Tuesday, December 31, 2013

An aging Baby Boomer population and slower immigration combined for nearly stagnant U.S. population growth in 2013 as the total number of residents increased at the slowest pace since the Great Depression.

No Shit! Mexicans are staying in Mexico now because the economy is better there, and people working three and four part-time minimum wage jobs to keep a bed to sleep in don't have the time or energy to make babies too!

The world will be so much better with drones!

Just look at all the potential uses there are in drones! The following excerpt from The New York Times states:

These include electric helicopters that a landlord could use to inspect a rooftop water tower; midget helicopters, which can fly close to power lines and are started by yanking a cord like the one on a chain saw; and Styrofoam planes that run on lighter fluid and can fly over fields to look for agricultural pests. Police and fire departments are among those eager to operate drones. (emph. mine)

I can hardly wait for this utopean New World!*




*Think I'll start watching Duck Dynasty and see if I can't pick up some 'duck' hunting tips...

Religion v. Law

This is an open letter copied in its entirety from The Pirates Republic:

Follow our faith or follow the law by David Green

by Salty Dawg
David Green: Follow Our Faith Or Follow The Law
By David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God’s word.
From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.
We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest.
We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
But now, our government threatens to change all of that.
A new government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs.
It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one.
If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.
Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy.
Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running.
Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true.
The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief.
So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.
My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult.
The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American and no American business should have to make.
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church.
Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on to all your contacts.
Sincerely,
David Green
CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

I readily admit I am not Christian. But I respect those who are followers of their
religions that are bastions of peace and brotherhood.  I actually admire those who will
stand up for their beliefs against the Goliath's of big government. I have no problem
with Muslims as long as they're not trying to kill me... But then, to my knowledge,
the inalienable rights are given by (insert deity of your choice, here), and that they
should be at the foundation of ANY organization; religious, social, official, or any
other category you can come up with.

Let me live my life, help others if you can, take care of you and you'rn, and we'll
all get along just fine.
Seems like the only 'law' necessary.

 

Monday, December 30, 2013

III to III. Its what we do!

One of us needs a hand. Its not easy to ask for help. I first heard of this from Wirecutter HERE, and the donation page is:

http://www.gofundme.com/5vz58w