<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918</id><updated>2011-07-30T22:36:51.480-07:00</updated><category term='thought police'/><category term='freedom of thought'/><title type='text'>Conservative Rants</title><subtitle type='html'>Rants, social &amp; political commentary, and repostings of like minded material by a couple of conservative thirty-somethings who feel a need to vent.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>29</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-1208842430628735153</id><published>2009-10-02T10:23:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-10-02T10:25:20.324-07:00</updated><title type='text'>IOC is Racist!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SsY3ReH5lYI/AAAAAAAAAPE/NJSSCuxjCaI/s1600-h/no-we-cant.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SsY3ReH5lYI/AAAAAAAAAPE/NJSSCuxjCaI/s400/no-we-cant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388054777478878594" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;tt&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;tt&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:ARIAL,VERDANA,HELVETICA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:+7;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/8283061.stm"&gt;&lt;span style="color:red;"&gt;THE EGO HAS LANDED&lt;br /&gt;WORLD REJECTS OBAMA:  CHICAGO OUT IN FIRST ROUND - RIO GETS OLYMPIC GAMES&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/tt&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/tt&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-1208842430628735153?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/1208842430628735153/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=1208842430628735153' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1208842430628735153'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1208842430628735153'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/10/ioc-is-racist_02.html' title='IOC is Racist!'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SsY3ReH5lYI/AAAAAAAAAPE/NJSSCuxjCaI/s72-c/no-we-cant.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-4268345932045576442</id><published>2009-08-21T09:53:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-08-21T09:55:58.921-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Cash for Clunkers Gets Worse</title><content type='html'>More b.s. from 'cash for clunkers'. Now the government thinks they can force dealers into delivering cars that they have no assurance they'll ever get reimbursed on.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="https://home.autonews.com/clickshare/readLink.do?CSAuthKey=hAyTeFo7SZc-uEfFPdO9hoI-0"&gt;https://home.autonews.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unbelievable…this is so heavy-handed, it's telling private individuals how to run their businesses. It would be like saying I have to deliver pictures to clients without being paid for them, that I should just cover the expense myself and wait for a government check....maybe if they approve me and whenever they feel like getting around to paying out. Making a parallel to getting involved with the mob is so accurate…if you take a dime from the government they are going to control you. And the CBS evening news will just report how theiving and greedy the dealers are without ever telling you that these guys are laying out hundreds of thousands of $$ out of their own pockets (not to mention the hours and hours of adminstrative follow up to collect the incentives) that is completely at risk. I don't blame the guy at the end of the article that is opting out of the program...he's even smarter than we can see right now. If they ever give out 'free' health care, we'd be well advised to avoid it for fear of how much of our lives they will control the second we take it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This dealer's comment on the story sums it up pretty well:&lt;br /&gt;"How can MY government tell me that I have to spot deliver car deals? How can they tell me that I can not protect myself with an addendum? I am kind of freaking out over the whole thing. I am a smart organized dealer. I have not spot delivered one car deal. I have told my customers that they can pick up there car when the deal is approved. I felt it was prudent to do this since nobody seems like they know what is going on.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now the government has the ability to control my store and force me to spot deliver cars. They even provided a hotline so my customers can report me to Gestapo HQ. I really thought all of this "Obama is a socialist" spin was a bunch of right wing noise. Like I said, I am starting to freak out a little bit."&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-4268345932045576442?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/4268345932045576442/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=4268345932045576442' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/4268345932045576442'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/4268345932045576442'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/08/cash-for-clunkers-gets-worse.html' title='Cash for Clunkers Gets Worse'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-3979918620948725732</id><published>2009-07-09T13:46:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-07-09T13:47:07.349-07:00</updated><title type='text'>MR. PRESIDENT!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SlZXJX-DTeI/AAAAAAAAANU/_gKxsqve8go/s1600-h/Mr-president.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 340px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SlZXJX-DTeI/AAAAAAAAANU/_gKxsqve8go/s400/Mr-president.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356564625368501730" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's one thing for the French President to gawk, but please!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-3979918620948725732?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/3979918620948725732/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=3979918620948725732' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/3979918620948725732'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/3979918620948725732'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/07/mr-president.html' title='MR. PRESIDENT!'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SlZXJX-DTeI/AAAAAAAAANU/_gKxsqve8go/s72-c/Mr-president.