Day: December 13, 2011

RANT: Billion dollar “light” attack aircraft

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://dumpdc.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/flash-editorials-december-10-2011/

*** begin quote ***

Business: The US Air Force quietly announced that they have excluded American aircraft builder Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita, Kansas from competition for a $1 billion contract to build a light attack aircraft. The company said that they had already invested $100 million to comply with what the Air Force wanted in a plane. They also said that 1,400 highly paid technical employees in 20 states will lose their jobs. But here is the outrage. It looks like the $1 Billion contract will go to Embraer…A BRAZILIAN COMPANY. Want even more outrage? Embraer sold 40 light fighters to Iran in 1989, and Iran used the planes as their primary close support aircraft. The Obama Administration is flipping you the bird, America. Learn how to say, “Want fries with that?”

*** end quote ***

Why do we ned a billion dollar “light” attack aircraft?

# – # – # – # – #   

RANT: Doing “charity” badly is dangerous

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/woman-denied-food-stamps-kills-self-shoots-children-181629410.html

Woman denied food stamps kills self, shoots children
By Jim Forsyth | Reuters
2011-DEC-06

*** begin quote ***

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – A woman in the border city of Laredo, Texas who was angry because she had been denied food stamps killed herself and shot and critically wounded her two children late on Monday, authorities said on Tuesday.

*** end quote ***

Remember this. I waited until the details came out.

This is all the Gooferment’s fault.

Either of two tracks:

(1) The Gooferment shouldn’t be doing “charity”. Churches and Associations are better suited and more efficient.

(2) The Gooferment dumped all the mentally ill on the streets without support. Families, Churches and Associations are better suited and more efficient.

Get a sense of what the sock answer is: “Gooferment bad; individuals are kings.”

# – # – # – # – #   

INTERESTING: Are “food drives” a symptom of the problem?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/12/food_drives_charities_need_your_money_not_your_random_old_food_.html?wpisrc=twitter_socialflow

Can the Cans
Why food drives are a terrible idea.
By Matthew Yglesias
Posted Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 12:29 PM ET

*** begin quote ***

But a fundamental issue is that many organizations feel that asking for money—like requesting cash as a gift—seems somewhat gauche. So, let me be rude on their behalf: Find well-managed charities in your community and trust them to know how to do their job. They have access to food at a fraction of the price. They know their clients, and they have better things to do than to sort through your canned goods. And from your perspective, it’s much easier to document a monetary donation for tax purposes. Good intentions are lovely, but particularly in hard times it’s more important to make sure your charitable dollars go as far as possible. Can the cans. Hand over some cash.

*** end quote ***

Of course, this IGNORES the fundamental problem of Gooferment “food banks”!

Private charities do a far more effective and efficient job.

When you feed stray cats, you get more of them.

We should be helping people enable themselves to take of themselves. Families should be helping. Churches and Associations should be helping.

Everybody, but the Gooferment. They are structurally unable to help!

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Dec-07 @ 19:29

EVLYNN: Got a lesson from the Universe today

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

In feeling blue about Frau Reinke’s passing …

… today, the Universe delivered a lesson. I saw a man feeding his wife a hot dog. She was confined to a wheelchair and shook uncontrollably. Obviously in the late stages of Parkinson’s. She was obviously totally dependent on him for her care. And, he was lovingly and diligently feeding her. (Give him a lot of credit.)

So that was my lesson!

Frau Reinke would have been crazed to be like that. And, it would have been infinitely harder work for me to do that for her. (I would have but it would have been a lot harder and emotional for both of us.

So the Universe said today, “It could have been a lot worse for both of you.”

And showed me.

I’m glad she didn’t have to suffer like that.

And, I’m “fine as silk”. :-(

# – # – # – # – #