Thanks for the respect Bernie...

A friend told me something interesting and I hope she doesn't mind if I quote her. She was at an event recently when our esteemed President Bernard Machen opened the program by stating that "his wife insisted they visit Gainesville beofre they move along in the hiring process because she needed to find out if we had indoor plumbing here."

Should we be surprised? Nope, not coming from the man who is heard but rarely seen by the campus "working class" and the man who refused to live in the traditional "President's House" because he wanted to avoid the so-called "hustle and bustle" of living near campus.

In 2006, the St. Pete times did a story on this and noted that some have talked of the difficulty of entertaining, having meetings and living in the same house. Aww poor guy. Well, GEE WHIZ, the President of the United States can do it for crying out loud, you're telling me a University President can't?

If I were University of Florida President, I would be HONORED to live in this beautiful, historic house on campus.

Crist taking lessons from Ahmadinejad

Much like the crazed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's constant denial that the Holocaust ever really happened (which it DID), Charlie Crist is in denial too. He is taking lessons from Iran's nutcase whackjob terrorist leader in that he (Crist) is denying that he supported the stimulus package (which he did).

So that leaves me wondering...

WTF is this guy smoking?


Perhaps the Guv needs a gentle reminder....

“Any attempts at federal stimulus must prioritize job creation and targeted tax relief for small business owners. I am eager to welcome President Obama to the Sunshine State as he continues to work hard to reignite the U.S. economy.”
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''I'm enormously grateful that it passed, and I know it's going to help our fellow Floridians in a substantial way. It could not have come at a better time.''
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"Now, at a time when many families are facing extraordinary difficulties due to the decline in the economy, it is critical that we ensure that Floridians are able to access the federal resources made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,"
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And one of the best...from Crist's February 22 interview on "Meet the Press":

MR. GREGORY: So there you were down in Florida, in Fort Myers with President Obama just a couple of weeks ago, talking about the stimulus plan, very supportive of the stimulus plan. Why would you buck your own party, which did not vote for this plan in Congress, as you know, to support the stimulus?

GOV. CRIST: It's not a matter of bucking the party, it's a matter of helping the people. I mean, I really view it as an issue of what can I do that's best for the people of Florida? We've got almost 20 million people that live in the Sunshine State now. I think my obligation is in essence the CEO of the state, to do everything I can to help us get through this tough economy. Certainly this stimulus package, about $12.2 billion to Florida, will help Florida an awful lot.

MR. GREGORY: You heard Governor Jindal on the program just a couple of minutes ago. Much different view, thinks they got the plan all wrong. You disagree with the government role that's being exercised here in trying to fix the economy?

GOV. CRIST: I do. I think that, you know, there are times when you're in a crisis and we all need to work together in order to get through those crises. And I think that this is one of those times. It is fundamental to be able to make sure that we help our children in school. This is going to help us in our education in Florida by about $3.5 billion. It's going to help us with Medicaid, the most vulnerable among us who really need help and need it now. That'll be in excess of $5 billion for Florida. It also helps us in road construction and producing jobs. That's almost $1.5 billion for the Sunshine State. It's fundamentally important that we help the people, we reach out to them, we understand they're in a time of need. In the past five weeks, I've visited six unemployment offices throughout Florida. I look into the eyes of these people and I understand that the challenges are serious that they're having to deal with, and I want to do everything I can to help them.

MR. GREGORY: There's no Republican from Florida in Congress who supported the stimulus. One prominent Republican consultant said this about you and your support for it: "I don't think he's helped any national Republican ambitions he may have had by stepping up to the plate and batting for the other team. ... There's a difference between working in a bipartisan way for the common good and switching sides and putting on the other team's jersey. At the one moment when we finally found our voice and remember who we are as Republicans, Charlie Crist forgets. It is stunning." Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, also said nobody thinks you're a fiscal conservative. Are you an Obama Republican?

GOV. CRIST: I'm a Florida Republican. And in the Florida way, we work together in a bipartisan fashion to do what's right for the people. That's really what it's all about. You know, people run for office in order to try to help their constituents, the people of their state or their district or their country. In my case it's Florida, and that's all I care about. And in Florida we work across the aisle. My friends in the House and the Senate that are of the Democratic Party, I reached out to them. People like Robert Wexler. He wanted to have a paper trail for our elections. We had some embarrassing elections in the past in my state. I didn't want my state to be embarrassed anymore. So I'll take ideas from anybody. It really doesn't matter if they're a Republican, a Democrat or an independent; if they're a Floridian and they care about the people of our state, I want to work with them to make sure that we have a better future and a brighter future.