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-937282051744094159</id><published>2009-06-17T06:30:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-06-17T06:32:04.027-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Today's Poll</title><content type='html'>The latest telephone poll taken by the Texas Governor's office asked whether people who live in Texas think illegal immigration is a serious problem:&lt;br /&gt;        &lt;br /&gt;29% of respondents answered: "Yes, it is a serious problem."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;71% of respondents answered: "No es una problema seriosa."&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-937282051744094159?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/937282051744094159/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=937282051744094159' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/937282051744094159'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/937282051744094159'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/06/todays-poll.html' title='Today&apos;s Poll'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-9072411872930831921</id><published>2009-05-25T07:19:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-05-25T07:32:00.247-07:00</updated><title type='text'>What Really Happened</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/ShqpJbCZQeI/AAAAAAAAAMg/NQxvIpWM-F8/s1600-h/obama-001.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 201px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/ShqpJbCZQeI/AAAAAAAAAMg/NQxvIpWM-F8/s400/obama-001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339766287542862306" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Wait a minute now ... I did not authorize ATTACKS on the pirates.&lt;br /&gt;I authorized A TAX on the pirates."&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-9072411872930831921?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/9072411872930831921/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=9072411872930831921' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/9072411872930831921'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/9072411872930831921'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-really-happened.html' title='What Really Happened'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/ShqpJbCZQeI/AAAAAAAAAMg/NQxvIpWM-F8/s72-c/obama-001.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-1018561922751434867</id><published>2009-04-22T22:03:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-04-22T22:03:42.641-07:00</updated><title type='text'>inevitable</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/Se_2oYJwQUI/AAAAAAAABr0/v2D0cTpqN3I/s1600-h/inevitable.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/Se_2oYJwQUI/AAAAAAAABr0/v2D0cTpqN3I/s400/inevitable.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327748057741148482" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;enough said.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-1018561922751434867?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/1018561922751434867/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=1018561922751434867' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1018561922751434867'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1018561922751434867'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/04/inevitable.html' title='inevitable'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/Se_2oYJwQUI/AAAAAAAABr0/v2D0cTpqN3I/s72-c/inevitable.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-2332130460178556916</id><published>2009-04-14T18:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-04-14T18:27:26.989-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SeU39ZBmKcI/AAAAAAAABrs/ncglMMPzFNU/s1600-h/Picture+1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 359px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SeU39ZBmKcI/AAAAAAAABrs/ncglMMPzFNU/s400/Picture+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324723662264609218" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-2332130460178556916?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/2332130460178556916/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=2332130460178556916' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2332130460178556916'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2332130460178556916'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post.html' title=''/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SeU39ZBmKcI/AAAAAAAABrs/ncglMMPzFNU/s72-c/Picture+1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-6898532707259263145</id><published>2009-04-11T13:13:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-04-11T13:14:34.606-07:00</updated><title type='text'>why are freedom and capitalism so easily discarded?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SeD6CV8lQXI/AAAAAAAABrk/PTdqCvOLzKo/s1600-h/w042.jpg.jpeg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 327px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SeD6CV8lQXI/AAAAAAAABrk/PTdqCvOLzKo/s400/w042.jpg.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323529677709853042" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-6898532707259263145?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/6898532707259263145/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=6898532707259263145' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/6898532707259263145'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/6898532707259263145'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-are-freedom-and-capitalism-so.html' title='why are freedom and capitalism so easily discarded?'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SeD6CV8lQXI/AAAAAAAABrk/PTdqCvOLzKo/s72-c/w042.jpg.jpeg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-1067903138939350321</id><published>2009-04-02T09:00:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-04-02T09:05:56.061-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Dear God,</title><content type='html'>A little boy wanted $100 very badly. He prayed for two weeks, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100. When the postal authorities received his letter to "God, USA," they decided to send it on to the President.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The President was so touched and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5 bill. (The President thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The little boy was delighted with the $5 and sat down to write a thank-you note to God, which read "Dear God, Thank you so very much for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington and, as usual, those guys deducted 95%."