to make a dihard liberal’s head explode. Granted it’s from back in September, but you can fill in the rest of the upswing on the right side.
Red – Republicans
Blue – Democrats
Interesting that unemployment goes down more so with the red, isn’t it.
A snippet:
President Obama inherited a mess of an economy. He inherited it from his fellow Democrats in Congress. As it turns out, which party controls Congress, especially the Senate, probably has a lot more impact on the economy than who resides in the White House.
Seriously, go…..read…..be enlightened.
H/T: Paul via Facebook
How To Save Taxpayer Money
Suspect in Washington State Police Killings Shot Dead
Seattle police shot and killed the fugitive suspected of gunning down four officers in a suburban coffee shop, a sheriff’s spokesman said Tuesday.
Maurice Clemmons was shot to death after a “very alert patrol officer” tracked down a stolen vehicle linked to him, Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff, told Fox News.
Clemmons, 37, is suspected of murdering the four Lakewood police officers at a cafe Sunday morning in Parkland, a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle.
He was killed in a working-class neighborhood after police found him with the help of information about possible hiding spots, Troyer said.
“Shots were fired,” Troyer told “Fox & Friends” Tuesday. “We’re very happy that the Seattle police officer is OK. … This could have turned out a lot worse.”
I’m quite pleased that the officer is safe too.
This sub human garbage had a long list of violent offenses. It was obvious it would not, and could not be “rehabilitated”. What to do with such creatures? Put them out of OUR misery. It would be really nice if the mush brains would realize there are some people who should NOT be breathing. Does that sound harsh? Too bad! If there was true justice, we wouldn’t have so many innocents being buried by their families.
Who do I blame for these officers deaths? I blame us! We are the culprits. We’ve allowed the few to destroy our society from within. The many must start, right now, today, to reverse the damage that has been done. Together, we will be able to make the difference. There is evil walking among us, and we have allowed it to spread. The time to act is now!
