Thoughts and questions on various matters

A large number of Americans believe that less productive people deserve more and that more productive people deserve less. If that weren’t true, politicians like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Charles Schumer and Patrick Leahy couldn’t get elected dog-catcher, much less to Congress.

No matter the dictates of multiculturalism and political correctness, Christmas remains the prime reason for December celebrations. “Prove it,” you say? Alright. How many people would tune in to watch the annual presentation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Kwanzaa?

Is it possible to sell our fellow citizens on the virtues of individual liberty and personal responsibility when so many have become quite comfortable in the veritable bondage of government dependence?

Whether a person considers a political advertisement a truthful assessment of a candidate’s positions or an unsubstantiated attack on their character rests solely on whether their preferred candidate is the ad’s target or its originator.

A sticker on a bottle of lamp oil reads, “Danger! Do not drink!” What purpose can this warning serve? If someone is so dense as to drink lamp oil, that person isn’t smart enough to read and understand the warning label.

Here is another undeniable truth of Interstate driving. You must travel 75 miles per hour to pass the same car that you were about to run over when traveling at 50 miles per hour.

No matter the trade or profession, and regardless of the employer, each shift claims to do all of the work while the other shifts laze about accomplishing nothing.

Are the people who think Rush Limbaugh and other conservative commentators are dangerous zealots who must be countered by the Fairness Doctrine also the people who consider Keith Olberman a reasonable, logical and balanced reporter? If I were a gambling man, I’d wager yes.

The long-term trend toward greater judicial activism, legislative hostility and public apathy bode poorly for our constitutional republic’s future. The 2010 election results can be a positive step toward correcting the first two problems, but only if it means we have rid ourselves of the third.

Not being big on conspiracy theories, the “birther” movement holds little interest for me. However, I do consider Hawaii’s certificate of live birth a redundancy. Isn’t the fact that someone is standing in front of you proof positive that the person was born alive?

When then-President Bush escalated the entitlement system (Medicare Part D) and stated that he was abandoning capitalism (TARP) in order to save the free-market system he threw open the door to Barack Obama’s presidency. When Obama escalated what Bush began (Stimulus, Healthcare Reform) he set the table for last fall’s Republican gains. Voters are now left to wonder which party will screw-up bad enough to lose in 2012.

Do whitewall tires still exist? And while we’re on the subject of tires, when and why did sporty white-letter tires decline in popularity in favor of the nondescript black wall?

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have made nice livings peddling ordure under the mantle of social justice and civil rights. But have no fear; anything you’ve retained from Sharpton’s or Jackson’s rhetoric can be remedied with a dose of Ex-lax.

The bikini is far more than an eye-catching cultural icon; it is an economic anomaly. Bikinis represent one of the few transactions (lingerie being another) where customers willingly pay more to receive less.

Anyone so naïve as to believe buying carbon offsets from Al Gore’s companies will halt climate change would also buy air from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India and top soil from Chernobyl.

Why do people tie their shoes together and toss them across electrical power lines? It’s a waste of time and shoes. Plus, it’s done so frequently it can’t even qualify as an original prank.

Congress has investigated numerous baseball players for lying to Congress about steroid use. Why, then, can’t we charge Congress with lying to us about the sub-prime lending fiasco, bailouts, stimulus, healthcare reform and pretty much everything else Congress does?