&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-1067903138939350321?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/1067903138939350321/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=1067903138939350321' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1067903138939350321'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1067903138939350321'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/04/little-boy-wanted-100-very-badly.html' title='Dear God,'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-8836392372294783927</id><published>2009-03-30T07:37:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-30T07:37:53.433-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Hot Air Humor</title><content type='html'>A woman in a hot air balloon realizes she is lost. She lowers her&lt;br /&gt;altitude and spots a man fishing from a boat below.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She shouts to him, 'Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I&lt;br /&gt;would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am.'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The man consults his portable GPS and replies, 'You're in a hot air&lt;br /&gt;balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of&lt;br /&gt;2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14..97 minutes north&lt;br /&gt;latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She rolls her eyes and says, 'You must be a Republican!'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;'I am,' replies the man. 'How did you know?'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;'Well,' answers the balloonist, 'everything you tell me is technically&lt;br /&gt;correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm&lt;br /&gt;still lost. Frankly, you're not much help to me.'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The man smiles and responds, 'You must be a Democrat.'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;'I am,' replies the balloonist. 'How did you know?'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;'Well,' says the man, 'You don't know where you are or where you're&lt;br /&gt;going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot&lt;br /&gt;air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you&lt;br /&gt;expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you&lt;br /&gt;were in before we met, but, somehow, now it's my fault.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-8836392372294783927?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/8836392372294783927/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=8836392372294783927' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8836392372294783927'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8836392372294783927'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/03/hot-air-humor.html' title='Hot Air Humor'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-8600635658054244992</id><published>2009-03-29T17:39:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-29T17:40:03.680-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Human Achievement Hour</title><content type='html'>I'm a day late posting this but worthwhile anyway...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AfXybYrPcw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="426" height="255" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-8600635658054244992?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/8600635658054244992/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=8600635658054244992' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8600635658054244992'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8600635658054244992'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/03/human-achievement-hour.html' title='Human Achievement Hour'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-8575768943009460955</id><published>2009-03-26T05:22:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-26T05:34:12.645-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Steelers to lose Super Bowl Trophies</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/Sct2Op1LaoI/AAAAAAAAAL4/51Enl95HVWI/s1600-h/superbowlchange09.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor: pointer; width: 343px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/Sct2Op1LaoI/AAAAAAAAAL4/51Enl95HVWI/s400/superbowlchange09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317473779160148610" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-8575768943009460955?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/8575768943009460955/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=8575768943009460955' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8575768943009460955'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8575768943009460955'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/03/steelers-to-lose-super-bowl-trophies.html' title='Steelers to lose Super Bowl Trophies'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/Sct2Op1LaoI/AAAAAAAAAL4/51Enl95HVWI/s72-c/superbowlchange09.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-7794552295536466469</id><published>2009-03-06T14:40:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:41:12.560-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The 'poor'</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SbGme0jzKGI/AAAAAAAABrc/E8ACN8QINq4/s1600-h/Picture+2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 313px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SbGme0jzKGI/AAAAAAAABrc/E8ACN8QINq4/s400/Picture+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310208484081608802" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No comment necessary.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-7794552295536466469?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/7794552295536466469/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=7794552295536466469' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/7794552295536466469'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/7794552295536466469'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/03/poor.html' title='The &apos;poor&apos;'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SbGme0jzKGI/AAAAAAAABrc/E8ACN8QINq4/s72-c/Picture+2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-7578817426047028143</id><published>2009-01-19T10:08:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-19T10:10:11.825-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SXTBqIeFx_I/AAAAAAAABo4/aP7WTnNGnk0/s1600-h/fa2d4b0e3a8ba4efeeaf5c9eedc624d7.