Bill to Outlaw Barbie introduced in West Virginia

I knew that Barbie was getting older (she will be 50 you know--probably needs to go on NipTuck). A State Senator from West Virginia, Jeff Eldridge (D) introduced on Mar 9 HB 2918 A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931.........relating to banning the sale of "Barbie" dolls and other dolls that influence girls to be beautiful. The purpose is stated that It shall be unlawful in the state to sell "Barbie" dolls and other similar dolls that promote or influence girls to place an undue importance on physical beauty to the detriment of their intellectual and emotional development. I am not making this up!!!! This does, however, prove that there really is a desire of the state to be "nanny" (mommy) since that's who usually introduces little girls to dolls.

Eldridge has sons--not daughters. Isn't he being sexist? If they are going to discourage girls from "physical beauty" (the language implies that beautiful girls are either dumber or less emotionally developed), don't they also have to discourage boys from action figures that encourage muscles? How about banning MTV?? I've got it--parents should list all the toys they let their kids buy & send it to the state AG for approval and licensing. Then the state could do its new job--direct parents in ALL aspects of raising their children. Plus this would be another new source of revenue for the state.

This goes beyond the pale for stupid legislation!!! Regardless of how you feel about Barbie, do we want government officials making decisions about what influences girls to be beautiful?? I think not. Plus it angers me that politicians collect our tax $$ to spend developing and promoting this type of stupid legislation, which doesn't (I hope) have a prayer of passing but still soaksup resources that should be spent on the issues they are elected to legislate. If you want to tell Eldridge what you think about his ideas: Capitol phone (304) 340-3210; Eldridge phone (304) 522-8699. E-mail: Speaker.Thompson@verizon.net



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To protect children we MUST expand HR 45 to federally license electrical outlets

According to politicians, Americans cannot be trusted to purchase, store and protect children from handguns without the oversight of the federal government. Then we should expand HR 45 to cover electrical outlets.

Children are at far more risk with electrical outlets in the home than handguns. Why?

• They can stick instruments into the outlet (paper clips, hairpins) and get electrocuted.
• The electrical outlets cannot be locked up and put in a safe.
• How can we be certain that the parents have gone through classes to instruct them on the safe handling of electrical outlets?
  
• We cannot trust parents to instruct children.
• We cannot be certain that parents (or grandparents) will purchase electrical outlet covers.
• And we probably have adults who are stupid enough to stick something into an electrical outlet and get zapped. Where are the warnings on outlets?

Electrical outlets are DEADLY!! And how can we be certain that people know how to safely put in light bulbs? What if they stick a metal instrument into the outlet? By God-they could be killed!! And if they fail to dispose of the CFLs correctly, or break them, they can create a WMD. Do they know they have to evacuate the room if they break a light bulb? As I think about it, I am not even certain that people can be trusted to change their own light bulbs--we probably need a new federal agency and a new training and licensing requirement from the EPA.

I propose that the provisions for handguns in this legislation be expanded to electrical outlets in the home and that federal licensing, fees and inspection be applied since this is a far greater, more pernicious and dangerous exercise of liberty than the 2nd Amendment. We cannot give people in America free rein to use electricity--the risk is just too great to all of us. Stop it before it goes too far. License Electrical Outlets. LEO IS THE MANTRA FOR SAFETY IN THE AMERICAN HOME. Save our children!!

HR 45, introduced into the US House of Representatives by Rep Bobby Rush (D IL) (founder of the IL Chapter of Black Panthers) to create federal licensing of handguns with onerous requirements, which will cost $$, time and inconvenience to the owners of handguns. The criminal penalties are stiff (2 to 10 years prison plus fines) for not getting licensed or not following the dictated processes. The Attorney General of the United States, no less, will be the issuer of these licenses, to be renewed every 5 years. Hummmmm..glad I can trust our government to never misuse private information. But criminals, which we purchase handguns to protect ourselves from don't worry about conforming to these laws--I don't think they will worry about carrying a federal license. Local governments do a good job of registering handguns--so why let the feds muck it up? The legislation is another backdoor attempt to limit 2nd Amendment rights and disarm the Citizens of the USA.

HAVE YOU TRIED THE CFL LIGHT BULBS CONGRESS DICTATED FOR US?

