BATFE Agents Promoted

I really don't know what all the fuss is about. People generally do tend to get promoted for a job well-done. And since the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) mission is, apparently, to kill American civilians, these guys really do deserve to be promoted. The brilliance of their success lies in the fact that Americans will continue to be gunned down by Mexican drug smugglers with ATF guns for decades to come. Well played, gentlemen.

It should be noted, however, that bonus points would have been given if they'd been able to (a) shoot someone's children with a sniper rifle or (b) burn a bunch of people and their children alive. Keep up the good work, guys.

British National Health Service: Service with a small "s".

Not that any one cares any more, but I am still fighting (although more quietly) to stop the Obamacare juggernaut. Part of the reason can be found in this story out of the Mother Country.

The United Kingdom, whose ubercompassionate socialist health care model has had its virtues extolled by virtually every member of our American Pharoah's regime, has continued to fall victim to the cruelest of enemies: reality.

This just in: a shocked British government has just reported that it is investigating an unsubstantiated report that unicorns may not be real.

Neither the Tooth Fairy nor Father Christmas could be reached for comment.

Oh. Sorry. I didn't know we were still debating this.

I realize that those of us who have been "deniers" of the so-called indisputable truth of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) have been utterly dismissed. So much so that some have even suggested that we be lumped in with Holocaust deniers, etc. Which is what makes this story so damned funny.

Viva la Revolucion.

Hooray.

Just a quick note to celebrate.  This is Nancy Pelosi’s last day as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.  The ship is sinking slightly more slowly, at least momentarily.

Speaking of ships…

Thank goodness they fired that Navy Commander for making “lewd” movies to boost his crew’s morale several years ago.  I’d hate to think that lewdness would be tolerated in our new kinder, gentler, more fashion-conscious gay-friendly military.

In a related story, Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-Il, and the ghosts of Hitler and Stalin are still laughing until they vomit, then catching their breath, then laughing some more. 

“…with a whimper…”

Oh My…

A federal judge in Virginia has just struck down the individual mandate in PPACA (“Obamacare”) as un-Constitutional.

This is relatively likely to land this issue before the Supreme Court.  It’ll be fascinating to see how this ends up.

Insurance.

I hope you all will forgive me if I take a moment to review something that should be rather elementary.

When politicians speak of “insurance”, you must be careful not to fall for their favorite trick:  lying.

Let’s take this phrase, which has become incredibly popular:

“You will not be denied insurance on the basis of pre-existing conditions.”

Sounds wonderful, right?  I mean, that’s the whole problem with those pesky insurance companies.  Denials.

Okay.  So here’s where it gets a bit weird.  What exactly do you think insurance is?  It is a way of diffusing risk.  The first step in “insuring” someone is to assess their particular level of risk.  For example, when you apply for life insurance, they are certain to ask you if you smoke.  Why?  Because people who smoke die sooner than those who do not.  They take the information you provide, then assess your risk and assign an amount they feel will cover that risk.  That is your premium – the amount you must pay to have them insure you.  The idea is that the premium should be less, in general, than the costs of having something bad happen to you.

So when people talk about removing the pre-existing condition concept from insurance, they are actually talking about something other than insurance.  No insurance company will insure your car, for example, after the wreck has already occurred.

So what will happen?  If insurance companies are forced to cover pre-existing conditions, this must simply be added into their computer program that spits out an amount of money that will balance that risk.  It is quite literally impossible for this NOT to raise premiums.

Insurance that has no mechanism for assessing and pricing risk is not insurance.  It is welfare.  Words are important.

Happy Birthday

Today is 10 November.  A mere 235 years ago, on this date, the United States Marine Corps was created by an act of the Continental Congress.  Twenty years ago on this date, I celebrated my first Marine Corps Birthday…at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California (Marine Boot Camp).  There wasn’t much celebrating, of course.  It seems like we got to scarf down something special during our four-minute evening meal or something.

In subsequent years, I’ve become progressively proud of my Marines.  In an era where there seems to be little to celebrate, I can whole-heartedly celebrate the past, present, and future of the U.S. Marine Corps.  If you want to feel proud of your country again, do an image search (or better yet a video search) on Bing or Google for “US Marines”.  I guarantee you will smile, laugh, and probably cry.  They should make us all so very proud.  I am blessed to have been able to be a tiny part of that grand history.

Tonight, I will drink a toast to the Corps.  I will say a prayer (as my family does often) for their safety, guidance, wisdom, bravery, and success.  And I will look forward to the day when they can all come home to their loving families and friends ‘stateside’.

God Bless the U.S. Marines.