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SXTBqIeFx_I/AAAAAAAABo4/aP7WTnNGnk0/s400/fa2d4b0e3a8ba4efeeaf5c9eedc624d7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293068391639533554" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Here's a picture to celebrate tomorrow's festivities. Wasn't the media bashing on Bush 4 years ago for having too 'elaborate' of an inauguration? I saw that Garth Brooks, U2, Stevie Wonder and many others came out for the Obamapalooza in DC yesterday. Have fun guys.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-7578817426047028143?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/7578817426047028143/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=7578817426047028143' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/7578817426047028143'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/7578817426047028143'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2009/01/heres-picture-to-celebrate-tomorrows.html' title=''/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SXTBqIeFx_I/AAAAAAAABo4/aP7WTnNGnk0/s72-c/fa2d4b0e3a8ba4efeeaf5c9eedc624d7.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-8575536550361342393</id><published>2008-11-05T13:13:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-11-05T13:27:07.767-08:00</updated><title type='text'>day after...</title><content type='html'>This one is just to blow off steam...&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;So now, we have a president elect and incoming congressional leadership that more or less believe:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The war in Iraq is worthless and a waste of financial resources and soldier's lives. We've accomplished nothing there.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Free speech can and should be shut down by the government at their whim (fairness doctrine).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Your money belongs to the government. If you make too much, it's their duty to take it from you and distribute as they see fit.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;George Bush is responsible for blowing up the World Trade Center and the New Orleans levees. (or at least not challenging this theory).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;America brought the 9/11 attacks upon itself. If it weren't for our wealth and Republican president, the world would love us.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Whites need to pay reparations to blacks for the sins of slavery 200 years ago. America is racist and we should be ashamed of ourselves.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Human life can and should be destroyed for our convenience in the form of abortion and stem cell research. And our tax dollars should be used to pay for it.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;American energy companies should be bankrupted.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I spoke with some friends who I generally regard as quite smart and they both voted for Obama.  Their main reason? We should be out of Iraq now and they feel there would be no consequences for this. They cannot articulate Obama's plan to do so or even if he will. They think that the more tax dollars (not theirs...they don't see it coming yet) go to more government programs such as education and job training, the better. They don't see any of Obama's views as socialist and even if they did they don't see what the problem would be. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Quite honestly, I'm quite excited...this means that I will no longer have to pay my mortgage, fill my gas tank, do anything for my own health care or basically have to work in general. I can sit on my fat ass and let the government take care of me.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;In all seriousness...I have to wonder how the forces at odds here will play out... on one side, we have the desire to achieve, excel, earn, etc. and on the other side, we have a serious disincentive to do any of that in the form of taxes and bailout programs. Will enough people keep working to keep our country going or will enough start to throw in the towel and say it's not worth it anymore? Then where will that tax revenue come from? Now how will all these lovely programs be paid for? &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I cannot believe we've voted in radical left, socialist leaders. I waiver between new resolve to fight and preach conservatism and a callous attitude of 'let America get the full brunt of what they've voted for'. I guess I love my country too much...I'm going to keep fighting. I won't sue, I won't cry foul, I won't hope for physical harm to come to those who are so opposed to me...I'm just going to keep teaching, keep working and keep trying. Yes, I'll get taxed more. Yes, I might be prevented from paying for more help because I'm being taxed more...but I'll keep trying to overcome. I'm determined to be one of the few who put on this ridiculous yoke of the government and pull the country forward. I guess that makes me stupid. I hope it helps make a better life for my children.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-8575536550361342393?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/8575536550361342393/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=8575536550361342393' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8575536550361342393'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8575536550361342393'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/11/day-after.html' title='day after...'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-5120848216969286775</id><published>2008-10-31T17:46:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-31T17:47:24.717-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Happy Halloween!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SQunFM_P1tI/AAAAAAAAAGc/9xt5uCSi9y8/s1600-h/Halloween.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SQunFM_P1tI/AAAAAAAAAGc/9xt5uCSi9y8/s400/Halloween.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263484297340245714" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-5120848216969286775?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/5120848216969286775/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=5120848216969286775' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/5120848216969286775'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/5120848216969286775'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-halloween.html' title='Happy Halloween!'