Kinky Friedman is Running for Governor of Texas

Go Kinky!

School Children Indoctrination

Might there be a correlation between the lack of thinking skills we are seeing in many Americans and the Texas State Board of Education? Awhile back, this board was proposing the de-emphasis of the American founding fathers and replacing it with biblical precepts.

The latest proposed policy change is to insert standards such as "identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, and the Moral Majority."

Textbook publishers use the Texas education standards in preparing school textbooks.

So while the GOP decries the potential indoctrination of our Nation's school children by President Obama, they work quietly in the background to indoctrinate them with textbooks.

Can Government Run Health Care?

Believe it or not, the evidence says that government can run health care. Medicaid, medicare and medicare advantage recipients give more 9 and 10 (out of 10)scores than do those enrolled in private insurance plans.

So why are so many Americans convinced that government can't run health care? Nick Kristof has a column in today's NYT provides his thoughts on the question.

Kristof also points out that VA-run health care also gets very high points for being run well ( and here).

There is a 1998 analysis by the Pew Trust called "How Americans View Government". I haven't read it in detail yet (I need to reread about water as an important biological molecule first this morning), but national mood certainly affects how Americans feel about government as well as government performance and opinions of politcal leaders.

We Need to Cut Government Spending

How many times have you heard that we "need to cut government spending"? Currently, Doug Hoffman and Dede Scozzafava, both running for congress, are spouting the usual conservative/republican talking point that we absolutely have to cut spending. I agree. But please, will you two be more specific so the voters will understand exactly what you mean. Where should we cut spending? Please tell us.

Do we need to cut spending that will affect the North Country? Were you in favor of the spending cuts that closed Camp Gabriels? Should we decrease the number of NYS jobs in Ray Brook? How about cutting the spending that goes to our local hospital or schools?

Please give us 4 or 5 specific areas that you would have government make spending cuts. Doug Hoffman has already pointed out that he would cut the "pork". "Pork" makes up a miniscule part of the federal budget. Is he opposed to pork that he might bring to the 23rd district were he elected? Would he, as a congressional representative, not ask for line items that support Fort Drum?

Let's be honest. There are three areas of the federal budget that contain the majority of spending: defense, medicaid/medicare and social security. Please Doug and Dede, would cut any of those three areas?

Anyone Remember Duckman?

The best rant on the human condition ever! And a very, very long sentence. "Well the only disease I've got is "Modern Life," a schnutbusting gauntlet of inefficiency and misery that's one long parade of let-downs, put-downs, trickle downs, shutouts, freezeouts, sell-outs, numnuts, nincompoops and nimrods, all making every day as much fun as waxing a flaming Pontiac with your tongue, where even if you do luck into the possibility of some fleeting pleasure, like, say, if some nymphomaniac telephone operators with the muscle control of Rumanian mat-slappers agree to a little Strip Air Hockey, it'll be over before it starts 'cuz some vowel-lacking, feta-reeking cab-jockey slams his Checker up your hatchback and the cab is owned by some pinata spanker from a Santeria cult in Xoacalpa who starts shaking chicken bones at you and gives you a boil on your neck so big all it needs is Michael Jordan's autograph to make it complete, and even with all this, with ALL THIS, I still drag my sorry butt off the Sealy every morning and stick my face in the reaping machine for one more day, knowing when it's time to flash the cosmic card key at those Pearly Gates, I won't be in the coffin anyway 'cuz some underhanded undertaker sold my heart, pancreas and other assorted Good 'N' Plenty to that same Santeria cult so does anybody really wonder why anybody is hanging onto sanity by the atoms on the tips of their fingernails while Life dirty-dances on their digits, and is it really any wonder that I seem DERANGED???!!"

Liberals are Nuts?