Veteran’s Day 2009-A Humble Word of Thanks

Veteran’s Day was originally Armistice Day–proclaimed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.  Congress passed a resolution in 1926 requesting another proclamation to observe November 11 and on May 13, 1938, Congress made November 11 a legal holiday, “to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’  In 1953 a civilian named Al King (a shoe store owner in Emporia, Kansas) began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into “all” Veterans’ Day.  With the help of his representative, Ed Rees, a bill was pushed through Congress and President Dwight Eisenhower fittingly signed it into law on May 26, 1954.  Ever since, its purpose has been to honor those who have served in our Military and to honor those still serving.

THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED:

To the brave men and women who have faithfully served our Nation bringing an end to WWII, bravely fighting a horrific fight in Korea and Vietnam to preserve freedom around the world, liberating Countries from dictatorships, preserving peace in the Middle East and standing strong against tyranny and communism, I humbly thank you for your service.  I thank you for doing a job many Americans cannot or will not.  I thank you for allowing me the freedom to raise my children in a society free of tyranny and oppression.  I thank you for shedding blood and tears in foreign lands and rarely and tragically sometimes here at home.

While the John Kerry’s and Code Pinks and Move-On.org’s and leftists here in America criticize your actions, mock your purposes and rant against your missions, you persevere and fight harder to protect the very freedoms those individuals exercise even when they exercise them in a manner that dishonors your service.  I am sorry that there are those who call themselves Americans that do not appreciate the sacrifice you have given.  I am sorry that there are those on American soil that are able to choose where they worship, where they study, where they eat, what they read, what they drive, where they go and what they do with little resistance from their government and yet fail to recognize that it is you that have preserved those freedoms they exercise.  I am sorry that there are those in our Government who seemingly refuse to recognize the victories you have obtained and the purposes you have served.  I am sorry for every single citizen that has not taken the time to thank you from the bottom of their heart.

I pray God’s richest blessings on your life for the tireless way in which you have stared adversity in the face and fought against it to protect all of us.  Thank you for your service.

THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO SERVE:

To the brave men and women continuing to serve in our Military overseas and at home-thank you for your continued service.  Thank you for remaining faithful to our Nation and continuing the fight to preserve freedoms in the Middle East and to protect the world from terrorism.  Thank you for performing under intense and extreme circumstances and proudly wearing our flag into these important conflicts.

I am sorry that our President and your Commander is willing to play golf 24 times in a year but cannot make a decision to honor the request of the General to send more assistance to your fight.  I am sorry that our President and your Commander is worried more about whether he acknowledges some buddies at a conference than whether he acknowledges the brave soldiers who needlessly lost their lives at Ft. Hood.  I am sorry that we at home elected a man to your Commanding position that neither honors your service nor cares about your success.  But know this–the American people care and we pray for your safety and we recognize the great debt we owe you and your families for the sacrifices you are making and will make.  You are the heroes of my children and myself.  I realize fully that I am able to sit in this air-conditioned office high above the Houston streets and type these words without fear of arrest or persecution because of what you are doing. 

I pray for your safety, your mission and your quick return home to your families and loved ones.  Thank you for your service!

-Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

“Consumer Option” vs. “Public Option” Redefines English Language

Our fearless leader of the House of Representatives has really outdone herself this time.  Today she produced a 1,900 page health care reform bill with no “public option.”  Errr…well…um I mean there is one it now called the “consumer option.”  Many of you know that she redefined the terms of this government takeover of our health care system a few days ago by simply “rebranding” the public option.  Now it doesn’t sound so darn socialismy (new word–just go with it).

But little did she know that she would start a revolution of the English Language.  Webster turned over in his grave this week as tens of tens of people rallied behind Madam Pelosi and took the lead to redefine many other areas of our language that just seemed a little well…negative.  So thank you Madam Speaker for your ingenuity, brilliance and trend-making abilities.  In conformity with rebranding the socialistic takeover of 1/6 of our economy from “Public” to “Consumer” here are a few more “rebranding” techniques currently in circulation:

1.  New Brand:  CHOCOLATE CAKE

Old Brand:  Cow Pie

2.  New Brand:  ART DECO

  Old Brand:  Toxic Mold

3.  New Brand:  STREET AFICIONADO

  Old Brand:  Homeless Person

4.  New Brand:  RELIGIOUS EXTROVERT

  Old Brand:  Terrorist

5.  New Brand:  MR. HOTTIE

  Old Brand:  Satan, Prince of Darkness, The Evil One, etc…

and finally…

6.  New Brand:  CONSUMERISTS

   Old Name:  Democrats, Socialists, Liberals, Jack…

 

 

“when I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”

 

                                                 -James Whitcomb Riley

 

-Murphy

Poor Aggies–A Preview of What’s To Come

 

I’m sorry Aggie-fan, truly I am.  I normally do not post anything degrading about A&M until we are closer to the “big” game, but this is too rich. 

