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It should not be allowed to stand. This poor woman is now under arrest because the government has decided parents no longer have the right to hose their kids down (video here).

I can remember many times when the threat of being taken out back and hosed down is the only thing that kept a yard ape in line. And they knew I’d do it, too. Imagine two little girls whining and bickering in the car while you are trying to make your way through rush hour traffic. A parent must have the freedom to say “If you two don’t keep quiet for the rest of the trip you are both getting hosed down as soon as we get home!”

There were some times with a carload of kids eating kids meals from McDonalds when by the time I got home and saw the sheer food-armageddon, Jackson-Pollack maelstrom they had commited upon themselves with the honey, bbq sauce,  milkshake, ketchup and soda, that there really was no other solution. And while I did not have a pressure washer at my disposal, if I had, I can think of an episode or two it might have come into use.

Although I never had the privilege of raising boys, I did care for some, and frankly I can’t see how it would be even POSSIBLE to manage these little monsters in the 2-6 age bracket without having the fire hose in one’s arsenal. I mean, some of these kids don’t just pick up dirt – they seem to emanate it. There were some instances when I saw what my nephews had managed to do to themselves with watermelon or ice cream, that I seriously believed my sister would be best served by not even allowing them onto the property without a good spraying. Hose them down in the driveway, at very least.

The lady in this story apparently had been through a rough car ride with a misbehaving terrible-two, and passed a car wash … and a light bulb went off. That, my friends, is ingenuity. It’s just a shame this type of out of the box thinking is punished, rather than rewarded.

Death by magical man. This lovable, silver-tongued, golden-throated orator says all the right things to get everyone excited and bring all sorts of folks to the show while doves coo and robins alight and choruses of angels sing hosannas.

All well and good.

The problem is, there ain’t no copacetic magic in the world. The world is rubber hitting the road, knees skinned on concrete. Punches in the face.

Barack Obama is pulling in the dough. But Barack Obama is not selling the Democratic party. Or, more accurately, his supporters are buying “Barack Obama” and not the Democratic brand. This is a problem for the Democrats going forward.

As Michael Barone notes:

…in more likely and ambiguous circumstances, a Clinton nomination will seem illegitimate to many who have been swooning over Obama and streaming into polling booths because he alone offers hope…

Can the Democrats build on this or will they choke on this?

Loudoun Easterner editor Martin Casey is a well-meaning fellow but he does not always get it right.

Regarding this week’s front page story (and dig that crazy graphic) on Gov. Tim Kaine’s veto of the bill which would have allowed concealed carry of firearms in establishments that serve alcohol, the editorial “Back to the Wild West?” asks

In today’s society, why does anyone other than a law enforcement officer need to take a gun, concealed or otherwise, into a restaurant or bar?

Having weapons, concealed or not, in public places — restaurants, bars or otherwise — is a scary thought that conjures up movie scenes from “Shane” and “Gunfight at the OK Coral.”

We want our law enforcement officers to carry weapons for our defense if necessary. Permits to carry concealed weapons should be issued rarely through a process rigorous enough to assure that permit holders have sound reasons for carrying a hidden weapon and also are responsible and sane persons.

Mr. Casey’s editorial displays two of the key assumptions that separate gun control proponents from 2nd Amendment supporters: Outright fear of guns, and a thoroughgoing faith that law enforcement personnel will always be there to protect us.

From the perspective of those who are not subconsciously afraid of firearms, this attitude is like flinching at the sight of a hammer or baseball bat. But cultural conditioning being what it is, many otherwise reasonable people fall into the fallacy of seeing the tool, rather than the carrier, as the problem.

The real issue is whether it is sensible for law-abiding citizens to leave their safety and security completely in the hands of law enforcement officials.

Even the gun-fearers don’t really believe this. They lock their doors at night because they know the police can’t be everywhere at a moment’s notice. Most of them probably do not have a problem with people who take self-defense courses. Kung fu kick to break a jaw – ok. Learn to stick a key in the attacker’s eye – ok. But when it comes to having a gun to defend yourself – well, that is a step too far. As though any situation in which a law abiding citizen might feel the need to protect herself with a gun is magically transformed into a situation where the cops are right nearby, every time.

It’s totally illogical, a position that simply has not been fully thought through by the gun control advocates.

I think the root of the disagreement comes down to an irrational fear of firearms and fervent hope of never having to come close to a firearm. If you read it, you will see that Mr. Casey’s editorial definitely seems to reveal such a personal aversion.

Rather than a carefully considered public policy position, gun control advocacy is more akin to fear of spiders.

