Liberty Maven

It’s Friday again. Here is this week’s installment of “quick hits”.

It has been quite a busy week. The news outlets have had a lot to talk about. At least 4 people died this week, one of them politically, the other 3, physically.

Ed McMahon died earlier this week. There are three things I think of when I hear his name, other than being Johnny Carson’s sidekick on the “Tonight Show”.

The first is the impression of Ed McMahon on the “Carsenio Hall Show“, an SNL skit with Dana Carvey playing Carsenio and the late great Phil Hartman playing McMahon. Next, I recall McMahon hosting the talent show “Star Search“, an 80′s version of “American Idol” with several other talent categories. Finally, and perhaps most of all I remember McMahon as being the guy in the “American Family Sweepstakes” commercials (see one here). RIP Ed.

The next “death” of the week was purely political. I’m talking, of course, about Mark Sanford. There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said. I realize many people liked Sanford and thought he may be the guy in 2012, but I was never completely sold on the guy for some reason. Now, we all have a reason.

Farrah Fawcett also died this week. Is there any disease more disturbing-sounding than “anal cancer”? I don’t even want to know what the symptoms are. I wasn’t too young to miss being enamored by her beauty. And I admit that I did watch Charlie’s Angels from time to time (in syndicated reruns of course). RIP Farrah.

Michael Jackson died yesterday. As a 12 year-old I got caught up in the “Thriller” hysteria. One of the more embarrassing moments (that truly has no business being published on a political site like this, but I’ll do it anyway) of my life happened because of Jackson. I was trying to teach myself to “moonwalk” and I slid my foot right into an open safety pin on the floor. It went deep inside my big toe and bent a little. Ouch! I had to go to the hospital to have it removed. My musical tastes quickly changed after that. RIP Michael.

Finally, I’d like to mention something regarding the DC metro train accident where 9 more people lost their lives. The crash investigation seems to indicate a failed sensor was to blame. On the evening news I saw a union representative calling for the system to return to a completely manually-run system. It’s been automated for decades with very few crashes at all. I was incredulous at this “rep”. Adding the human element back into the system is exactly the wrong thing to do. I love riding on the DC Metro system. So do my kids. If they switch to a manual system I’ll have to reconsider my love. RIP metro accident victims.

On the more political items of the week…

Obama’s stinky climate bill, AKA “Cap and Trade”, proposal is being debated now and I fear it will pass. It is a tax, plain and simple. Peter Schiff, Glenn Beck, and Co. explain the horror very well in this clip.

It has become politically expedient to be “anti-Fed” now as Ron Paul’s HR1207 is proving. In light of that it comes as no surprise that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was grilled mercilessly by lawmakers yesterday. Ron Paul is no longer the lone anti-Fed lawmaker. This is a good sign, but why does the Senate version (S.604) of Paul’s bill only have 2 cosponsors? Please call your Senator’s today and ask them to cosponsor S.604. and while your at it implore them to come out against anything resembling “Cap and Trade”.

And now for some random thoughts…

• I dream of a future U.S. President’s campaign slogan being: “Abolish and Repeal! Abolish and Repeal!”

• ABC News new slogan: Obamaganda You WILL Believe In!

• In 2015 I hope we aren’t fighting Obama on his effort to repeal the Presidential term limit.

• Why look like an imbecile, pushing the AK-47 as a deer rifle, when it meets the Founding Fathers’ ACTUAL criteria so elegantly? – L.Neil Smith

• “Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the dimmest bulbs in the weak-wattage Republican ranks” http://bit.ly/Gpagn

• For Iran, the camera is indeed the new gun and the ‘net is the new ammo.

• Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. – John Quincy Adams

• “We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.” – Dwight Eisenhower

• “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing” – Albert Einstein

Have a great weekend. I’ll be (once again) enjoying my wife’s delicious, organic, and natural food as Sandy Cooks breakfast at our local farmer’s market on Saturday morning.