EagleTribune.com : Blogs : The Soapbox

I guess among the things we’ll be bidding farewell as 2008 draws to a close is the Christmas party. Not the party, of course, just the label. Yes, we’ve been trained to say “Happy Holidays” now for the better part of a decade, so as not to offend blah blah blah. But it seemed like the Christmas party was still hanging on. Not so much, apparently. I heard about more than a dozen parties this past weekend, and all but one was called a Holiday party. The other one was called a Glow Gala.
So, start getting ready. In a few years – maybe 10, maybe less – we won’t have Dec. 25 off any more. And then it will take less than a generation for people to remember why we even had it off in the past.
Hope that gives all the diversity disciples a nice warm feeling.

That’s a great idea that the gay marriage jihadists have. It’s not enough, in the wake of the democratic referendum in California to preserve traditional marriage, for them to harass and threaten the Mormon church or hurl insults at African Americans that would get anybody else branded as McCarthyite. The next big protest is for this Wednesday, Dec. 10, labeled a “Day Without a Gay.” Backers of same-sex marriage are being urged to skip work by “calling in gay,” to demonstrate how much America relies on gays.
This is terrific. But why let gays have all the fun, and get all the time off? I think the rest of us who are on the losing side of any democratic vote should do the same thing. Everybody who is unhappy that Barack Obama got elected should “call in Republican” – you know, just to demonstrate how much America relies on Republicans. Or, everybody in Massachusetts who was unhappy with the vote to preserve the 5.3 percent state income tax should “call in overtaxed,” just to show how much the state relies on people who are staggering under the tax burden.
It could go on and on – everybody who was unhappy that Deval Patrick got elected governor should “call in no-we-can’t.” I’m sure you can think of others. After all, democracy is so unfair, it ought to at least provide us all with a few more days off.

My apologies for the complete absence of posts on this blog for the past month. My advance New Year’s resolution is to visit it much more often. And thanks to you who have stopped by, weighed in and debated with one another. There is not much better than a good argument that sticks to the issue and doesn’t get personal; and one of the best ways to learn new things and how to defend your point of view is to have a good argument with those who see the world differently.
So, thanks again, and keep stopping in.
Now to today’s item on how I see one piece of our little corner of the world:
Why am I not surprised that, among the numerous perks in their current contract, the Massachusetts State Police get a 2.5 raise simply for passing the physical fitness test given every two years. That’s right – a bonus for being in good enough shape to do the job they were hired to do. Does this mean I get a 2.5 percent salary bump for passing a typing test every two years?
Our governor, Deval Patrick, said before he was elected that he was going to eliminate unnecessary spending by combing through the budget. What he really needs to do is comb through union contracts.
How about this: If you don’t pass the test, you get fired.

Brief thoughts after the Palin-Biden set-to in St. Louis.
I wonder if Sarah Palin’s last name was really Paling at one time, and the family just decided to drop the “g” because, y’know, they weren’t usin’ it anyway. By the end of the debate, I was likin’ some of what she was sayin’, but I was just wonderin’ if some of the schoolin’ up there in Alaska oughta include some trainin’ in how people should be talkin’ to one another.
Attractive, bright, confident, but a little too “Fargo.” Good thing Biden doesn’t have a “g” on the end of his name.
Which brings us to Joe Biden. Articulate and well informed in the minutia of Washington, as expected, although half the time I was blinded by that dazzling row of teeth.
The most important thing I thought he said – although it didn’t make any of the highlight clips I saw afterward – was on taxes. In defending Barack Obama’s income redistribution plan, he said, “Where I come from, that’s called fairness.”
Well, Joe, maybe it is now, but where you come from it used to be called socialism, especially when the rich already pay the vast majority of taxes. It is still socialism, no matter what you call it. It’s just another way of saying “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” According to that philosophy, if some people have more money than other people, it’s not fair. If some people are having trouble paying a mortgage, government’s role is not to promote economic growth so that everybody has a better chance to pay their mortgages through their own efforts. No, it is to take money from wealthier people and give it to those having trouble, without even asking why they’re having trouble. It can never be their own fault. Even to ask the question violates their “dignity.”
If they are elected, and succeed in imposing this twisted version of “compassion” on the country, the promise of America will dim. Immigrants have flocked to America because of its promise of independence and opportunity. Obama/Biden won’t say it, but that promise is being changed to: If you work hard and succeed, we will punish you by taking the fruits of your success away from you. And we will give it to somebody else who we have decided is more deserving of it. And for those of you who fail, don’t worry – we’ll reward you.
As I’ve said before, the best thing to be in their administration will be a victim. Welcome to the Dependent States of America.

So, did you hear what that Alaska hockey mom ditz, Republican vp candidate Sarah Palin said this past week? In an interview with CBS anchor Katie Couric, talking about the economic meltdown, she said, “Part of what a leader does is to instill confidence, is demonstrate that he or she knows what they’re talking about and communicates to people. If you listen to me and follow what I’m suggesting, we can fix this. When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed, you know, he said, look, here’s what happened …”
This is supposed to demonstrate that she knows what she’s talking about?? I mean, can you believe it? She’s so dumb she didn’t know Herbert Hoover was the president in 1929 when the market crashed. So dumb she didn’t know that FDR wasn’t even elected until 1932. So dumb she didn’t know there was no TV around for another decade.
And this woman wants to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Why isn’t the mainstream media screaming about this, airing that clip 24/7??
Oh, uh, sorry. That’s right. It wasn’t Sarah Palin who said that. It was Joe Biden. Democratic vp candidate, here. Long-time, very experienced, allegedly intelligent member of Congress. Must have just been a little slip. No big deal. Not worth talking about or airing the clip any more. Not scary for him to be a heartbeat away …