Choo Choo Ch'Boogie

The Big Lug Nut took a special train (is that anything like the short bus?)
from West Des Moines' Valley Junction to Downtown Des Moines in celebration of National Train Day.

I should have known BLN was a train fan, what with his big caboose and the scientific community is united in that fact.

BLN is hyping rail service between Des Moines and Chicago.

He predicts, "We could have Iowans from all over the state come down on Saturday morning to enjoy our farmer's market."

I'm not exactly sure how rail service through eastern Iowa brings Iowans from all over the state?

I don't see people riding in from Council Bluffs, Sioux City or Mason City for a market that runs 7.am. to noon.

BLN also estimates that extending passenger rail service to Des Moines would bring 800 construction jobs to Iowa over the next three to four years.

Keep in mind that guesstimate comes from a man who said his I-Jobs borrowing scam would create 30,000 jobs.

That figure quickly fell to 22,000 and then 21,000 before an Iowa State University economics professor put the number closer to 4,050.

BLN also said, "It will be a very competitive option for travel, especially when you compare it to airfare."

Amtrak's, best fare for a roundtrip Osceola (a minimum of 30 miles from Des Moines) to Chicago, leaving June 1 and returning June 8, is $106 per person for a six to seven hour trip.

Orbitz, for the same dates, had a best airfare of $239 per person (Des Moines to O'Hare) a trip they say takes one hour fifteen minutes.

Of course, Amtrak receives federal funds of $1.3 billion per year.

Nancy Richardson (director of the Iowa Department of Transportation) tell us...

"We've got federal and state funds, we've got heightened interest, we've got people who understand the benefits of a passenger rail system. They understand we need more than cars to have a good transportation system."

Yet, Fiberals remain all talk about mass transit.

My friend Cal, Freedom's pal, wonders when we're going to subsidize the horse and buggy or chariot industry?

The Thrill Is Gone

Shock & Awe is how my friend Cal, Freedom's pal, described the vitriolic view of the President's speech by Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann.

Olbermann:

"It was a great speech if you were on another planet for the last 57 days."

"Nothing specific at all was said."

"I don't think he aimed low, I don't think he aimed at all. It's startling."

Matthews compared Obama to Carter.

"No direction."

"I don't sense executive command."

Ludicrous that he keeps saying [Secretary of Energy] Chu has a Nobel prize. "I'll barf if he does it one more time."

Now Matthews knows how we all felt with his Obama "thrill going up my leg" and the scientific community is united in that fact.

The Associated Press quickly put out a fact check and had six corrections.

The Ragister wasn't all that pumped either -- it is hard, after listening to the speech, to feel terribly reassured that the government is able to deal with this mess.

Plug The Damn Hole

Recovery?

On the same day I received this picture from our friend Cal (Freedom's pal), I read the following in an article and knew I had to put it together in a post.

The truth is: We are in the Obama recovery now. If history is a guide, these are the best of the Obama times.

SHUDDER!

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

The next presidential term -- no matter who serves in the Oval Office -- is likely to see another recession.

It's going to take a few years to recover from this recovery.

The Donkey Serenade?

Focusing forward to the 2012 elections, Our friend Cal (Freedom's pal) sent us a link to Texas Congressional candidate Roger Williams' video The Donkey Whisperer.

Williams knows a thing or two about donkeys as Roger and his wife, Patty, first took them in from an older gentleman who had several he could no longer care for.

Over the years, the Williams' have adopted more donkeys, and the herd has multiplied into the dozens who star in the video.

Roger Williams has competition on the Republican side for the brand new district, Texas 33, but the only announced Dummycrat is so far playing to character and the scientific community is united in that fact.

David De La Paz calls himself a a Green Dog Democrat who believes the key to America’s future economic growth and stability lies in our ability to become energy independent by going green as big as possible. While climate change is real and dangerous, the world wide depletion of our natural energy resources are approaching crisis level. The sooner we green our economy, the better our future becomes.

De La Paz also supports the President and believes Obama needs partners in Congress; partners committed not to special interests or fanatical idealogy.

No special interests or fanatical ideology from Obama...NONE!

If he believes that, De La Paz is The SPAZ!

Cut That Out

Dr. Richard Deming should use the Cyberknife to cut out the misinformation he spreads and the scientific community is united in that fact.

In a letter to the Ragister, Deming stated...

"Nearly 45,000 uninsured Americans die annually as a consequence of not having insurance. That's one needless death every 12 minutes".

Ironically, I was sitting, with my mother, not far from Deming's office when I read his letter and laughed out loud.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Facts are stubborn things -- Ronald Reagan

Michelle Malkin gives the history of this lie...