After a humiliating loss to Kansas State this weekend, many Aggie-fans are asking, “How did this happen?” “How could we have not been more prepared.”

Then this video was located that gives us a little insight into how Aggies prepare for games–watch and either laugh or weep depending on your point of view:

Hook’em!

-Murphy

University of Texas vs. University of Oklahoma: 2009

It’s time once again for the BIG game.  Usually I spend a blog post before this and the A&M game talking some trash about the other team.  Maybe pointing out their silly traditions or the “real” definition of a “Sooner” but after watching a moving video of Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, I couldn’t bring myself to trash them this year.  Instead, I thought the best use of this space would be to show you this video. 

Hook ‘em–and…

Boomer Sooner!

-Murphy

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize–But Wait There’s More…

As you all undoubtedly know by now, our esteemed President is this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Let’s review the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize–taken from our friends at Wikipedia:

The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is the name of one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize should be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.

Well, in light of that definition it is easy to see why President Obama, Vice-President Al Gore and President Carter have all been recipients of this award.  And let us not forget the most deserving recipient, Yasser Arafat. (he won in 1994).

So, I could go on and on about this but the talk show hosts and media have beat it to death today.  What hasn’t been discussed are the other lesser known awards that were given today along the same line of thinking.  You didn’t hear about them?  Well, here is a review of other awards with, let’s say, similar results.

1. The Mother Theresa Award -this award goes to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for children of all races throughout the world by making them happy instead of sad.  This year’s winner:

Michael Jackson

2.  The Joe Namath Award-this award goes to the person who shall have done the most to promote great hair products.  This year’s winner is:

Jason Statham

3.  The Abraham Lincoln Civility Award-this award goes to the person who shall have done the most to promote civility among the various and diverse members of our great society.  This year’s winner is:

Kanye West

4.  The Mr. Monopoly Economic Award-this award goes to the person who shall have done the most to promote sound economics, savings and investments in the lives of others.  This year’s winner is:

Bernard Madoff

5.  The George Washington Cherry Tree Media Award-this award goes to the media outlet that shall have done the most to promote honesty and integrity in the publication of unbiased news.  This year’s winner is:

A TIE!

The New York Times

and

MSNBC

and finally, I want to thank the State Bar of Texas for honoring me with The Best Family Law Attorney Award.  Here is a short piece of the interview I gave shortly after receiving my award.

Presenter:  How does it feel Mr. Klasing to have won such an esteemed award?

Murphy:  I am surprised and humbled, but mostly surprised.

Presenter:  But why are you so surprised?

Murphy:  Well frankly, I don’t practice Family Law–I mean yeah, I’ve been in Family Court, um… I think once, but I am not a Family Attorney.

Presenter:  Well, the award is given to you this year because you have said the most about bringing about real change in the Family law system and you have inspired much hope among that section of the bar.

Murphy:  Really?  Odd.  I mean, sure I’m flattered, but I can’t think of what it is I have really actually done.  Sure I have said that the divorce rate is too high in America and that we need to do something to bring the family back together, but I mean…

Presenter:  See–there you go.

Murphy:  See what?  I mean, of course I will accept this award as a call to action to stop divorce and child custody battles and to do what I can to bring the family back together–but you have to understand, I’m a trial lawyer whose practice primarily centers around defending corporations and small companies, not dividing silver ware—not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Presenter:  Well I think you now know why you received this esteemed award and I want to thank you for your time today.  This is Randy Meier for MSNBC News Headlines.

Murphy:  Okay…whatever.

-Murphy

ACORN’s Guide To A Better America

Ah, ACORN–just the name brings forth images of life, rebirth, a new beginning, a game of war between neighborhood kids that nearly put each other’s eyes out by hurling the little rock-hard seeds at each other.  Oh the memories.