I have and the results suck. Using these bulbs, dictated by our Congress for our use by 2014 will increase our household costs. Just threw 2 of them away (after researching all over web on how to do it with the mercury danger). The bulbs didn't last for more than 3 or 4 months--so much for lasting 10 times longer!! They didn't provide enough light. So let me get this straight--now we have to buy bulbs more often, pay a LOT MORE $$ FOR THEM and have more lights in the room. And this saves energy? Senator Poe gave the best summary of why this legislation stinks. But our brilliant 110th Congress passed it, and President Bush signed it. Check out the vote of your Senators and Representatives. Michigan Senators Levin (D) and Stabenow (D) and my Representative Rogers (R) each voted against it. I warn you to stockpile incandescents--but I haven't yet checked out what the penalties will be. I guess we will have the "light bulb" patrol knocking at our doors in the middle of the night to find our cache and haul us away. Bye Bye Edison. Hello More Nanny State.

If Congress were to referee the NCAA Play-offs

Imagine, if you will, Congress refereeing the NCAA playoffs, with input from the Administration. You wouldn't dare to bet on your favorite because, depending upon who was playing, the rules could be changed mid-game. Or worse yet, if the referee didn't agree with who was ahead in the last quarter, he/she would change the rules, retroactively. Winners and losers would be chosen by Congress, as they chose to apply, change, ignore the rules. The referee would decide what was "fair"--not based upon the rules in place, but the rules the referee wants to impose, perhaps led the the enthusiasm of the crowd for one of the teams. How would you coach a team when the rules were fluid? Would you encourage any players to go pro? Going pro could be the "road to riches" or the "road to ruin" if Congress decided that particular basketball players didn't deserve the $$ they were awarded and confiscated them through punitive taxation.
That's what it feels like for business prospects looking forward. When the rules can be changed arbitrarily and capriciously, with minimal consideration for the unintended consequences, business will pull in the reins. Hire more employees? Not if the cost of employees is going up by government decree. Expand? Why take a chance when states are all over the map considering what else they can tax. It is impossible to project revenues, costs, profits or taxes in this environment. This is the list of representatives who voted YEA to a 90% surcharge tax on bonuses. The 285 Dems and 85 Repubs didn't think this through, even as they didn't read the INITIAL legislation (Stimulus Bill) that approved the bonuses. Even if you believe the bonuses were undeserved, the cure is far, far worse than the disease. But maybe they cannot read??
If you wanted to kill the NCAA Playoffs, you would give the referee responsibility to Congress. If Congress and the Administration want to kill the recovery, they need just continue on the path of mindless, capricious rule changing and punitive taxation they have started down. It is a guaranteed result. Perhaps, is that what they intend? I wonder........

The Budget for our Lives--Zero to Grave

Read the Obama Budget and it is revealing. I guess I missed something—I thought budgets are to be spending plans—period. This budget is a philosophical document, a blame avoidance document and a plan to expand the role government plays in our personal, working and family lives. View it yourself

“Budget Language” MY RESPONSE

“This crisis is neither the result of a normal turn of the business cycle nor an accident of history. We arrived at this point as a result of an era of profound irresponsibility that engulfed both private and public institutions from some of our largest companies’ executive suites to the seats of power in Washington, D.C.”

We experience recessions every 7 years and were overdue. True, there were also excesses and other elements of abuse which worsened the recession. But you will NOT see the lack of personal responsibility blamed anywhere in the diatribe. And the “seats of power” exclude Congress which was a major contributor to the financial excesses.

‘Lenders made loans without concern for whether borrowers could repay them. Inadequately informed of the risks and overwhelmed by fine print, many borrowers took on debt they could not really afford.”

“irresponsible lending to thousands of Americans who, when offered the chance to own their own home, were advised to throw caution to the wind.”

Borrowers are absolved of their poor decisions? What about the race for the biggest TV screen, the largest house on the block, the newest sub-zero refrigerator, the latest in fashion, reckless spending, gambling? Borrowers must be responsible and must read what they sign!! This is the old “it’s not my fault” blame-game.

“restore a basic sense of fairness to the tax code”

Using the tax code for social engineering—that is why the IRS code is over 3 million words and growing. Taxes are to raise money for the limited functions of government—PERIOD!!

“INHERITING A LEGACY OF MISPLACED PRIORITIES”

“This is the legacy that we inherit—a legacy of mismanagement and misplaced priorities, of missed opportunities and of deep, structural problems ignored for too long. It’s a legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it.