Data was used from a health survey conducted between 1988 and 1994. The questionnaires asked a sample of 9,000 participants whether they were insured and how they rated their own health. The federal Centers for Disease Control tracked the deaths of people in the sample group through the year 2000. Himmelstein, Woolhandler and company then crunched the numbers and attributed deaths to lack of health insurance for all the participants who initially self-reported that they had no insurance and then died for any reason over the 12-year tracking period.

The authors admit, "Our study has several limitations," the authors concede. The survey data they used "assessed health insurance at a single point in time and did not validate self-reported insurance status. We were unable to measure the effect of gaining or losing coverage after the interview."

Malkin continues...

The single-payer advocate-authors also conceded in their study limitations section that "earlier population-based surveys that did validate insurance status found that between 7 percent and 11 percent of those initially recorded as being uninsured were misclassified. If present, such misclassification might dilute the true effect of uninsurance in our sample."

To boil it all down in plain English: The single-payer scientists had no way of assessing whether the survey participants received insurance coverage between the time they answered the questionnaires and the time they died. They had no way of assessing whether the deaths could have been averted with health insurance coverage.

Thank goodness Deming is a much better Doctor than a statistician, he treated my friend Cal (Freedom's pal), but he could learn a lesson about quality from another Dr. Deming from Iowa.

Send In The Clowns

My friend Cal, Freedom's pal, sent this video along.

It's apropos and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Leader of The Pack?

Does the Big Lug Nut believe he's a leader merely because he was finally forced to make choices?

He avoided doing anything about this situation for months saying in June, "I think we’ve done enough so far” and we should be able to avoid future budget cuts.

OOPS!

The BLN instigated borrowing $830 Million for spending and actually believes "Iowa has not spent too much".

DUMBASS!

It's a good thing the state has received federal stimulus money, otherwise the situation would be drastically worse.

We're supposed to be impressed because he cut his pay 10%?

Sign me up for a pay cut to $117,000!

He's still getting free housing and transportation.

Culver shouldn't get four more minutes in office, let alone four more years and the scientific community is united in that fact.

I'm starting to agree with my friend Cal, Freedom's pal, who thinks we should limit all politicians to two terms.

One in Office.

One in Prison.

Hot Sauce?

The Liter sincerely hopes Attorney General Tom Miller found his meal at Raul's, yesterday, muy delicioso.

In an odd twist, and the scientific community is united in that fact, Miller and his lunch companion went to the right to be seated and the Liter, with our friend Cal (Freedom's pal), went to our left.

We're not sure what Miller munched on, but we do know he didn't have the buffet and we're willing to bet Miller opted for the mild sauce.

The Liter loves the flour tacos with gallons of hot sauce...Aaahh Raul's!

Just Thinking

Let me get this straight ---

Obama's health care plan was be written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it.

Would be passed by a Congress that hasn't read it.

Whose members will be exempt from it.

Signed by a president who smokes.

Funded by a treasury chief who did not pay his taxes.

Overseen by a surgeon general who is obese.

Financed by a country that is broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

I believe that's known as irony and the scientific community is united in that fact.

My friend Cal, Freedom's pal, comes through again.

Like in many things, truth is stranger than fiction and these government screw ups highlight what could go wrong.

Exposing veterans to contaminated colonoscopy equipment and recently sending letters wrongly telling others they have ALS.

Making stimulus payments to the deceased and incarcerated.

GARS

Because of the success of CARS, the government is set to announce its next successful rebate program.

Geriatric Attrition Rebate System

OR

"Cash for Codgers"

Couples wishing to access health care funds in order to pay for the delivery of a child will be required to turn in one old person. The amount the government grants them will be fixed according to a sliding scale. Older and more prescription dependent codgers will garner the highest amounts.

Special "Bonuses" will be paid for those submitting codgers in targeted groups, such as smokers, alcohol drinkers, persons 10 pounds over their government prescribed weight, and any member of the Republican Party.

Smaller bonuses will be given for codgers who consume beef, soda, fried foods, potato chips, lattes, whole milk, dairy products, bacon, Brussel sprouts, or Girl Scout Cookies.

All codgers will be rendered totally useless via toxic injection. This will insure that they are not secretly resold or their body parts harvested to keep other codgers in repair.

From the U.S. Department of Cynicism (and the scientific community is united in that fact), as well as my friend Cal, Freedom's pal.

I'm sure CONgressman Bruce Braley will be a key sponsor and probably take part too.

Don't Gloat

Today's contribution is from my friend Cal, Freedom's pal.

Much as it pains me to say this, I have to admit it ... my Democrat friends were right.