No need to thank me Guv, just do us all a favor and STFU. Oh wait---on second thought, don't do that---I've been in need of some good material lately :)

The 10th amendment is pretty clear...

The powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.

It's so perfectly clear. The Constitution delegates certain enumerated powers to the federal government and what isn't delegated does not fall within their authority. This was genius on the part of the founding fathers because the purpose was to protect the citizens from an overintrusive, overbearing, tyrannical government by explicitly limiting its power. And through the 10th amendment, any rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution are still protected and retained by the people.

I feel a Constitutional challenge coming on lately. I only wish I was the one who could bring it before the Supreme Court. Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the federal government can regulate the pay of individuals in private businesses. Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the government can tax the people if they do not have a health care plan. Nowhere in the Constitution does it allow the federal government to allocate taxpayer dollars to failing companies and non-profit agencies and organizations.


Article I, Section VIII of the Constitution states:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Our federal government would like us to believe that "provide for the common Defence and general Welfare" means they can spend our tax dollars on all the things they do. But does it?

Also, the tax on individuals not having health insurance is being called an "excise" tax. An excise tax is technically a tax imposed for engaging in a particular occupation or activity, or obtaining a license or permit. An excise tax is usually associated with something one does (for instance gambling, environmental activities, manufacturing,) or consumed (alcohol, fuel, cigarettes).

Now the federal government wants to impose a tax that involves an activity or consumable item on something that is neither. How can you tax something someone does not engage in or possess? How can you tax a person for not having a health insurance plan and call it an excise tax?

Granted, you could argue that the person might use the health care system and as such is consuming/engaging, however, you can't be 100% sure that the person who doesn't have health insurance isn't either not using the system altogether or not paying in cash for services.

Right now the federal government is mandating the pay for certain executives of companies which took bailout funds. First it's the big Fortune 500 companies, but what's next? How long till the federal government thinks it should cap the amount of money any of us can earn? How long till it decided it should cap the amount of business any business can do? How long till wages and prices are frozen?

The federal government created teh National Industrial Recovery Act in effect from June 1933 to May 1935, gave Roosevelt the power to regulate wages and the number of hours employees worked. The Supreme Court heard the case brought on by the Schechter Poultry Corporation of Brooklyn and with a unanimous decision ruled that the Act violated the Constitution because it did was not a law that regulated industry, but rather a law that gave the President the power to do it. This was found to be "an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority."

FDR... April 8, 1943. "Hold the Line"

"To hold the line we cannot tolerate further increases in prices affecting the cost of living or further increases in general wage or salary rates except where clearly necessary to correct substandard living conditions.

"No one straw may break a camel's back, but there is always a last straw. We cannot afford to take further chances in relaxing the line. We already have taken too many. . . .

"Some groups have been urging increased prices for farmers on the ground that wage earners have unduly profited. Other groups have been urging increased wages on the ground that farmers have unduly profited. Any continuance of this conflict will not only cause inflation, but will breed disunity at a time when unity is essential. . . .

"I am exerting every power I possess to preserve our stabilization program.

"I am sure the Congress will cooperate."

Capping profits, wages, hours worked, earnings? This Congress and Obama are following suit.

As it stands, there is no Constitutional authority for the legislative or executive body to cap wages and profits or to tax individuals because they do not engage in a specific activity or consumption.

So what are we going to do about it?

Just when I heard it all, there's more.

Apparently the Gainesville City Commission is once again showing its true colors in regards to the area's homeless. Due to an anonymous complaint that the St. Francis House was exceeding its 130 person per meal limit, the commission is now enforcing the rule. Nobody seems to know any business owners who have complained, it's just one anonymous complaint about the number of meals. LOL I'm guessing some fool actually sat there and counted.

For three decades the St. Francis House has fed thousands of hungry and homeless people in the community. Christmas and Thanksgiving are two of their busiest days. And now, the St. Francis will have to turn away #131 and beyond.

It's enough to make you sick.