Conservative Papa

Republican Healthcare Alternative - HUMAN EVENTS
“I firmly believe we can and should solve America’s health care crisis in an American way,” said Camp in a statement. “If we choose to go down the path that Western Europe or Canada has, it will be no surprise when we come to the same destination – a universal health care system that leaves your family dog with better coverage and care than you get.”

If left up to Camp, the Republican message on health care would be clear. Use the tax code to create personal care. Reform insurance regulations. Update laws to accommodate a focus on wellness and preventive care. No government mandates on who can choose what health insurance plan.

And get rid of the misleading rhetoric on the number of uninsured Americans.

The highly-popularized 47-million uninsured comes from several twisted facts, Camp explained. Ten million of those 47 million are illegal, and another 10 million are people who are eligible but do not enroll.

That leaves 26 million uninsured, some of whom simply choose to pay out of pocket.

That’s “a little less than nine percent of the population, but Hillary wants us — you — to pay for all of these people,” said Camp.

Even without a Democratic plan to cover uninsured Americans, those who currently have health insurance will increasingly rely on the public for health care support. The government report released today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services detailed how an aging population will lead to an explosion in the number of Americans who qualify for Medicare, and drive up the public cost of health care by 6.7 percent per year through 2017.

Read the entire article.

Climate Change News and Actions by SafeClimate | calculator

Looks like I have a smaller than average carbon footprint. Obviously I’m not doing my part to fight off the frigid winter! If only I could afford a less fuel-efficient vehicle. Sadly, I’ll have to wait until my children are older and start taking long, hot showers. Until then, I can only hope God fires off a volcano to make up for the carbon I’m not generating.

Go flight report finds no mechanical flaws | starbulletin.com | News | /2008/02/24/
The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report of its investigation into a go airlines flight that flew past the Hilo airport on Feb. 13, apparently because the two pilots fell asleep.

Well, now I don’t feel so bad. Yesterday, on the way to church, the mini-van just continued on down the interstate, past the exit for church and towards the exit for work. The mini-van should have known better, since I seldom drive it to work, almost always to church, but obviously I forgot to remind it. I was deep in thought about Wheezy from Toy Story 2, of all things! Perhaps I was asleep. Maybe I should try for a pilot’s license.

Ann Coulter writes an interesting piece on why we don’t have a candidate of Regan’s candidate. Her last two paragraphs sum it up well, but read the entire article.

How to Keep Reagan Out of Office
It is because of campaign-finance laws like McCain-Feingold that big men dont run for office anymore. Little men do. And John McCain is the head homunculus.

You want Reagan back? Restore the right to free speech, and you will have created the conditions that allowed Reagan to run.

A college roommate of mine would repeatedly use this phrase. Now that I better know the story of The Princess Bride, I might consider wearing this shirt. If only my workplace dress-code included T-shirts. To complete the collection, there is also “Inconceivable!“

Floating a New Idea For Going Wireless, Parachute Included - WSJ.com
Balloon Launch Gets
Google’s Attention;
Dairy Farmers Can Help
By AMOL SHARMA
February 20, 2008; Page A1

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Jerry Knoblach wants to bring wireless service to millions of rural Americans. His plan: Beam it down from balloons hovering at the edge of space.

Read entire article.

Rush Limbaugh read this piece today. Here’s an excerpt, but you can read the entire article.

Aspen Times News for Aspen Colorado - Aspen Times Weekly Opinion
There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.

His common traits are that he isn’t looking for anything from anyone — just the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field. In many cases, he is an independent businessman and employs several people. He pays more than his share of taxes and works hard.

The victimhood syndrome buzzwords — “disenfranchised,” “marginalized” and “voiceless” — don’t resonate with him. “Press ‘one’ for English” is a curse-word to him. He’s used to picking up the tab, whether it’s the company Christmas party, three sets of braces, three college educations or a beautiful wedding.

He believes the Constitution is to be interpreted literally, not as a “living document” open to the whims and vagaries of a panel of judges who have never worked an honest day in their lives.

Today, Rush Limbaugh admitted that there are more than 10 names on his top-10 list of all-time favoriate female names. Yeah, it may be shallow, but it’s still a great pickup line.

Does this article make sense to you? Ken Rockwell argues that Costco (or similar stores) will make film prints for less than they do for digital prints. Therefore, one should pick up an insanely cheap professional film camera and get prints developed and the digital files on CD for “free.”

This is what I did before shelving my Nikon N60. :’( To get double 4×6 prints and a CD, it cost me about $10 for every 24 shots at Sam’s Club. I had pause when pressing the shutter, because I knew it cost almost $0.50 each time I did so.

With my digital camera, I shoot with abandon and just delete the duds. Also, only one or two dozen shots ever make it to paper each year. The rest are posted online or burned to CD and sent to family.

The only way Ken’s article makes sense is for someone who wants a print of every single shot and would be paying for it whether the shot came from a film or digital camera. Who does that?

Ken generally seems to gave good advice, and I enjoy his site. This time, I guess he just got off on a rant because electronics married photography and ran away with cameras as they once were.