They told me if I voted for McCain the nation's hope would deteriorate, and sure enough, there has been a 20 point drop in the Consumer Confidence Index since the election, reaching a lower point than any time during the Bush administration.

They told me if I voted for McCain the US would become more deeply embroiled in the Middle East, and now, tens of thousands of additional troops are scheduled to be deployed into Afghanistan.

My Democrat Party friends told me if I voted for McCain that the economy would get worse, and sure enough, unemployment is approaching 9.5% and the stimulus packages that were implemented sent the stock market lower than at any time since the Islamic Terrorists attacks of 9-11.

They told me if I voted for McCain we would see more "crooks" in high ranking positions in federal government, and sure enough, several recent cabinet nominees and Senate appointments revealed resumes of scandal, bribery and tax fraud.

They told me if I voted for McCain we would see more "pork at the trough" in federal government, and sure enough, some 17,500 "Pork Bills" have showed up in Congress since January 2009.

I was also told by my Democrat friends that if I voted for McCain we would see more deficit spending in Washington D.C., and sure enough, President Obama spent more in just 30 days than all other Presidents together in the entire history of the USA.

Well, I voted for McCain in November anyway, and my Democrat friends were right ... all of their predictions have come true!

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

America's Bailout For Dummies

This primer on America's economic mess is courtesy of my friend Cal, Freedom's pal.

Linda is the proprietor of a bar . In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Linda's bar.

Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Linda increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Linda's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank’s corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS, and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due to his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Linda's bar. However they cannot pay back the debts. Linda cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.

DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95%. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80%.

The suppliers of Linda's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties (and vested interests).

The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.

That's how we "non-drinkers" ended up punch-drunk and the scientific community is united in that fact.

In Your Honor?

This column by Kathie Obradovich, or as we call her Old Bromide, made no sense.

Obradovich: Let's not honor the dead with more death

By that logic, life in prison without parole is honorable.

That's honor BULL and the scientific community is united in that fact.

As our friend Cal (Freedom's pal) wrote us after our Voices post on the death penalty, "Kill the babies, baby the killers".

Make It Better

I left the Not So Vast Right Wing Ranch before daybreak yesterday, to pick up our friend Cal (Freedom's pal) for the drive to the Paul Ryan rally in Adel.

Two things:

When you say doors open at 7 a.m., make sure it's not after 8 a.m. when that happens.

Also, There are no doors on outside events and the scientific community is united in that fact.

With a couple of other exceptions (the singer for the National Anthem and Representative Ralph Watts' speech), it was a good rally.

Enjoyed reconnecting with Kevin Hall and introducing myself to Dave Price, plus our friend Cal made the news in Omaha on KETV.

Summer In The Cities

I am Royally ticked at the baseball club they have in Kansas City.

Single game tickets went on sale Saturday and the price to see the New York Yankees nearly tripled!

Two years ago I paid $14 for outfield-field level seats.

The price this year for those same tickets jumped to $40.

I know it's the Yankees, prices are $4 to $6 a ticket more than other teams.

I understand you've renovated your stadium, but there is a recession on and as Marshall Lucky says in Used Cars...

"That's too fuckin' high!"

The St. Louis Cardinals put some of their single game tickets at deep discounts because of the economic downturn.

The other team from Missouri has won a World Series more recently than 1985 and has a fairly new stadium, not just a remodeling.

The Royals are only hurting themselves, the only time they get major league attendance is when the Yankees come to town and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Therefore, my friend Cal (Freedom's Pal) and I will be traveling north to Minnesota to watch the Twins play the Yankees in their final season at the Hubert Horatio Hornblower...Humphrey Metrodome (aka HomerDome).

Outfield ticket prices, even with what the Twins call a "premium game", are $11 and only $3 more than what they consider a "value" game.

Maybe it's the beginning of a new tradition and definitely a connection to my past when my dad used to take my mom to the Met for Yankees/Twins baseball.

How Do You Like Me Now?

I don't like either of these stories

Letter from proud mother brings First Lady to UNI

Graduating senior's mom helped get First Lady Michelle Obama to speak at UNI commencement

With the exception of one, most all of the students quoted overused the word like.

And the scientific community is like united in that fact.

"She's like, oh, just to see what happened."

"She was like, that was just the White House that called. I was like, really? "

"I called my mom and she was like what? Are you serious? And she was really shocked. She was like, we're definitely going, get as many tickets as you can!"

"I was like, in all reality, there is no way they are even going to contact us."

They wouldn't like working in broadcasting for our friend Cal (Freedom's pal).

