The Sunshine State

What does Florida have that Ohio doesn't other than hurricanes and low taxes?

"It's a good question, because according to our former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, 250 Ohio refugees flee to Florida every day. Unless we block I-75 with border-patrol checkpoints and armed guards, Ohio will continue to have five cities in the top 30 for population loss.

Here are a few things Ohio has that Florida does not have: An income tax. An inheritance tax. A gift tax."

Peter Bronson: Migration to Fla. not just for spring break

Ohio Minimum Wage

Well the Ohio minimum wage is kicking in and guess what, companies have to raise their prices to accommodate the increased labor cost.

Here's what a young couple making minimum wage had to say about the increase in their wages.

James Nelson and Sara Prather, a young, engaged couple with two small children, live with her grandmother in West Chester. They're trying to save money for their wedding and a home.

Nelson, 22, works as a mechanic and Prather stays at home taking care of Lillian, 2, and Jayden, 6 months, because day care costs more than any part-time job brings in. Their finances are so tight they've decided they couldn't afford a cell phone.

Even though Nelson made more than minimum wage before, the rate increased above his old pay level, which meant he also got a raise from $6.45 to $7 an hour, or an extra $20 a week.

Prather, 20, outside a Frisch's restaurant in Bellevue where menu prices increased, said it seems like their money is being taken away just as they were about to get a little ahead.

"This is the only restaurant we can go to and not spend an arm and a leg," she said.

So congratulations all you minimum wage do gooders, you succeeded in helping the working poor continue to tread water.

Sex Ed

Ted Strickland has announced that he will be cutting abstinence only sex education as part of his budget.

As a libertarian, I have no qualms about cutting anything in education. Teachers have enough problems teaching the three r's, I wouldn't be adding the additional burden of teaching social health issues on them, especially when it's such a personal subject for so many.

However, I do find the hypocrisy for liberals on this issue amazing. Liberals are out front demanding that the public education system teach abstinence from cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, dangerous driving, trans fats, soft drinks, etc. but not sex.

Take this quiz, what are the health consequences of smoking?... potential for emphysema, cancer, cardio-vascular disease, yellow teeth.

Now replace those health costs with the potential for HIV/AIDS, HPV, Hepatitis, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, or unwanted preganices? That's not even counting the mental health costs of ill advised abortions, wrecked relationships, etc.

Now the question..... would you be more or less interested in teaching abstinence from smoking if these were the potential health consequences from smoking?

I'm not naive, kids are going to do things we tell them not to do. Hell, I had more than my share of underage beers and a few joints along the way but that doesn't mean that we can't be straight with kids about how sex can have injurious consequences.

My Mother had a saying that always stuck with me "If you think you're mature enough to have sex, then you're mature enough to be a father and raise a family and it won't be in this house." That went right along with "If you're mature enough to drink and drive, you're mature enough to figure out how to get out of jail because I won't be doing it."

The point being, we don't teach our youth that with mature freedoms come mature responsibilities. Actually, more than half the adult population hasn't even figured it out yet.

It occurs to me that the reason so many people don't want children taught sexual abstinence is because they don't want to model it. It's just too cool to go bareback with a stranger.

Socialist Republic of PA

The one nice thing about living in the corrupt socialist state of Ohio is a that we're are at least surrounded by other corrupt socialist states.

I do work for a nationally recognized restaurant chain and yesterday in a conference call we were informed that the state of Pennsylvania is now seizing the proceeds from unused gift cards.

Now for those that may not know, most states have programs for collecting proceeds on things like uncashed paychecks, dormant bank accounts, rent deposits etc. Usually when the state receives this money they attempt to forward it to the actual beneficiary.

What makes this money grab so ridiculous is that vendors have no idea who is owed this money. As a result, the state just seizes the cash for themselves. In the case of one restaurant, we are talking about $10,000/year.

How can a state justify this arbitrary money grab. The same way it justifies taking some of your wages to pay for someone's food stamps or the same way they take your home to build an office building.

Florida, here I come.

Quote of the Day

"Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."

Ronald Reagan

How to keep a newspaper dry

To local Enquirer delivery persons, especially those in the Loveland area:

When it rains, I notice that you often "double bag" the newspaper in an attempt to keep it dry. I don't consider myself a newspaper bagging expert but it would seem to me that just putting the paper in two bags does very little to actually keep the paper dry since the tops of the bags are open.

May I suggest the following solution...
Place the paper in the first bag, then slide it into the second bag so that the opening of the first bag is at the BOTTOM of the second bag. I guarantee this will keep the entire paper dry and readable.

The Enemy

It's important to consider (between American Idol and CSI episodes) the evil that America is fighting in Iraq and other parts of the world. It's so easy to forget what the enemy is really all about and how important it is for them to be defeated.

"Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero, deputy director for regional operations on the Joint Staff, said . . . the vehicle used in the attack [on Iraqi civilians] was waved through a U.S. military checkpoint because two children were visible in the back seat. He said this was the first reported use of children in a car bombing in Baghdad. 'Children in the back seat lowered suspicion, (so) we let it move through, they parked the vehicle, the adults run out and detonate it with the children in the back,' Barbero told reporters in Washington."

These same "insurgents" routinely blow up children who line up to receive candy from U.S. troops. Likewise, college students are targeted for death, as are men lining up to apply for civilian jobs, men and women attending mosques, physicians in hospitals, and so on. The more innocent the Iraqi, the more likely he or she is to be targeted for murder. "

Dennis Prager: New Form of Evil Is Why America Has Not Won Iraq War

Who really pays?

Gordon has covered this topic many times, but it's worth repeating. It takes a long time for truth to get into thick heads.

"It's a matter of faith for some that tax cuts and government spending help the rich, while leaving crumbs for the poor. But as with most conventional wisdom, nothing could be further from the truth.

Now here's the reality: The rich are being taxed at ever-higher levels, while more workers at the bottom of the income ladder are paying no taxes at all. As for spending, resources flowing to those at the bottom far outstrip those flowing to those at the top."

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY: Who Really Pays?

Welcome Back Midas

Welcome back Midas. While he was basking in the glorious FL sun, I was back here slaving away getting a fluorescent light burn speaking the truth into the naive brains of liberals.

Government Run Health Care

It just amazes me that many of the politician criticizing the situation at Walter Reed Medical Center are the same ones that want to federalize our health care.

Q.O.T.D.

Today I ran into a dandy quote by John R. Noe:

"A person doesn't become old until his regrets take the place of his dreams."

If that's true, I figure I'm about 75 in "regret" years.

How Modern Liberals Think

I don't know that I have ever seen a presentation as powerful as this one by Evan Sayet at the Heritage Foundation.

No one lays why liberals demean America like Sayet does in this speech.

Bad Calls

I'm traveling Saturday, listening to the OSU-Memphis game on the radio when I hear Paul Keels, OSU play by play announcer blasting the officials for the bad call at the end of the Georgetown - Vandy game.

At first I'm thinking what relevance does that play have on this game? But then I got to thinking that Paul must have been trying to explain how teams must be advancing in tournament play because of bad calls.

Yeah Paul, Xavier fans know how that feels. Like when a 7' center, who looks like Moses Malone intentionally fouls your guy and the refs don't call it.

You may have even seen the play.