45 pages of the budget consist of a blaming of the past eight years for all the problems of the present. That is patently absurd. Read on:

“Prudent investments in education, clean energy, health care, and infrastructure were sacrificed for huge tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected.

In the period 2001-2008 spending increases for:

Health Research & Education 55%

Education 58%

Energy 27477% (yes, the percent is correct)

Source: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/upload/federalspendingbythenumbers2008.pdf

These problems will not be solved simply by throwing more $$$ at them—it has been tried in the past 8 years and the results are abysmal. So if we throw even more money, I suspect the results will be even more pathetic. What is needed is creativity, innovation, private sector efficiencies and support for new approaches which shake up the entrenched parties (unions) and involve the parents.

Read Page 9 titled Growing Imbalance: Accumulating Wealth and Closing Doors to the Middle Class”

“a disproportionate share of the Nation’s wealth has been accumulated by the very wealthy.”

“yet, instead of using the tax code to lessen these increasing wage disparities, changes in the tax code over the past eight years exacerbated them.”

There are many, many problems with this philosophy. FIRST: the position that the wealthy get wealth at the expense of the middle class. Tell that to the thousands of employees of Bill Gates in the growth of Microsoft—the company that created 2,200 millionaires, nearly 1 in 5 employees. Or the folks who invested $10,000 with Warren Buffet and retired with millions. SECOND: there is a continuous reference to the “take home” pay of the top 1%. A large share of the top 1% of taxpayers is pass-through entities: Sub S Corporations, LLCs, and partnerships. The taxable income is NOT “take home” pay—these owners include ALL the profit of the company in their tax returns, withdraw generally enough to pay the taxes and leave the balance in the companies to finance expansion and hire new employees. The increased wealth EXANDS the middle class—it doesn’t subtract money from it. THE UNMISTAKABLE INTENT OF THE PLAN IS REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH—SOCIALISM AND THE ULTIMATE DEATH OF THE MIDDLE CLASS. The graph on Page 11 is drawn by classic French socialists:

Education; ‘chance to get a world-class education from cradle to career..…comprehensive, coordinated, high-quality early childhood “Zero to Five” systems”

This constitutes the most brazen statement that the Government intends to run our lives, cradle to grave. The public education system is a disgrace, as admitted by the Obama administration. Fix it by expanding it? Schools do not teach children values or morals so we want to give our children go them from CRADLE, from ZERO?? What this accomplishes is a Nazi approach of childhood indoctrination.

Health: “For instance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fewer than 75 percent of women get mammograms, and fewer than 50 percent of Americans receive any type of colon cancer screening.”

I would hope so since mammograms and colon screenings aren’t even recommended until ages 40 and 50, respectively. This is a misleading statement to justify expanded government direction over health care.

Reduction of charitable deductions for incomes over $250,000: Provision is hair-brained or intentional to bring more services under the wings of government and expand reliance upon the government for services now provided by charities and churches.

“Put the United States on a Path to double foreign Assistance.” Numerous studies question the value of the foreign assistance that we have provided to date. International Affairs spending increased 74% 2001-2008 and we know what the benefits of that were to the U.S.—none. And now he intends to DOUBLE IT?

“In addition, the Budget proposes to expand retirement savings incentives for working families by modifying the existing Saver’s Credit to provide a 50-percent match on the first $1,000 of retirement savings for families that earn less than $65,000. The credit would be fully refundable to ensure that savings incentives are fair to all workers.”

Another refundable tax credit. The earned income tax credit already is rife with abuse and he has expanded it!! Now a new opportunity. This is how it will work for too many—they will “save” the $1,000, file taxes and receive the $500 refund, withdraw the $1,000, pay 10% penalty and be ahead $400, paid by the taxpayers that made over $65,000. People know how to game these refundable tax credits. It is practically an industry.

In summary, the Obama Budget is a blueprint to increase the intervention of bureaucrats in our daily lives, redistribute our income and lull naïve and gullible citizens to think there is such a thing as a free ride—well TANSTAAFR. What too many people are failing to recognize is that WHAT THE GOVERNMENT GIVETH, THE GOVERNMENT CAN TAKE AWAY AND THEN, CURSED BE THE NAME OF THE GOVERNMENT. The end result with be increased dependence upon Government and a tremendous increase in the power of the elected, appointed officials and the bureaucrats.