Fed Up, by Texas Gov. Rick Perry - Part 1

I recently finished reading the book, Fed Up, by Texas Governor Rick Perry. If you're "fed up" with the liberals and the Washington political scene you too would enjoy reading this book. Not that it is profound or awe inspiring, but just that it reflects the common sense attitudes most of us have toward the power brokers in Washington. Following are a few of my choice quotes from the book:

"Republicans often aren't on the right page--indeed, some aren't even in the right chapter. But, most are in the right book. Most Democrats today, on the other hand, can't even find the library."

"Once politicians taste power, like an alcoholic they gulp it down and seek more."

"We have allowed Progressives to successfully frame the debate. Republicans constantly allow themselves to be trapped into thinking they are against people if they oppose certain programs. So instead of fighting the tough fight and articulating their opposition, they too often acquiesce for fear of seeming heartless."

"A new culture of do-something-itis now trumps any constitutional restraint and feeds the political beast in Washington, and each generation of national politicians wants to make its mark by finding another place to expand government, failing to truly address the problems created by the previous generation's expansion of government."

"We have a front-row seat to the greatest experiment in the history of mankind--a living testament to how much man can achieve when free to benefit from the use of his labor and capital--yet we continue to allow the power brokers in Washington to forsake the principles that built our nation as they are enroute to bankrupting it, all while broadening government control over the most intimate parts of our daily lives."

"Liberals are not stupid about health care--they are insidious."

NOTE: In the future I will post more of my favorite quotes from Governor Perry's book.

Teachers

Teaching used to be a respected and honorable profession. Teachers were dedicated to the education of their students above all else. They were held in high esteem within the community along with the bankers, the preachers, the doctors, and the merchants. They maintained discipline and an atmosphere for learning with the full support of the parents. My very own class in elementary school had forty-four students and one teacher for each grade. How is it they could maintain discipline and teach the kids to read, write, and do arithmetic? They not only had the support and respect of the parents of the community, but also had the respect of the students. Why? Because they earned it. They held themselves to a higher standard. Not any more. Discipline is a constant problem in the class rooms today. Parents often blame the teachers for their children's inabilities, and some times rightly so. The most important thing now is the Teachers Union and its ability to garner higher wages and more benefits. Women teachers seduce their students with little consequence. More and more the kids can't read or write, or understand the significance of learning history and about our government. A few years ago I let a neighbor high school boy keep his show cows at my place. We had ample opportunities to talk while we worked with his cows. He told me one day that he learned more in fifteen minutes of conversation with me than he did all week in class at the local high school. Today the public schools have something called the "Longitudinal Graduation Rate." What the heck is that?

One-Sixth of the Nation is on Food Stamps

From various Internet sources: Like most government welfare programs, food stamps was meant to be a last resort in desperate times for those who have had drastic difficulties with their financial situation. It was never meant to be a program from cradle to grave nor was it to be a generational thing, passed down like a precious antique. The Wall Street Journal sadly noted today that 43 million Americans are on food stamps. The state with the smallest percentage of citizens on food stamps is Wyoming, and the "state" with the largest percentage collecting food stamps is the District of Columbia. Within the shadows of the Capitol dome, more than one-fifth of the District's population is on food stamps.

My wife and I have noticed more and more of late the number of people in Walmart and the local super markets pay for some or all of the items in their shopping carts with Lone Star Cards. These are cards like credit cards issued by the state of Texas in lieu of food stamps. We've learned not to shop Walmart around the 12th day of the month because that is when all the Lone Star Cards are replenished with additional funds. There's gobs of women, some with several kids hanging on the cart, crowding the aisles and checkout lines. The carts are bulging with all manner of products. Men are never seen checking out with Lone Star Cards, always women. But as the women leave the store they almost always are met by a man that helps unload the cart (sometimes two carts) into vehicles I'd be proud to own, but can't afford. Just today a Lincoln Aviator SUV parked in front of us when we parked our car at a local grocery store. By chance the woman checked out in front of us. She paid for most of her items with a Lone Star Card and paid cash for the other items not acceptable for welfare payment. They know which items are acceptable and which are not and keep them segregated.

My wife and I are children of the Great Depression. Times then were harsh and God knows our parents could have used some kind of assistance, but they did not seek welfare. It was meant only for those in the most dire of circumstances and need. We find it disheartening that so many people today see welfare as a way of life, not a life line. Why should the other five-sixths of us have to support the one-sixth that make welfare a way of life? It gives cause to pause and contemplate if the welfare system isn't more fraught with fraud than with compassion and real need.

Bitter Cold

It is bitter cold with a 25 to 35 mph blustery wind howling out of the north. It is 11:30 p.m. and the temperature is 23 °F. Very unusual for our part of Texas. It was 69 °F at 4:30 this morning just before the cold front came through at 5:00 a.m. The chill factor this evening must be about 12 °F. Makes me think about my days working on the North Slope of Alaska during the early days of initial construction. I fed the cows an extra portion of hay in the hay lot so they would be out of the wind. Later I checked everything at the pumphouse, the barn and the apartment to be sure all are winterized. Hope nothing freezes. I don't know where the cows went. I thought they would have stayed in the hay lot sheltered from the north wind, but then cows do what cows do.

Other parts of the country north of us are having it really bad with drifting snow, icy conditions, and strong winds. At least we have no snow or icing, just windy bitter cold.