In that same spirit of hope, and change, and new life, here is an organization that went to the people and organized them and helped them see the craziness of voting for an elephant and instead voting for a Kanye West, er I mean a Democrat. 

So what is ACORN?  According to its website it is:  “the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation’s largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, working together for social justice and stronger communities.”

They fight for things like health care for all citizens, raising the minimum wage, attacking “predatory” lenders who would seek to foreclose on loans, stopping lenders from “tricking” low-income people into signing up for loans with high interest rates (you can bet they spent the loan money though), “confronting the global economic crisis” and forcing communities to provide “affordable” housing so that all low-income families can “become homeowners.”

Despite being non-partisan–here is a short paragraph found on their website:

“Ever since right-wing conservatives got wind of ACORN’s record-setting voter registration drive, their attempts to discredit the work and create an atmosphere of chaos and intimidation have multiplied daily against the organization. Rather than compete for the votes of these new voters, they have resorted to lies and smears to distract voters from the serious issues facing the United States as Election Day draws near.  Now, ACORN is fighting back against the attacks, engineered by the McCain Campaign and the Republican National Committee.”

Funny–I didn’t know that conservatives were competing with a non-partisan organization with the angelic mission of simply registering poor voters.  I guess that ACORN assumes that all poor people are Democrats–which is odd when you consider that all of the Democrat-led entitlements have failed to pull them out of poverty.

So what is ACORN’s vision for America–well they haven’t yet published their annual reports for 2007 or 2008 but a look at the 2006 report reveals the following:

1.  NO MORE WAL-MART–this is hilarious really when you consider that the vast majority of people who shop at Wal-Mart are low-income families because of the tremendous price break they get there versus small boutique stores.  The Annual Report says:  ”ACORN worked with the Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now (WARN) to stop the construction of Wal-Mart stores in Orlando, Sarasota, Plant City, and Temple Terrace, Fla. Also in Florida, the Orange County Commission enacted an ACORN–backed one-year moratorium barring big box retailers from building new stores in the county.”

2.  Every Neighborhood Gets A Grocery Store:  What???  See this:  ACORN obtained “a $5 million city subsidy for the building of a supermarket in a neglected Las Vegas, Nev., neighborhood.”

3.  Healthcare For All:  ”ACORN continued our fight to win health care access for low and moderate income families. In San Francisco, ACORN was part of a successful coalition effort to pass an ordinance providing health care for every city resident. ACORN chapters in San Diego, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio, also helped eliminate over $700,000 in medical debt and over $1.2 million in liens for patients unfairly denied reduced cost “charity care” at local hospitals. Chicago ACORN worked with allies to stop a large hospital chain from closing an acute care hospital serving low-income city residents.”

4.  Free Pass for Illegal Immigrants:  ”ACORN members joined the largest mass movement our country has seen in decades as we participated in immigrant rights marches around the nation to demand comprehensive federal immigration reform and a legal path to citizenship. These events helped block federal legislation making it a felony to aid undocumented immigrants or to be undocumented in the U.S., and set the stage for a renewed push for immigration reform in 2007.”

and of course, my favorite:

5.  Legalized Prostitution:

And you know–the ACORN does not fall far from the tree.

-Murphy

WordPress.com Political Blogger Alliance

The “NEW” 10 Shortest Books In The World

In light of recent events its time once again to update our list of the Worlds 10 Shortest Books.  Thanks to our staff here at MKCB we have scanned the globe for you.  We know how hard it is to read a good book with all that goes on in your daily life, so we have compile this list so you can grab a book, take a restroom break, finish the book and thereby kill two birds with one stone.

