"Just the facts, ma'am"

Decision making requires getting some facts. Don’t remain in the dark like the man who complained "taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for this, the government should." Such ignorance is costly. Taxpayers and the government, being synonymous, cause great waste. You’ve heard of pork - not the other white meat, but the source of large buckets of lard (pre-Crisco and pre-Parkay) distributed by politicans. The 2008 Omnibus spending bill of $500 billion dollars contains 11,000 earmarks (special favors doled out by politicians) and runs 3,400 pages. The other ‘discretionary’ spending bill for 2008 totals about 900 billion dollars. These thorny facts ought to make us bleed. Some examples of over-spending: $286 billion over 5 years to subsidize 10% of the richest of farmers. $500 million to ethanol producers. $700 thousand for a Minnesota bike trail. $10 billion for terror insurance. $100 billion (projected) for future loses for flood insurance (inspired by hurricane Katrina). $25 billion for renewable energy projects which will have no effect on our oil independence. $8,000 a month to rent a SUV’s in Iraq. One earmark is a ½ million dollars for a minor league baseball stadium.

Americans need to sort out the facts from the fiction of experts and their reports. Consensus does not always equate with truth. Experts claim we are affected by global warming in at least 600 ways, but here’s the real, one-two punch. 1. The earth is totally dependent upon the sun. 2. The earth has warmed and cooled many times throughout time. What are the facts about healthy fats, type 2 diabetes, energy dependency, math and science deficiency in our schools, stem cell research, lack of health insurance and nuclear proliferation? First, without fats we die. We could ask a centenarian how he managed to live so long? Next, genetics will determine which of two individuals with the same diet and/or lack of exercise evidences symptoms of insulin inefficiency. Nuclear power plants are not being approved to alleviate our electrical grids. There is an innate appeal of science and math to the masculine mind, so women gravitate to other disciplines. Only stem cells other than embryonic stem cells have shown promise in scientific breakthroughs. Each American should arm himself against illness and disability with choices about health care and health insurance. Finally, many countries around the globe already have nuclear capabilities as well as missile defense systems.

It’s about time we face the fact that we are awash in political correctness. Other than ignorance or cowardice, what could explain why we have allowed it to persist? A prime example is sports. Young children are forbidden to compete. Little leagues do not keep score anymore, even though life keeps score. Older athletes know the score; the best win the accolades. Haven’t the Olympics been held every 4 years since 1896 based on the competitions in ancient Greece?. Team mascots and names also reflect political correctness. A minor league team cannot have a mascot pig called Pork because it offended one picky person. Pig has been re-named Ferrous, meaning red. And, how much mental or physical damage can a sports’ team named the Penguins or Mudhens do?

Another glaring fact causing controversy is that immigrants won’t go away without a fight. Each wave of immigrants from the Irish and Chinese to the Muslims and Mexicans has not and will not give up its pursuit of happiness without a pushback. What we have in America, they want. What do we do about the fact we can’t progress without them? The immigration issue looms large in the 2008 election. Deciding on a quota and making the distinction between transient immigrant workers and those who seek citizenship are critical issues.

Isn’t it time we faced the declining conditions in public schools? Children often aren’t being educated; they are indoctrinated with ideas irrelevant to specific subjects and in disagreement with our moral values. Just published is a study proving that pre-teen sex benefits youth and ‘protects’ them from health and emotional problems later in life. It will be used to justify procedural and program changes, symptomatic of the trashing of the 10 commandments.
Is there a foreboding message behind the facts of the murders at Omaha, Virginia Tech and Salt Lake City? Certainly the massacres tell us our culture does not recognize the intrinsic value of each human being. Murders were committed by adult men going on 10 years of age, i.e. Americans who refuse to grow up. Also, ungodly offerings from the media and entertainment industry, self-indulgent lifestyles and improper prior parenting contributed to these tragedies.
Lastly, be aware of public service announcements. For example, catchy capital letters call attention to problems like PAD, but peripheral arterial disease itself never gets explained. Virtually anyone who breathes has PAD, especially smokers. These agenda-driven messages, sincerely presented with an aura of fact, are misleading or false. They promote flu pandemic panic and paranoia.

Of course distinguishing facts from fiction among Republican and Democrat candidates in the up-coming election will require extra-sensory perception. Nevertheless, remember the request from Dragnet’s Jack Webb, "Just the facts ma’am."