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SQunFM_P1tI/AAAAAAAAAGc/9xt5uCSi9y8/s72-c/Halloween.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-6255123749611151503</id><published>2008-10-15T11:39:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-15T11:40:44.029-07:00</updated><title type='text'>putting the presidential race in perspective</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Here's a little something to put the emphasis on the upcoming presidential election in perspective:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;545 People By Charlie Reese --Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto  if they agree to.It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-6255123749611151503?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/6255123749611151503/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=6255123749611151503' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/6255123749611151503'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/6255123749611151503'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/10/putting-presidential-race-in.html' title='putting the presidential race in perspective'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-100690695444344911</id><published>2008-09-06T20:38:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-09-06T20:39:17.483-07:00</updated><title type='text'>nice bumper sticker...</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SMNM0zOZ9pI/AAAAAAAABns/XardoJIVRjc/s1600-h/nobamacenter.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SMNM0zOZ9pI/AAAAAAAABns/XardoJIVRjc/s400/nobamacenter.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243118861176927890" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-100690695444344911?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/100690695444344911/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=100690695444344911' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/100690695444344911'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/100690695444344911'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/09/nice-bumper-sticker.html' title='nice bumper sticker...'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SMNM0zOZ9pI/AAAAAAAABns/XardoJIVRjc/s72-c/nobamacenter.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-122934596705736612</id><published>2008-09-04T10:08:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-09-04T10:09:25.336-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Our Mama Can Beat Your Obama!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SMAWPFXWZ-I/AAAAAAAAAE8/ajyPTygCWak/s1600-h/palin-on-stage.com.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SMAWPFXWZ-I/AAAAAAAAAE8/ajyPTygCWak/s400/palin-on-stage.com.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242214414653220834" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-122934596705736612?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/122934596705736612/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=122934596705736612' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/122934596705736612'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/122934596705736612'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/09/our-mama-can-beat-your-obama.html' title='Our Mama Can Beat Your Obama!'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SMAWPFXWZ-I/AAAAAAAAAE8/ajyPTygCWak/s72-c/palin-on-stage.com.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-2891259892946539321</id><published>2008-08-29T23:49:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-08-29T23:50:58.808-07:00</updated><title type='text'>VPilf!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SLjthdr0p2I/AAAAAAAAAE0/lFfQeO18prE/s1600-h/Palin_VPilf.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SLjthdr0p2I/AAAAAAAAAE0/lFfQeO18prE/s400/Palin_VPilf.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240199325605472098" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"&gt; Meet the next VPilf of these United States!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;Hail to Chief!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-2891259892946539321?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/2891259892946539321/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=2891259892946539321' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2891259892946539321'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2891259892946539321'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/08/vpilf.html' title='VPilf!'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SLjthdr0p2I/AAAAAAAAAE0/lFfQeO18prE/s72-c/Palin_VPilf.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-6545419670152021603</id><published>2008-08-29T09:53:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-08-29T09:58:00.057-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Sarah!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SLgqSZPPepI/AAAAAAAAAEk/4uBaLuFf1mo/s1600-h/Palin.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SLgqSZPPepI/AAAAAAAAAEk/4uBaLuFf1mo/s400/Palin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239984661946399378" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am really excited and inspired by the choice of Sarah Palinn for the Vice Presidency!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“A ship in harbor is safe but that is not why a ship is built. … People in America expect us to seek public office and serve for the right reasons. … This is a moment when principles … matter a lot more than the party line. And this is a man who has been there always to serve the country and not just the party. And this is a moment that requires resolve and toughness and strength of heart in the American president. And my running mate has shown these qualities in the darkest of places and in the service of his country,” Palin said during her acceptance speech this morning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Right On!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-6545419670152021603?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/6545419670152021603/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=6545419670152021603' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/6545419670152021603'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/6545419670152021603'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/08/sarah.html' title='Sarah!'