For your reading pleasure, here is our updated list of the Worlds 10 Shortest Books:

1.  MY RELEVANCE IN THE WORLD by Jimmy Carter

2.  DIETS I’VE TRIED AND SPONSORED THAT ACTUALLY WORK by Oprah Winfrey

3.  THE DEMOCRATS THAT NEVER ACCUSED BUSH OF LYING:  A History from 2001-Present byMSNBC News

4.  BEAUTY SECRETS FROM THE HILL by Nancy Pelosi

5.  ANTHOLOGY: A Collection of Interesting Portions of Books Written by Jimmy Carter

6.  INTEGRITY, HUMILITY, AND A LOVE FOR OUR COUNTRY a collection of writings from members of ACORN

7.  LEGITIMATE BUSINESS TRIPS TO ARGENTINA by Mark Sanford

8.  MICHIGAN’S BOOMING ECONOMY by Gov. Jennifer Granholm

9.  EFFICIENCY: A History of the U.S. Government-Run Industries that Thrive  by the Congressional Budget Office

10.  VICTORY:  The Storied Wins of the Houston Texan Football Team  by Bud Adams

AND THIS JUST IN–BONUS BOOK:

11.  THE TRUTH ABOUT THE, ER I MEAN ”MY” HEALTH CARE PLAN  by President Barack Obama

WordPress.com Political Blogger Alliance

-Murphy

Czar, Czar Wherever You Are!

With all of the Czar’s being appointed by our President I decided to do a little fact checking into this radical way of ruling our government.  First, when I googled “Czar” in Google Images-the image above is the first one you see.  Of course this image was there as well:

So—that really doesn’t help me understand what he is doing—-or does it?  Nope, it doesn’t-moving on…

The first picture however, took me to a blog post about taking over the government called “How to Run a Country and Get Away With It.”  Interestingly this post was published in October of 2007!  So wait just a minute, either I am having a Shelia Jackson Lee Moment or am I right that the President took office in 2009?  It just seems like he has been there forever.

So what is this all about.  The author states that “Appointing a Czar is a handy way of deflecting bad publicity on a difficult issue. Drugs, for example have been a hot issue for a long time and have caused successive governments major difficulties. Appoint a Czar and these problems simply go away.”  The author by the way is talking about the UK.  He correctly points out that:

“Firstly, any successes could be claimed as government successes as the results came out in police reports and therefore “ the new crime policies are working”. Secondly any failures can be attributed to the failure of the Czar himself and not the government. And finally, any police excesses, despite the fact that you have encouraged tough policies, can be targeted at individual police forces or crime units and therefore the government also looks liberal and humanitarian. It’s a win-win situation. Power without responsibility, perfect!”

Excellent points!  And admittedly, that may be the reasons that George Bush, Clinton and George Bush appointed such individuals.  However, in those three cases it was only a handful of “czars” that were appointed and in reality–any failures of such individuals were heaped on the President by the media anyway.

So why has Obama appointed over 3 dozen!  Let’s look to the Constitution–I’m sure it allows for such things:

Well obviously that is too dang hard to read–but let’s assume for a moment that this language is in there somewhere around say Article II, section 2:

“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.”

So, I suppose he can appoint Czars in one of two ways–either with the Advice and Consent of the Senate–oops–he hasn’t done that—or as “otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.”  Hmmmm… I wonder of such a law exists?

Well as luck would have it there is a law for the Drug Czar–so maybe Bush and Clinton and Bush weren’t doing something so bad after all.  The Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 allows for the appointment of a director.  Under Obama that person is Gil Kerlikowske.

But how about the others?

Say…Carol Browner the “Energy Czar“—she of course headed the EPA under Clinton and on her last day in office, oversaw the destruction of agency computer files in brazen violation of a federal judge’s order requiring the agency to preserve its records. 

How about Todd Stern the “Climate Change Czar” or Special Envoy on Climate Change (potato, potahhto).  He was actually appointed by Hilary Clinton–the Secretary of State.  What????

How about Adolfo Carrion, Jr, the “Urban Czar“-a specialist in Cash and Carry scandals.  Great choice.

Or the others:

Tech Czar-Aneesh Chopra(who answers your calls as a level 2 specialist whenever your Comcast digital service acts up)

Government Performance Czar-Jeffrey Zients (who will answer your calls in the order in which they were received–your wait time is now 19288 minutes)

Infotech Czar-Vivek Kundra(who is a level 3 specialist and will take your call when Aneesh Chopra cannot figure out why you cannot access the Internet)

Health Czar-Nancy Ann DeParle(a former shoplifter and ineffective at doing anything by praising Obama for his ridiculous Health Care bill)

Bailout Czar or Tarp Czar-Herb Allison (that has worked very well–don’t you think?

Guantanamo Closure Czar-Daniel Fried (wonder what he is getting paid to take the political hit that this hasn’t happened yet?

