"Deem" this!

It’s been a rugged two weeks.

They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But in this case, what didn’t kill me boosted the sales of Icy Hot medicated patches.

Isn’t it interesting to learn that some salaried Luzerne County employees collect enormous stipends for being on call. Didn’t one of you folks out there tell me that the unions were not “the” problem? They may not be “the” problem per se, but they are a huge part of the problem.

And binding arbitration? Do municipalities large and small everywhere a favor by doing away with it all together.

I have been on call for two consecutive weeks, and so far, I have not collected as much as a penny. And the only way I will earn anything is if a customer calls and demands that we pay them an off hours visit. Then I would be collecting overtime pay that I want absolutely no part of.

As you all know, Lackawanted county commissioners A.J. Munchak and Bob Cordaro were both indicted on a list of felonies too completely long to list here. And so the race to cop a plea begins for our neighbors to the north.

I heard a caller on WILK say something to the effect that we, as residents of NEPA, should be ashamed of ourselves, and for our area. That’s hogwash.

What were we supposed to do about the persistent rumors that to secure meaningful (government) employment in this area, you had to know, or you had to blow somebody. I can’t subpoena anyone. You can’t keep county employees under surveillance 24/7. Other than paying strict attention, loudly and relentlessly voicing our concerns and attending meetings, what were we supposed to do about any of the deep, dark, well-kept secrets?

So we’ve got the big health care reform vote today. Big whoop. I can’t even keep up with the fluidity of the thing anymore. This thing changes more often than a teenage girl afflicted with severe peer pressure syndrome (S.P.P.S.) And with bribes and not-so-veiled threats flying all over the place, I’m sure the bill has morphed into something else since this time yesterday.

And these Democrats, man, what of bunch of spineless opportunists they are for trying to pass an unpopular bill by proposing that they pass it without even bothering with a formal vote. They would “deem” it to be passed so that they would have some plausible deniability in place afterwards? What chicken sh*ts.

Follow me here, anyone…anyone who tells you that’s how our system of representative governance was meant to work is a party apparatchik. What, from impromptu, ad-hoc disorder comes order? Think about it. If it’s that much of a possible boondoggle in the making that it becomes law without a single name attached to it out of fear of retribution from the voters, do you honestly believe it’ll be the best thing since sliced wheat germ bread? I’m not buying it.

Despite the CBO estimates, guesstimates and blind shots in the financial dark, it promises to bring us higher taxes, higher deficits and Big Brother sporting a lead-laden imported stethoscope.

Remember Big Brother? Remember how he and his were something to fear, to dread right up until George W. Bush relinquished the keys to the White House? Now they’re trying to tell us that we’re all sure to go tits up without Big Brother’s warm and affectionate embrace.

On Friday, WILK’s Kevin Lynn called the ongoing debate over this reworked and patch worked and bribe-driven health care takeover as “ridiculous discussions.” And sadly, his is a mindset shared by millions of Americans. Resistance is futile. You will be absorbed into the entitlement-seeking Borg.

Even though nobody knows with any certainty what today’s version of the bill includes, it’s good for you. So shut up. Shut up and pay your taxes. Well, those of you that still do, that is.

If this amalgam of nonsense passes later today, we are in for one wild ride to the November election. Strap yourselves in, kiddies.

And if I happened to be a member of any Secret Service detail responsible for the safety of anyone involved, I’m be a tad worried for my own safety. If this late-term abortion of a thing passes, even the gun-toting separatists might leave the relative safety of their remote compounds looking to fight (in their minds) tyranny.

While it might be provocative to say as much, when the representatives no longer represent their constituents, gun play just might become a part of the equation. And if that were to come to pass, then the tyrannical in Washington could “deem” a bill that outlaws private gun ownership. Isn’t that what it’s been reduced to? Legislating fixes to their legislative mistakes? Be it blatant, or be it soft tyranny, tyranny is tyranny.

Where once my grandmother paid Dr. Harris for her monthly visit with a crisp twenty-dollar bill and a well-polished Macintosh apple, now the rigmarole that is an expanding government bureaucracy needing to further expand the government bureaucracy passes as health care. And all thanks to the federal government’s intrusive intervention in the first place. I repeat: They legislate fixes to their legislative mistakes.

I'm afraid that before too, too long, we'll be transitioning from Dr. Obama to Dr. Phibes.

And to the fellow who ripped me a new one via the email inbox, dude, the cost of the Iraq and Afghan wars is a specious argument. And not one that should be directed at me.

I understood full-well when we rolled the Abrams M1/A2s into Iraq that with economic power comes military power. And that an economic decline equals a proportionate military decline. So I knew that a protracted and costly war was the very last thing we wanted there. Because, if we suffer a significant military decline, that will only prove to further embolden the too-many-to-count crazies of the world that Obama is currently coddling.

So to charge that I wasn’t worried about the treasury when we went to war, so I should clam up now that I strongly suspect that this health care reform fiasco might equally squander the grossly depleted treasury…that’s bunk, pure and simple.

But, nice try and all.

The way I see it, we’ve got 8 months until the overdue and necessary correction to the gross overreaction at the polls when last we voted.

Can’t wait.

Oh, assuming you still have one, a job, make sure to work plenty of overtime because you’ve got to pay for Obama’s obvious legacy-building.

Good luck with that.

Later