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SLgqSZPPepI/AAAAAAAAAEk/4uBaLuFf1mo/s72-c/Palin.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-8298132612529177062</id><published>2008-08-22T15:28:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-08-22T15:29:59.647-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Political Art</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SK892WpxhgI/AAAAAAAAAEU/MYnNegGVT6k/s1600-h/nobama.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SK892WpxhgI/AAAAAAAAAEU/MYnNegGVT6k/s400/nobama.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237472895658198530" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SK892kf92sI/AAAAAAAAAEc/4X2jprGgtDc/s1600-h/keep-the-change.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SK892kf92sI/AAAAAAAAAEc/4X2jprGgtDc/s400/keep-the-change.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237472899375160002" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-8298132612529177062?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/8298132612529177062/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=8298132612529177062' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8298132612529177062'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8298132612529177062'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/08/political-art.html' title='Political Art'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SK892WpxhgI/AAAAAAAAAEU/MYnNegGVT6k/s72-c/nobama.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-2477921340539136480</id><published>2008-08-22T15:23:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-08-22T15:24:03.401-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Who's counting?</title><content type='html'>I'd rather have a president who doesn't know how many houses he has before one who doesn't know when life begins.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-2477921340539136480?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/2477921340539136480/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=2477921340539136480' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2477921340539136480'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2477921340539136480'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/08/whos-counting.html' title='Who&apos;s counting?'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-4466143031374026829</id><published>2008-08-12T16:01:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-08-22T15:24:55.227-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Paris Hilton Responds</title><content type='html'>Gotta admit, this is pretty clever:&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;object width="464" height="388" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?af2c813e"&gt;&lt;param name="flashvars" value="key=64ad536a6d"&gt;&lt;param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;embed width="464" height="388" flashvars="key=64ad536a6d" allowfullscreen="true" quality="high" src="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?af2c813e" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div style="text-align:center;width: 464px;"&gt;See more &lt;a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/paris_hilton"&gt;Paris Hilton&lt;/a&gt; videos at Funny or Die&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-4466143031374026829?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/4466143031374026829/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=4466143031374026829' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/4466143031374026829'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/4466143031374026829'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/08/paris-hilton-responds.html' title='Paris Hilton Responds'/><author><name>Todd Rundstrom</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03094192911116659621</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='25' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_BVqXG9cWaOA/SDHzxSQuKpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rZn5Z7HlGXw/S220/20070824-001-033.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-2187516120599783427</id><published>2008-04-16T09:42:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-16T09:48:47.707-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='thought police'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='freedom of thought'/><title type='text'>religious oppression at school</title><content type='html'>Interesting note in my e-mail from the ACLJ today:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;Gina is an excellent student.  Her grade point average is a 3.9 out of a possible 4.0.  She has good relationships with her professors at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Introduction to Philosophy is a required class for all students at SCCC.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For the first several class assignments, Gina received perfect grades.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That all changed when God and religion became prominent topics of class discussion and her refusal to compromise her Christian faith became apparent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Her professor, Philip P., has not only docked her grades ... he has repeatedly derided Gina for her faith in online class discussions, calling her ''close-minded,'' ''uncritical,'' ''hurtful,'' and ''blinded by belief'' simply because she will not adopt his way of thinking.  He has also said that to engage in dialogue, you have to at least acknowledge the possibility that God does not exist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hmm...I'm pretty sure that if this professor was having this conversation with a Muslim student, telling them to acknowledge that "Allah does not exist", he'd be marked for death.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, if this sort of thing motivates you to take action, &lt;a href="http://www.aclj.org"&gt;click here for more info.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-2187516120599783427?