I could go on for days, there is a Stimulus Oversight Czar, Border Czar, Counterterrorism Czar (not Jack Bauer), Regulatory Czar, Pay Czar, Car Czar, Economic Czars, Intelligence Czar, Great Lakes Czar (what??), Copyright Czar (seriously?), Food Car, Water Czar, War Czar, Domestic Violence Czar etc…..

None of these individuals have the authority to force any company or person or agency to do anything–at least not legally.  So why, why appoint all of these individuals–well if you look through history you will see that every leader that has appointed numerous individuals to carry out their bidding under the title of “Head” or “Director” or “Czar” did so as a way to grab power where the Country’s laws didn’t otherwise allow for such a power grab.

In America–lest you forget–we have a balance of power–these individuals cannot have any unless Congress allows it and there is a legal reason for it–such as the Drug Czar.

Russian Czars brutalized people–especially the Jews in Russia.  Hitler appointed numerous Leaders of the High Command to rule the Nazi party and carry out his policies and commands–including genocide.

Our Founding Fathers put our system in place for a reason–I guess that along with Health care, Cap and Trade, Stimulus, Obama just thinks that the Constitution should be trashed.

You know its bad when a Democratic Senator thinks it is unconstitutional.  But then again, that is Senator Byrd and after all–he used to be in the KKK, so his objection is skewed a bit.

I guess I should just be quiet–after all this is just all part of “Hope and Change.”

-Murphy

The Queen of Socialism Calls Dissenters “Un-American”

Apparently, shouting out your views against Health Care is Un-American.  That is what Nancy Pelosi states in her USA Today opinion article.  How is it that Ms. Pelosi can write an opinion article in USA Today supporting socialized medicine, but Republican congressmen are having trouble sending out fliers to their constituency because Ms. Pelosi won’t approve the language being used to tell the truth about this radical takeover of our health care industry? 

Ms. Pelosi, (Lord help me I never thought I’d do THIS)-I suggest you take some advice from ….

(can I say it?)….

Hillary Clinton:

Sorry folks, I know that listening to that cackle will make asbestos melt, but I guess it doesn’t apply when people are against Democrats and their policies.  It apparently only applies when you are condemning George Bush.

One day I’ll get these silly rules straight.  I keep looking to the Constitution, but obviously the Rules are written somewhere else.

-Murphy

Why So Serious?

This is a little frightening.  Apparently these posters are showing up in Los Angeles at random places and no one knows who is putting them up.  

Funny thing is, this poster is too close to reality to be that funny or shocking.  This article is for all of you out there that agree with our President regarding Universal Health Care.  For weeks we have been hearing how Republicans and conservatives are just fear-mongering the public into believing that Obama’s “solution” to our Health Care “crisis” is a one-payer socialist system of Health Care.  How silly we are.  I mean–it’s not like Obama has ever said that it would be a replacement for private health insurance or that it would be a 15 or 20 year strategy to move towards a one-payer system.  I mean that is simply ludicrous.  After all, this Country “deserves a better class of” health care, and Obama is going to give it to us.  Or is he……

Okay there I go again pointing out that our President is a two-faced liar and has an agenda that he purposely hides behind.

Democrat:  Oh yeah, well George Bush was a liar too and we have to do something about Health Care because of all of these illegal er, I mean poor folks that cannot afford insurance.

(I am just anticipating the brilliant argument)–But wait maybe there is some truth in all of this, maybe the government running our Health Care will be better than private greedy industry running it.  I mean after all–the Government has shown even recently that it can run the cars for klunkers program so efficiently and we all know how well budgeted the US Post Office is.  I mean, who has ever had to wait in a long line for a passport?  And how about the IRS–that place runs like a well-oiled machine.  I think at last count they are only estimating about $15billion in taxes that will be wrongfully withheld–so that’s good.

And now—the Government is going to spend $550 million on private jets for congressmen and women.  So maybe those posters of Obama are not meant to be insulting.  Maybe they are accurate.  It was Heath Ledger as the Joker who said this:

“Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just… do things.”

If he was being honest, can’t you just hear Obama saying the exact same thing?

-Murphy

P.S.  This post and all future posts about the administration will be sent to the following link:  flag@whitehouse.gov.  I just feel the Government should know about my “fishy” website.  I’m just being patriotic.