Poster Girl for the Nanny Society

Memo to those who don't know better: your local McDonald's running out of Chicken McNuggets is NOT a valid reason to call 911.

Yet another tragic case of an American who's been bred to rely on authority rather than themselves.

Pittsburgh Schools see the light

The Pittsburgh Public Schools have announced that 50 percent will no longer be the minimum grade given to students, and that students who don't complete assignments will be given zero. Why? Why are they going to risk the very psychy of these skulls full of mush by telling them they haven't achieved anything? To quote:

Some students have been refusing to complete assignments, telling teachers they'd take the 50 percent instead. Bill Hileman, a Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers staff representative, said "the No. 1 problem with the 50 percent minimum was the negative impact on student behavior."

This is Liberalism at its worst; tell people that they only have to do the minimum - or nothing at all - and guess what, that is all they'll do.

Can we all say together, "DUH!"

Pittsburgh: We want NO flights!

Just saw this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that talks about the increased fees - taxes, that is - that will be imposed on airlines operating out of Pittsburgh International Airport beginning in January.

Southwest Airlines, one of my current favorites, is particularly incensed - as they should be.

Increase in landing fees? 34.8 percent.
Increase in terminal space? 35.9 percent.
Increase in ramp space? 191 percent!

Yes, Allegheny County is sitting on a white elephant - a top of the line hub airport with no hub airline. Yes, there are significant issues surrounding servicing the airport's debt.

Every time I'm at the airport, it is very depressing. The place is an absolute ghost town, even at peak travel times. Clearly though, travel originiating here is strong - the extended parking lot is usually mostly full, anyway.

Here's a suggestion for the powers that be: cut the fees for landing, terminal space, and ramp space, you dolts! Obviously RAISING fees hasn't exactly ATTRACTED airlines here. You want a new airline to take Pittsburgh seriously as a hub location? Make our airport the least expensive for airlines to operate from!

If you lower the fees, more airlines will operate and maybe we'd get a hub back, whether for passengers or cargo. If there are more operations, you'll get more fees. DUH!

Why pay yourself, when it's "free"?

Hawai'i, under mostly-RINO Governor Linda Lingle, has terminated their seven-month old coverage-for-all universal child health care plan due to "budget shortfalls and other available health care options".

Budget shortfalls? Why is it that the state enacted this program, and then found it couldn't pay for it? Amazingly enough, the AP actually tells the story:

"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying
for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator
for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the
intent of the program." ...

State health officials argued that most of the children enrolled in the
universal child care program previously had private health insurance, indicating
that it was helping those who didn't need it.

Ah, yes. Quinn's First Law proved yet again: Liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent.

DUH! I have to pay for something, either completely out-of-pocket or as an employee benefit co-pay/payroll deduction, that I can now get for "nothing" by cancelling my child's private coverage? Why is it a surprise that folks stopped paying for their own coverage for what was "free"?

The New Soviet Man's mantra for his planned massive socialization of our healthcare says "if you have an employer plan and you like it, keep it". That sentiment is an out-and-out lie and here's why:

First, people who co-pay for their insurance benefits will compare what they get from what they have to pay extra for their insurance and figure out whether or not it's worth it when they could do "Commie Care" for "free". If that cost/benefit equation works out in favor of dumping their insurance, they will.

Second, employers who know that they no longer have to offer benefits in the first place won't. Or alternatively, the more employees who drop out of employer plans because they can now get "free" care will force the insurance companies to raise costs even more which employers will just pass along to their employees, which will then cause more employees to dump their insurance in favor of "free" care. And so on...

The result of every liberal program is the exact opposite of its stated intent. What the dirty little secret is is that the stated intent is not the real intent.

The real intent of every liberal program is, at its core, the exact outcome it actually generates. Liberals want our cities to be slums. Liberals want crime in the streets and prevent us from defending ourselves by interfering with our Constitutional rights to keep and bear arms. Liberals want our schools to be indoctrination factories. Liberals want to destroy the private health care system. Liberals want to destroy our economy by promoting the myth of man-made climate change. And why?

Because Liberals hate the United States of America, our Constitution and all it stands for, and they seek to control every aspect of every human life - at least the ones they let live and aren't aborted.

"Duh!" of the Day

Stayed in a hotel last night, so of course hanging on my door this morning was my complimentary copy of USA Today. Right on the front page is an article with the following headline:

"PUBLIC vs. PRIVATE - Two years after Katrina"

There are two pictures: one of a firefighter standing in front of scaffolding, and one of a woman standing in a beautifully decorated and equipped kitchen. Before I even opened the fold of the paper to read the article, I knew exactly what it was going to say - that folks who have been waiting on the government to fix or foot the bill for rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina are still living and working in FEMA trailers while those who prepared, had insurance, reserves, or just good old plain American know-how and resolve are back in their homes and businesses.

And you know what, I was right! Read it all here. Here's a clue dear readers, if you're going to wait on the government to bail you out, get used to waiting.

The headline on the web version is "2 years after Katrina, pace of rebuilding depends on who pays". Wait a second, for those who are waiting on Uncle Sam, aren't we all paying?

Two new categories launched by this post: "Duh Moment" and "Public vs. Private"