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/2187516120599783427/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=2187516120599783427' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2187516120599783427'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2187516120599783427'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/religious-oppression-at-school.html' title='religious oppression at school'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-2688633703324585172</id><published>2008-04-08T20:19:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-08T20:20:08.706-07:00</updated><title type='text'>McCain</title><content type='html'>Great quote from Thomas Sowell (a fantastic mind in the conservative world):&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Senator John McCain could never convince me to vote for him. Only Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama can cause me to vote for McCain."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Right on!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Catch more at:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell040808.php3"&gt;http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell040808.php3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-2688633703324585172?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/2688633703324585172/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=2688633703324585172' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2688633703324585172'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2688633703324585172'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/mccain.html' title='McCain'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-1885061319497944854</id><published>2008-04-08T11:39:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-08T11:44:24.260-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Are people in Minnesota THAT bored?</title><content type='html'>This news story is hilarious:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2008/04/08/news/03chicks.txt"&gt;http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2008/04/08/news/03chicks.txt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Chickens make excellent companions and can live for about 15 years."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Minnesota chicken rescue"?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;hahaha!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Umm...guys, they're chickens. And they're....DELICIOUS!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-1885061319497944854?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/1885061319497944854/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=1885061319497944854' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1885061319497944854'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/1885061319497944854'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/are-people-in-minnesota-that-bored.html' title='Are people in Minnesota THAT bored?'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-8092570722470234678</id><published>2008-04-02T09:32:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-02T09:34:14.277-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Colorado Springs Gazette editorials 3/22/08</title><content type='html'>Wow...inspiring stuff to read on the editorial page of a good size-city newspaper.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;=====================&lt;br /&gt;Our View - Sunday&lt;br /&gt;March 22, 2008 - 11:46PM&lt;br /&gt;Earth Hour: Just say no &lt;br /&gt;   Teach children to think for themselves&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Just sit there with a light on reading a book. Or watch TV with pizza in the oven. Or shoot hoops in the driveway, under the glow of a floodlight. When 8 p.m. comes along on Saturday, March 29, go about your life. Take pride in avoiding the latest feel-good fashion stunt. Just say no to Earth Hour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Earth Hour began last year in Sydney, Australia, where a small group of global-warming alarmists convinced some 2.2 million people to turn off their lights one evening for an hour - proving how easily one can affect mass behavior. Simon Sez turn off the lights, and the lights go off. It's almost like a great practical joke, in which pranksters sit by laughing about the minions sitting in the dark.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   The Earth Hour Web site says the event was designed to counter "the greatest threat our planet has ever faced . . . global warming." So we're to believe that global warming - a theory - poses greater threat than the thousands of nuclear warheads locked and loaded during the Cold War. It's worse than a meteor someday colliding with Earth, the eruption of a super volcano, or the detonation of dirty bombs by terrorists who care nothing about ecology. No way.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   The Australian Earth Hour has spread. Organizers throughout the United States are promoting Earth Hour, convincing school children to goad their parents into turning out the lights for an hour so everyone can sit around in the dark on a Saturday night, perhaps talking about the blight of humanity on a planet that rightfully belongs to fishes and trees.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   "The message is that there are creative ways to conserve and to create community and the message also, I would say, is that, especially to the highschoolers, that they do have a voice, for the upcoming generation, to show them that we are listening, and to show what is important to them is important to us," said Allison Daniell, director of teen programs for Imagination Celebration, which is coordinating the El Paso County Earth Hour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   To genuinely lead, high school students will reject this gimmick to promote groupthink. They'll explain to younger children that global warming is a fuzzy hypothesis - technically indistinguishable from apocalyptic religious beliefs. The planet may or may not be warming a bit, though recent planetary trends show a phenomenon of widespread cooling. If it's ever proven that Earth is warming or cooling, it may or may not be related to human activity. Some scientists exaggerate global warming conjecture to generate grants and prizes; politicians do so to rationalize regulation and transfers of wealth. Discerning people, free from personal agendas, wade through the noise while searching for truth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Regardless of global warming hysteria, efficient energy use has rewards. Consumers who cut their electric and gas consumption with solar panels and wood stoves, for example, save money and free themselves from monopolized energy corporations with close government ties.