Hello! Pay attention!

One more time: CONGRESS sets the national budget. CONGRESS determines tax rates. NOT the President. Blaming the President for Congress' failures is like blaming a parent for a baby messing its own diaper. The President can only SUGGEST a budget. Congress doesn't have to listen to the President nor does it usually. Congress' budgets usually look NOTHING like would the President would like. If you don't like how our country has spent YOUR money the last few years, look at the DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS.

I ended a RSS feed over someone missing this simple fact.

UPDATE 20 November 2008: I watched a video yesterday in which most people, who had just voted, didn't realize that Congress is controlled by the Democratic party and has been since 3 January 2007.

Required Reading: The Discerning Texan -- Wow!

The Discerning Texan

Funny (Ironic), not Funny (Haha)

I've been wanting a projection screen for my classroom for two years. I finally get one. They mount it then realize that the big dent in the side keeps it from going up and down. So I can't use it. They say they'll replace it, but it will take a while.

Absolutely Fantastic!

LiveLeak.com - Ben Stein interview

This video is highly edited but I think you won't have any mistakes about his opinion.

Important Update, Good News

Wow. Read this and tell me what you think.

Knowledge Is Power

Update (17 Sept): Iraq is won. There's no denying it. Even I, who wants to keep up with what's going on there, am having trouble staying interested. Troop levels are down to pre-surge levels and even lower. Violence is way down. Troop deaths are way down. The Iraqi government has met 15 out of 18 benchmarks. The big battlefield now is Afghanistan, not Iraq.

Home On the Range: SHARING THE PIE

Home On the Range: SHARING THE PIE - NOT WHAT OUR COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON

9%

Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election.

Congress is doing such a poor job, only 9% of voters think they're doing a good job. If I understand it, this is an all-time low.

HT: Mad Ogre

Update (17 Sept): By the way, President Bush constantly receives criticism regarding how low his poll numbers are. With a quick check, his lowest approval rating, ever, was 25%.

How I've Changed

When home in the US, I get asked a lot of things. One question that I hear is, "how have you changed?" This isn't an easy question. After six years of living in Budapest, I think I can start to really answer that question.

As I was washing the dishes today, it occured to me, "I understand my grandmother." This happened as I was putting a washed straw away into the drawer. It's a strange behavior. It's weird. And the only other time I've ever seen it was when I would visit my grandmother.

She grew up during the Great Depression. She came from a family of nine. Life was hard. More than once, I heard the story about how she with her sister, both younger than ten years old, would ride the street car across town to go sell vegetables. They didn't care about child labor laws; they did what they had to do to provide for the family. They saved and they used everything they could to get the most of out it. That's why she saved the straws much later in life.

Why did I save the straw? Life here isn't easy for expatriots. It's not as hard as surely as it was during the Depression. But, I saved the straw because I don't have much disposable income. When I do, I don't want to waste it on something silly. Even when I do, I don't want to travel accross town to get something I really don't need. There are more important things to spend money on. So, I'll save the stupid straw and get the most of out it.

I think I understand my grandmother a bit better.

Personal note to my mom and dad who will read this: Don't freak out. We're fine. This a commentary. We're doing OK and we're eating fine. We'll see you in a few weeks.

Update on License Plates

I went to go fill out the paperwork for my new license plate yesterday. Originally, the police said that since the plate was reported as stolen, if, in the future, any police officer checking the license plate on my car would see it listed as stolen and so not only would I need news plates, but the number on the plates would also need to be new. Of course, this would cost extra money.

Well, the lady at the government office checked, and the police didn't list it as stolen. So, the whole process, while still frustrating and expensive, won't be quite as expensive.

I think this is the first time I have ever been thankful for police incompetence.

Required Listening: BLACKFIVE: A President's D-Day prayer

BLACKFIVE: A President's D-Day prayer

A Few Observations

My wife and I went to Budapest's Museum Night last week. Budapexan has the report.

A few observations:

1. If you are going to organize a city-wide event, you need to make sure all of the materials you print for it have correct information. Sure, typos happen, but big mistakes in information shouldn't happen. That's why you use proof-readers.

2. Modern art is crap. Sorry if you disagree. I must not be cerebral nor cultured enough to appreciate it. But, on the other hand, I teach both chemistry and physics and know the difference between Pavarati, Paganini, and Pucini.

So, modern art is crap. That said, there were two pieces that I liked. One was a joke, very funny, and entertaining. The other one actually could have been very nice in a home. The rest of it should have never been in a museum.

3. We also visited the Terror House. If you don't know what that is, it was the headquaters of the secret police during communist rule in Hungary. Esentially, it was one of those places you never wanted to see the inside of because you would probably never see the outside again. It has now been renovated to serve as a museum depicting the horrors of living under communism. It was very well done and I would like to go back again some day. The secret, underground torture rooms and execution chambers are still in their original state and are very grim. So, what did I take away?

Well, how did Hungary fall into communism? After WWII, the people actually voted for a democratic government, but because too much power had been given to too few, the people were powerless to determine what type of government they would get. Observation: power should be distributed as much as possible and we should we very careful of letting government take power from the people.

Also, we must protect free speech. That includes the speach we don't like. Because, someday, someone may not like our free speech. Government should not be allowed to regulate political speech, ever.

Last, we must protect political dissent. When we don't like someone's ideas, we should discuss the situation, not call for their silencing. This, superficially, may seem very similar to what I already mentioned, but its not. The above talks about the expression of political ideas. Here, I am talking about the holding of ideas.

For those of you who have never visited a former communist country, let me explain. In George Orwell's 1984, merely having ideas against the state was a crime. It was called thoughtcrime. Now, in free countries, we read that and say, "how absurd that would be." But, what we don't understand is that it actually happened. Orwell didn't write entertaining fiction. He wrote informed fiction. Communist countries didn't merely aim to control the economy, but rather the very thoughts of its people.

And we, as free people, need to take this lessons to heart.

Wow, this is good. It made me misty-eyed.

BLACKFIVE: VFF Guest Authors- Women to the front

More Good News: Iraqi and U.S. Troops Seize 7 EFPs, Mortar Systems in New Baghdad Night Raids - The Long War Journal

Iraqi and U.S. Troops Seize 7 EFPs, Mortar Systems in New Baghdad Night Raids - The Long War Journal

Read the whole thing.

Another Fun Video

Another video that, if this actually happened in real life, life would be MUCH more fun.

HT: Mad Ogre

More Good News: Three senior Mahdi Army commanders captured in Baghdad, Hillah - The Long War Journal

Three senior Mahdi Army commanders captured in Baghdad, Hillah - The Long War Journal

Notice, also, "the Mahdi Army has surrendered the provincial capital of Amarah without firing a shot."