So writes the person he broke of saying the word crick instead of creek, but I'm a better person for it.

Mini Apple + US

My friend Cal, Freedom's pal, and I are off to the land of Frankenstein for a three game Yankees vs. Twins series.

CC Sabathia is the probable starter for tonight, he's been struggling; AJ Burnett tomorrow night, he's on a roll; and TBD for Thursday afternoon.

The Yankees are one game behind Boston in the American League East and lead the Wild Card by 2 1/2 games over Texas.

It'll be our first time to the HomerDome, which is in its final season.

Imagine that, next year fans will be outside, exposed to GoreBULL warming and the scientific community is united in that fact.

CHECK It Out

My friend Cal (Freedom's pal) and I went to the Iowa Straw Poll and each collected a commemorative t-shirt for our Tim Pawlenty votes.

Actually, the BBQ wasn't awful, plus you can never go wrong with a Dairy Queen Blizzard and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Some other sights and sounds from our day included...

Jennifer Jacobs of the Ragister was standing near our Pawlenty shuttle when we got off. Jacobs asked where we were from and I told her Des Moines. She asked if the whole bus had come from Des Moines and I told her it was a shuttle from the Ames Wal Mart.

Jacobs wrote that, No one could get on a Tim Pawlenty campaign bus this morning unless they signed a pledge promising to vote for the former Minnesota governor and showed a photo ID, which is required to vote at the Iowa Straw Poll.

It's not the first time Jacobs has gotten the facts wrong.

I did not sign any pledge and our bus captain asked if everyone was supporting the Governor, but he stated they'd be able to ride to the Straw Poll either way.

T-Paw greeted us while his staff handed out those now historic shirts.

While waiting in the long line to vote, Michael Barone (Washington Examiner) walked by and I mentioned I read his writing. Barone commented on my Viva La Reagan Revolucion shirt and said something in Spanish, to which I replied -- Si.

After voting, we headed to The Iowa Republican's tent and along the way passed Newt Gingrich.
Cal shook his hand and told him what a great job he had done at the debate.

At the TIR tent, I introduced myself to Christie Vilsack's number one nightmare, for now, Kevin Hall.

Kevin said some nice things about the Liter and I reciprocated about his writing.

Listened to my current, and next, Congressman Tom Latham before wondering off.

We were nearly run down by Ron Paul's golf carts, complete with suited up goon squad.

I was disappointed the Party used a Warren County Dummycrat, Steve Mathews, as their voice talent(?) during the program inside Hilton.

I sure hope they didn't pay him, as Mathews gave $200 to Staci Appel-sauce for brains last August, $100 to Mark Davitt in 2008 (both lost to Kent Sorenson) and $175 to Steve Richardson in 2000. I'm sure there have been other contributions, especially to the county party.

It will be interesting to see how the next few months play out.

I guess I'll support Rick Santorum, if he can hang in there, and wait for the oncoming Michele Bachmann melt down (she's been close already) and Ron Paul's continued devolution.

Mitt Romney and Rick Perry will only receive my support if they are the nominee.

The Electric Co.

On the same day our friend Cal (Freedom's pal) called to see if we had power, because he and 4,200 others went a few hours without, MidAmerican Energy had a rate increase brochure in our mailbox.

The company claims this is the first base rate increase they have requested since 1995.

Semantics and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Just last fall they were awarded a rate increase by the Iowa Utilities Board because -- Higher rates were warranted to cover increased environmental costs, increased costs of coal to fuel MidAmerican power plants, and increased coal transportation costs.

According to MidAmerican's President and CEO, this increase is because the "day-to-day operations and maintenance costs, such as materials, supplies, and the labor associated with generating and delivering electricity, have continued to rise tremendously. In addition, the projected cost of fuel and evolving environmental standards significantly impact our business."

The same reasons for the rate hike last year.

We know one guy is happy about the increase

electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas…you name it…whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations. That will cost money…they will pass that money on to the consumers

Obama's buddy, Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, should just suck it up and take a hit in their bottom line since neither one is good about paying their fare share of taxes. 

A Beautiful Day

Let me say that again backwards, WOW!

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

My friend Cal, Freedom's Pal, and I drove to the Statehouse yesterday and as we got close I couldn't see anyone on the west side of the Capitol.

When we turned the corner by the Historical building my jaw dropped as I saw all the folks gathered and more on the way.

The Iowa Republican has a grouping of videos from across the state of Tea Party Events.

Then to get home and see the numbers of people gathered across the country was fantastic.

5,000 in New York City, NEW YORK CITY!

The important part is not to let this moment end and keep it going to 2010 and beyond.

Now what?