WHISKEY OR WATER? Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is accredited with saying "Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over". I am sure he was somewhere in the West when he said that. I am also sure that all those people back east running around like ants from a den have no clue how precious water in the West actually is. Well, maybe not all of them. There may be a few who live there that immigrated there from the Western climes. And if they did, they probably did so because of the above mentioned water. Here in the Land of Enchantment, there are two water wars going on in the courts. There is a town, or village called Magdalena that has lost it's water. Why, cause it's so dang dry the town well went dry. And caved in. They have been receiving help from the State and neighbors hauling in water to the people there for 3 or 4 weeks now. The State is finally about to decide to let them drill a new well. A few miles south of this village, in a flat stretch of land called the St. Augustine Plains, an Eastern company, with foreign money backing them, wants to drill about 300 wells ( I may be wrong on the number ) to a deep aquifer and pump thousands of gallons of water every day until the aquifer runs dry. Yep, you read that correctly and of course this case is in the courts and so far the judge has ruled against the water well drilling company. So far the local residents are winning, but most of them are just working people and don't have the funds to fight a court battle against a large company. We can only pray that the courts continue to see the stupidity of allowing foreign ( as in east of the Mississippi river ) entities drilling for and extracting what little water we have. The other case is similar to this one, but is a little farther North, in the area around Albuquerque. I haven't heard a lot of details on this one yet, but from what I have heard, the case is similar to the one mentioned above.
On a related note, in Colorado there is a large brewery, brewing a popular beer. Considering the wild fires there and the water needed to fight it, and the drought that is in that State, as well as here to the south, I have to wonder how much water goes into a beverage that causes nothing but heartache, not to mention head aches. Consider all the brewerys across the country that make not only beer, but Whiskey, if they all shut down and people just drank water, then perhaps Mark Twains saying would need to be changed. And just perhaps, even, there would be a little more water for the benefit of all, not just those who choose to drink whiskey and fight over water. I can assure you, the water fights are real and will continue as long as the west exists. And THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK
Monday, June 24, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
WHAT'S YOUR OPINION
THERE'S THIS OLD QUOTATION ABOUT OPINIONS: You know the one. If you don't I'm not going to quote it here. Just to say that every one has an opinion. Of course those opinions aren't always in agreement. So, I'm going to mention a few things political here and then ask for you opinion. If you choose to express it. I will qualify this to this extent. Most of what I will write here has been taken from the media. Maybe not the popular media of the day, but the media just the same. And it all is taken from the items that seem to be playing out on the popular news of the day. So, here goes.
From an article written by Larry J. Eastland, PhD. he comments on Obama's fading Presidency. I won't quote his entire article, but just highlight a few of the things he said, but I will quote these.
1. The "Transformational President didn't transform. If any thing, the divisiveness is worse.
2. The new age of a Permanent Democrat Majority lasted just two years. Today there are fewer Democrats in Congress, in State Legislatures, and in governorships than when Obama took office. And George W. Bush is as popular today as Barack Obama. Not exactly a mandate.
3. The "I can cut unemployment in half in my first term didn't cut it.
4. Obamacare--his only legislative achievement--is as unpopular an idea today as it was the day it passed--if not more so.
5. The "most transparent and honest administration in history" has shown to be...well...you know. Nuf said.
Now, those are the opinions of Mr. Eastland, and here are a few highlights of why he said them.
Obama is fading cause it's his second term and he can't run for president again. No one will have to run with him on a ticket, so they have nothing to fear. There fore, they are turning away from him. Also, all through out this presidents terms, he has been over shadowed by the Clintons. And while a lot of people don't like President Obama, a lot of people like Bill and Hilary Clinton.
Next he commented on a comment that someone made is not about how a leader leads in a crisis, but how he leads in a mess. And Obama has three or four messes on his hands right now, and not a lot of friends to help him out. The democratic party is distancing themselves from him and they don't seem to understand the Hole theory. As in, when you're in a hole, stop digging. They just can't seem to stop.
I will comment on just a couple of other things that Mr. Eastlan mentioned. Not a lot of people know a lot about Presidednt Obama. They see him on TV doing Presidential things, kinda like a TV show, and what goes on when not on TV is rarely seen. Also, in his second term, many of those who now work with him realize that their jobs will be in jeopary in a few years and they will be jumping ship soon to find good jobs in the private sector, leaving Obama to find who ever he can to fill the jobs that need filling. And they will not necessarily be the best people for the job.
There was more said in the article, but was just quoting facts to support a lot of the things mentioned, or just other things along the same line as those mentioned. I do fear that I didn't do the article justice, however, and I will give any one the reference to this article if they want to read it in full.
Now, I will mention a couple of things that are still political in nature, although not necessarily all Obama generated. Will, maybe not all.
The first one is the C-CPI. I will assume that any of you who may actually read this drivel, know what the CPI is, but if you don't, it is the Consumer Price Index. The other C stands for chained, as in the Chained, CPI. It is a new way to calculate Social Security and Veterans benefits, and President Obama included it in his most recent budget proposal. If it is adopted, it will decrease the Social Security and veterans benefits in the future. While most of the comments focused on these two things, it could also raise taxes. Like this. Every year, the Internal Revenue Service makes adjustments, based on inflation, to income tax brackets........These adjustments help prevent bumping tax payers into higher tax brackets and making them pay more because of inflation. The chained cpi would yeild smaller increases than the current formula, there fore more of your income will be taxed at a higher rate. Taxpayers with an income of $10,000 to $20,000 would see their taxes raise the most by almost 7% over 16 years, while the higher tax bracket for those earning over $ one million would pay only a .2 % increase. This would cut Social Security by $127 Billion over 10 years while raising taxes by $142 Billion in that same time period.