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Turning off lights for an hour, however, won't save much money and it won't save Mother Earth. If it disrupts a constructive evening, it's not worth it. If it causes a child to put down a book, it's not worth it. If it pre-empts family movie night, it's not worth it. If it reverts every digital clock to blinking zeros, and reboots every computer, it's not worth it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Worst of all, Earth Hour teaches children to follow fashion agendas like guppies that can't think. It says making a difference involves follow-the-leader mass behavior, rather than personal effort and responsibility.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Parents, be the house that dares to leave the lights on at 8 p.m. Use the hour to discuss something constructive - like the family's religion, or honest conservation measures that can save money long term. Refuse to participate in a silly propaganda stunt designed to brainwash kids.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Rejoice! He is risen&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   History's pivotal moment, Christians understand, was when a gracious God redeemed fallen sinners. The Bible, Christians believe, is the story of Jesus' redemptive work consummated when he raises believers and unbelievers alike, the one to eternal glory, the other to eternal damnation. Believers will receive unimaginable, undeserved blessings. Unbelievers will receive the just penalty their rebellion against God deserves.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Christianity's exclusivity offends unbelievers. But Jesus was unambiguous, proclaiming: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   On Easter, Colorado Springs Christians join their brethren around the world to celebrate this pivotal point in human history when God paid the ransom they owed. Jesus became their propitiation, as the Bible calls it, covering their sins with his blood. In this way Jesus reconciled sinners to the holy God from whom they had become estranged, removing the enmity between him and them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   When God looks on sinners who have come to faith, he no longer sees their sins, but sees instead the righteousness of his son. That is because Jesus was their substitute, the life given in place of theirs, as the prophet foresaw six centuries earlier: "And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Jesus' greatest victory was overcoming death, rising after three days from the tomb, and ascending to the right hand of God. Christians take refuge in the resurrection's hope, noting the words of apostle Paul: "[I]f Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. . . . And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!" (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   Today Christians around the world rejoice in the reminder that the tomb was empty and "He is risen!" (Mark 16:6)&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-8092570722470234678?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/8092570722470234678/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=8092570722470234678' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8092570722470234678'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/8092570722470234678'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/colorado-springs-gazette-editorials.html' title='Colorado Springs Gazette editorials 3/22/08'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020906187972481918.post-2807957869960752728</id><published>2008-03-27T09:31:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-02T09:32:26.186-07:00</updated><title type='text'>The Show Must Go On</title><content type='html'>posted on Drudge today:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;DON'T GO BREAKING THE LAW: CONTROVERSY OVER ELTON JOHN/HILLARY FUNDRAISER&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Are Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elton John breaking U.S. laws by allowing the British pop singer, a foreign national, to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign by performing a concert on her behalf?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the FEC, FECA "prohibits any foreign national from contributing, donating or spending funds in connection with any federal, state, or local election in the United States, either directly or indirectly. It is also unlawful to help foreign nationals violate that ban or to solicit, receive or accept contributions or donations from them. Persons who knowingly and willfully engage in these activities may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The question now is whether Elton John is contributing "indirectly" to Mrs. Clinton's campaign and whether the candidate herself has sought to "solicit, receive or accept contributions or donations" from a foreign national, which is unlawful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;******&lt;br /&gt;*******************************************************************************************************************&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can't they wait until after the concert has started and then arrest and imprison them?&lt;br /&gt;(Just like they did with Jim Morrison and 2 Live Crew?)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Rocket-Man and Hillary, sharing a cell together, waiting for bail to be set.  Livin' like lovers.  I guess they could call that the blues.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Imagine the parade of left-wingers that would come out on this one - my TV might blow up!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;SAVE THE MUSIC!&lt;br /&gt;THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!!!!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5020906187972481918-2807957869960752728?l=ifrants.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/feeds/2807957869960752728/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5020906187972481918&amp;postID=2807957869960752728' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2807957869960752728'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5020906187972481918/posts/default/2807957869960752728'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ifrants.blogspot.com/2008/03/show-must-go-on.html' title='The Show Must Go On'/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/01967434810944329840</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T3yeit1HLyw/SJ-NcziX-2I/AAAAAAAABJE/K-Z0NvG3FBE/s1600-R/336web.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
