I Like This

Fron a friend: I am sending this to my e-mail list and that includes conservatives, liberals, and everybody in between. Even though we disagree on a number of issues, I count all of you as friends. My friend and neighbor wants to promote a "Congressional Reform Act of 2010." It would contain eight provisions, all of which would probably be strongly endorsed by those who drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I know many of you will say, "this is impossible." Let me remind you, Congress has the lowest approval of any entity in Government, now is the time when Americans can join together to reform Congress - the entity that "represents" us.

We need to get a Senator to introduce this bill in the U.S. Senate and a Representative to introduce a similar bill in the U.S. House. These people will become American hero's.

Thanks,

A Fellow American

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Congressional Reform Act of 2010

1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.

A. Two Six year Senate terms
B. Six Two year House terms
C. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

2. No Tenure / No Pension:

A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately.

All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, server your term(s), then go home and back to work.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/2011.

The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

Bangkok Biking

Biking in Bangkok is not without it's perils, even though I bike in a relatively quiet area. There's the expected, other bikes, motorcycles, and cars who might miss you by inches. It's the unexpected that can really surprise you...like a St. Bernard puppy.

I'm zipping along this morning when I look to my left to see why this lady is banging a bowl on her fence. At the same time I see this fur ball running directly in my path heading to his food bowl. I don't know if I hit both brakes at once or just my front brake. I do know that the real wheel on a bike can reach heights greater than your head when the front wheel stops moving. The view of your handlebars in that position is also very interesting. Anyway, I fell off my pedals and hopped a few steps, keeping control of my bike, and the rear end landed where I was originally headed. I'm happy to report that I missed the St. Bernard puppy and my banged up right knee feels better now. I think my nads will be ok also.

Listen to Harold

This is a letter from a friend of ours in Hawaii. Harold is 95 years old and a WWII veteran. This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body, he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now. He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president.

Dear President Obama,

My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.

One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man. So here goes.

I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish. I can't figure out what country you are the president of. You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like: " We're no longer a Christian nation;" " America is arrogant" - (Your wife even announced to the world, " America is mean- spirited. " Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)

I'd say shame on the both of you but I don't think you like America nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.

After 9/11 you said," America hasn't lived up to her ideals." Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around because we stand for freedom.

I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.

Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man. Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue . You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.

And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts who was putting up a fight? You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.

One more thing, I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of.

You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president. You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now. And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.

Sincerely,

Harold B. Estes

Hong Kong at Dusk

Place your cursor at the top of the photo. You will notice it is 6:10 PM.

Bring the mouse down slowly over the photo without pressing the button on the mouse. Do not right or left click.

Night time appears, the lights come on, and at 7:40 PM, it's dark!

http://61226.com/share/hk.swf

Now You Know How They Probably Did It

Book em, Dano!

Recently I read in a nursing forum where a person went into Barnes & Nobles to purchase nursing text books. She discovered they were behind the counter. Reason? The manager said the nursing books get stolen five times more often than any other book, except for the Bible! Other medical and health books tended to have a low rate of theft in this store.

According to this poster, the manager said that nursing students would take books from the shelf and study them in the coffee area. Normally this was not a problem until students started highlighting, marking, answering practice tests, and tearing pages out of the books!

What the heck is going on? Nurses rank about the highest in ethical standards. Is it nurses doing this or is the economy so bad people are reading up on how to take care of themselves?

The Jungle Effect

Normally I don't do book reviews but this is a good one. It's "The Jungle Effect: A Doctor Discovers the Healthiest Diets from Around the World-Why They Work and How to Bring Them Home."

Dr. Miller checks out parts of the world where there are the lowest incidences of certain diseases (cold spots) and travels there to see what the locals are eating. It's a good read and it's not your typical diet book. There are only 14 days worth of recipes, enough for most people.

So if you want to lose weight and stay healthy, check out this book. Dr. Miller's web site is http://drdaphne.com/