Now, some of the solutions to these things are as follows, according to Moi.
Congress should not pass this budget that includes the C-CPI. Who ever is in charge should crack down, hard, on waste and inefficiency in the payment of Medicare.
Many who currently collect Social Security should not. This program was originally designed for a retirement benefit, for those who pay into it, but it has been expanded over the decades by changing the rules by those in government that allows all too many people to collect this benefit, often without paying much into it. I didn't get into the Obamacare program, and will not do so, as I have done so in past posts. Just pay attention to what is happening with this going forward.
I encourage any who read this to pay close attention to all the things that this administration and the congress are doing. I don't care if the members of congress are Democrats, Republicans, Independants, Tory's or Whigs, theie first priority should be the welfare of the people they represent, and to take care of the business of the country. And they are not, as a body. There may be individuals on both sides of the aisle, or in the middle of the aisle who are so inclined to take care of the people, but as a body, both house and senate, are so busy worrying about who is going to get the best of the other, that the purpose for which they are elected has gone by the wayside. So, I repeat, pay close attention to what is going on in Washington, regardless of the party in the white house or in the house or senate, in State houses, county offices and city offices. And then vote for those that seem to be the best, regardless of party.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK
From an article written by Larry J. Eastland, PhD. he comments on Obama's fading Presidency. I won't quote his entire article, but just highlight a few of the things he said, but I will quote these.
1. The "Transformational President didn't transform. If any thing, the divisiveness is worse.
2. The new age of a Permanent Democrat Majority lasted just two years. Today there are fewer Democrats in Congress, in State Legislatures, and in governorships than when Obama took office. And George W. Bush is as popular today as Barack Obama. Not exactly a mandate.
3. The "I can cut unemployment in half in my first term didn't cut it.
4. Obamacare--his only legislative achievement--is as unpopular an idea today as it was the day it passed--if not more so.
5. The "most transparent and honest administration in history" has shown to be...well...you know. Nuf said.
Now, those are the opinions of Mr. Eastland, and here are a few highlights of why he said them.
Obama is fading cause it's his second term and he can't run for president again. No one will have to run with him on a ticket, so they have nothing to fear. There fore, they are turning away from him. Also, all through out this presidents terms, he has been over shadowed by the Clintons. And while a lot of people don't like President Obama, a lot of people like Bill and Hilary Clinton.
Next he commented on a comment that someone made is not about how a leader leads in a crisis, but how he leads in a mess. And Obama has three or four messes on his hands right now, and not a lot of friends to help him out. The democratic party is distancing themselves from him and they don't seem to understand the Hole theory. As in, when you're in a hole, stop digging. They just can't seem to stop.
I will comment on just a couple of other things that Mr. Eastlan mentioned. Not a lot of people know a lot about Presidednt Obama. They see him on TV doing Presidential things, kinda like a TV show, and what goes on when not on TV is rarely seen. Also, in his second term, many of those who now work with him realize that their jobs will be in jeopary in a few years and they will be jumping ship soon to find good jobs in the private sector, leaving Obama to find who ever he can to fill the jobs that need filling. And they will not necessarily be the best people for the job.
There was more said in the article, but was just quoting facts to support a lot of the things mentioned, or just other things along the same line as those mentioned. I do fear that I didn't do the article justice, however, and I will give any one the reference to this article if they want to read it in full.
Now, I will mention a couple of things that are still political in nature, although not necessarily all Obama generated. Will, maybe not all.
The first one is the C-CPI. I will assume that any of you who may actually read this drivel, know what the CPI is, but if you don't, it is the Consumer Price Index. The other C stands for chained, as in the Chained, CPI. It is a new way to calculate Social Security and Veterans benefits, and President Obama included it in his most recent budget proposal. If it is adopted, it will decrease the Social Security and veterans benefits in the future. While most of the comments focused on these two things, it could also raise taxes. Like this. Every year, the Internal Revenue Service makes adjustments, based on inflation, to income tax brackets........These adjustments help prevent bumping tax payers into higher tax brackets and making them pay more because of inflation. The chained cpi would yeild smaller increases than the current formula, there fore more of your income will be taxed at a higher rate. Taxpayers with an income of $10,000 to $20,000 would see their taxes raise the most by almost 7% over 16 years, while the higher tax bracket for those earning over $ one million would pay only a .2 % increase. This would cut Social Security by $127 Billion over 10 years while raising taxes by $142 Billion in that same time period.
Now, some of the solutions to these things are as follows, according to Moi.
Congress should not pass this budget that includes the C-CPI. Who ever is in charge should crack down, hard, on waste and inefficiency in the payment of Medicare.
Many who currently collect Social Security should not. This program was originally designed for a retirement benefit, for those who pay into it, but it has been expanded over the decades by changing the rules by those in government that allows all too many people to collect this benefit, often without paying much into it. I didn't get into the Obamacare program, and will not do so, as I have done so in past posts. Just pay attention to what is happening with this going forward.
I encourage any who read this to pay close attention to all the things that this administration and the congress are doing. I don't care if the members of congress are Democrats, Republicans, Independants, Tory's or Whigs, theie first priority should be the welfare of the people they represent, and to take care of the business of the country. And they are not, as a body. There may be individuals on both sides of the aisle, or in the middle of the aisle who are so inclined to take care of the people, but as a body, both house and senate, are so busy worrying about who is going to get the best of the other, that the purpose for which they are elected has gone by the wayside. So, I repeat, pay close attention to what is going on in Washington, regardless of the party in the white house or in the house or senate, in State houses, county offices and city offices. And then vote for those that seem to be the best, regardless of party.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK
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