"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators."~ P.J. O'Rourke, Author, humorist & satirist

It's Monday, December 15, 2014, and I say let the astuteness come out from behind curtain number three! Picking up where I left off the other day, here's the interesting takeaway from that particular hearing I watched. You have a Harvard professor carrying the distinction of a doctorate who is touted for his expertise in all matters pertaining to the healthcare design, economics, and implementation. His credentials include having helped design and implement the State of Massachusetts healthcare plan. He is a professor at Harvard which means he, without question, has high academic capabilities. He has enough experience and expertise that he was paid an estimated $2.5 million by the Federal Government along with nine states that contracted his services. The majority of those states used federal grants to pay him and that means you and I along with all federal taxpayers in the country paid his salary. When asked about all of this, the professor suddenly sees himself as being naive, unqualified, and lacking the intelligence to have spoken about things that became embarrassing to the President and his administration, and generally he more or less confessed to not being so bright when it comes to handling matters like this. Okay. Here's all I am going to say and then I promise to move on down the road. This man was under oath but yet he was compelled to offer an apology for giving all the inside information about how the dumb American public was tricked and basically duped into having to deal with this massive healthcare law. We were too dumb to deal with the truth, therefore, they had to make us believe lies in order to keep everyone quiet. However, we were not too dumb for him and countless others to feed their money grubbing appetites at the taxpayer funded feeding trough. You make your own decision but don't complain that I didn't do my best to let you know what was going on. As they say, just sayin'!

You've heard me talk about our 1976 move into the area where we continue to live. It was a wonderfully under-developed area and it had the look and feel of country living. I'm all for progress and believe me the Woodlands-Spring area has blown all predictions off the map. During our nearly 40 years here, this explosive growth has made it impossible for those charged with implementing infrastructure to even come close to keeping up. The result? We saw it on the news the other day. A rather insignificant intersection that most likely did not even exist when we came to this area now sees 45,000 cars per day. After the holidays they will begin construction of an overpass to try to alleviate some of the congestion at this spot. The news report included interviews with people who have witnessed this phenomenal expansion in homes, people, businesses, and traffic. While most people are pleased that the area has remained popular for all these years, everyone groaned as they talked about trying to get from one place to another. I do have my own solution when I can make it happen. When you get to your home, stay there. But, that's just me.

I get my fair share of up close and personal contact with the traffic jams that clog everything up. But, not in my morning commute. While there's more folks milling around at 3:30 a.m. than you might think, it's pretty much clear sailing for my 30 minute drive into work. Except for the varmints that are also trying to keep their little part of the real estate. I don't know too much about skunk behavior but I do know at the present time they are very active. I also know they stink like all get out. What's that? You would rather sit in traffic than to get up early? I know an intersection that has your name on it. Here's my take: Even with the deer, opossum, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and the occasional coyote, I would much rather play dodge ball with them than with all of those jacked up pick-up trucks and fast moving cars. Again, that's just me. Maybe you've got a better handle on things. If so, I commend you. Now it's past time for me to say goodnight Gracie, so I will do just that. Take care and may God bless each one. Amen.   .....More later.