A further note: The bill in question was aimed at allowing concealed carry permit holders to bring their guns into restaurants without having to display them openly, as long as they are not consuming alcohol. That’s right: Under current Virginia law it’s perfectly fine to go into Applebees wearing a firearm on your hip as long as everyone can see it.

For those who are less ostentatious and confrontational, which means nearly all concealed carry holders, they have to leave their guns in the car when they go out to eat. Leaving your gun in the car is generally not considered a good thing, the key reason being the possibility of theft. The bill simply would have allowed people who have been certified to carry a firearm all day long to keep it with them when they go out to eat.

Below the fold is visitor Loudoun Conservative’s response to the editorial.
continue reading…

[The following is a guest column by Nan Matthis of American Daughter]

by Nancy Matthis at ADMC

Our hospitals are compelled by law to treat illegal immigrants in their emergency rooms without charge. One after another, they are going bankrupt and closing their doors. Here is one example.

The Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield, New Jersey is a state-of-the-art facility with comprehensive coverage of diverse medical disciplines. It is the sort of resource that communities dream of having available for their emergencies as well as routine care. In addition to their many community wellness programs, they host New Jersey’s premier cancer center.

Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center is a 396-bed acute care facility that provides inpatient and outpatient services in all major medical specialties. Other specialized services include a complete array of cardiac services (including emergency angioplasty), a Bariatric Surgery Center, Vein Center, Lithotripsy Center,Wound Care Center, hemodialysis, home care, hospice and adult medical day care….

The Regional Cancer Center is committed to providing high quality care for people with cancer. The Center offers all the services needed to effectively identify and treat cancer, including state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, surgery, medical oncology, neuro-oncology, radiation therapy, investigational trials, stereotactic radiosurgery (Gamma Knife), nursing care, counseling, nutritional support, discharge planning, outpatient services and hospice care.

But soon the Muhlenberg community safety net will be gone. The New Jersey Star Ledger reports:

Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center shutting its doors

Faced with mounting deficits caused mainly by insufficient state aid to cover all its uninsured patients, officials at Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield plan to close the 130-year-old facility later this year….programs and services will be phased out during a “wind down” period before Muhlenberg finally stops admitting patients….

The decision to close the 396-bed Plainfield hospital was a “last resort” after an attempt to find a buyer failed, said John P. McGee, president and CEO of Solaris Health System, which owns the hospital. Muhlenberg, which also has 1,100 employees and 350 affiliated physicians, was put up for sale last November. Officials say they reached out to more than 60 potential buyers.

McGee said one reason for the lack of interest is economics: Muhlenberg will likely show a loss of $18 million for 2007.

The hospital – whose emer gency room treats 35,000 patients a year – doled out some $15.4 million in uncompensated care last year, but received only $6.2 million from the state in charity care funding, spokesman Steven Weiss said.

Muhlenberg has also been treating a growing number of uninsured patients as well as undocumented patients, most of whom are not insured and do not qualify for charity care….

The data: $15.4 million uncompensated care  |  $6.2 million state reimbursment

The dilemma: Community loses health care facility  |  Taxpayers fund health care for aliens

We are caught in a vicious downward spiral. The liberals have allowed an estimated 20 million illegal aliens to invade our country, in the hopes of gaining a large voting bloc through amnesty. Those undocumented and uninsured individuals are destroying our health care systems economically. Once the health care is degraded, the liberals will use that fact as an argument to socialize medicine, which will reduce all health care to the lowest possible denominator.

Hat tip: Gayle Kesselman, New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control

This has been a production of the Guard The Borders Blogburst.

Well, this sure makes you think:

In the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, we heard this from Democrats, constantly: You have to have worn the uniform, in order to qualify as president. Moreover, you have to have gone to war, in order to qualify as president…

Blog fu author and Help Save Manassas president Greg Letiecq debated John Steinbach of Mexicans Without Borders today on local TV, on the impact of the Prince William County “Rule of Law” Resolution which went into effect last week.

You can watch the first part here.

Greg does a great job, as always, but perhaps equally instructive are the two callers.

Especially listen to the statement of the second which is right near the end of the clip, explaining very clearly what many of us see as the most destructive aspect of the influx of illegals over the past few years: The explosion of illegal subcontractors who by skirting payroll tax requirements and paying subnormal wages with no benefits have undercut companies that play by the rules. This phenomenon is also directly responsible for the profusion of commercial vehicles and equipment in residential neighborhoods, on top of all of the other problems such as single family homes converted into boarding houses and increased gang activity.

HA!

Leave it to the Digital Camel crew. They may bitch and moan a lot, but they know how to have a good time.

The link to this new blog, which is going right into our sidebar, was found in one of El Jefe’s comments. It’s amazing they already have 9,234,894 hits.

Enjoy.