WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2003

THANKS DAYTON

Belinda and I are in Dayton, Ohio this morning broadcasting from our affiliate News Talk 1290 WHIO.  Last night we were at the University of Dayton basketball arena with a crowd of our Dayton listeners raising small amounts of hell and having a pretty great time!  Can you think of a better place to be on the Centennial of powered flight than the home of the Wright Brother?  If there had just been a bit more sand and some more dependable winds around Dayton you probably would have never heard of Kill Devil Hill and Kitty Hawk. Today, if I choose, I can talk about aviation as much as I want .... and I very likely may.

AND YOU THINK GOVERNMENT IS SO GRAND

When the conversation turns to aviation I'm often reminded of this little mind game.  When you have a friend extolling the magnificent virtues of government try this on him  ... or, as would be more likely ... her.  Ask her to try to adopt the mindset of 1900, three years before man first accomplished powered flight.  Tell your friend you will give her a huge cash award if she could develop a plan for accomplishing a particular task.  You will give her four tasks to chose from.  All she has to do is develop a workable plan to accomplish that task.  Money is not an object.  After all, the task is going to be accomplished by government .. and all government has to do is to implement its exclusive ability to use force to accomplish its goals and tax the citizens whatever it will cost.  Remind your friend, though, that she must approach these tasks using the mindset and the knowledge base of 1900.  She just has to present a workable plan showing how to accomplish the task within the 100 years.

OK ... here are the four tasks:

1.  Develop a means by which someone sitting in Dayton, Ohio could sit in their living room and watch an event taking place in London, England as that event is actually taking place ... in color and with sound.

2.  Extend the average life expectancy of the average American citizen by, say, around 35 years or so.

3.  Build a system of hard-surfaced roads from one coast to the other.

4.  Develop a means of transportation whereby you could transport 250 people from New York to Los Angeles in less than five hours.

OK, there you go.  Four challenges.  Using the knowledge and mindset of the average person in America in 1900 come up with a plan to accomplish one of those challenges and the cash is yours.  Which do you chose? 

It's a no-brainer.  You chose number 3.  Most 15-year-olds in 1900 could have developed some sort of a plan to build hard-surfaced roads from coast to coast.  You get a lot of men, a bunch of horses and wagons and a whole mess of concrete and you start working.   If money is not an object, it is no big deal.

Well, precious listeners, it happens that task number three is the only task that was accomplished by government.  The other challenges were met by free people working competitively within our capitalistic, free enterprise system.  And so it is today.  Government blunders through the simple tasks using the tool that government uses best ... force ... while free men and women, driven by the competitive spirit and a system of risk and rewards, work with one another to create the things that our lives fulfilling and truly wonderful.

AND YOU THINK YOUR CELL PHONE BILL IS HIGH

Attention Guinness.  We may have a new record for the most expensive cell phone call in history.

You did see this bit over the weekend, didn't you?  New Orleans Saints receiver Joe Horn took a pass into the end zone for a touchdown.  He then went to the goal post where he had a cell phone hidden under the padding.  He pulled out the cell phone and made a call to his family; one of those "Did you see that?  Huh?  Did you see that?" calls. A team effort leads to a touchdown and there's Horn on the horn pulling that "watch me" nonsense with his family.

Well ... the cell phone bill arrived yesterday, and I can tell you I don't want Horn's friends and family calling plan.  The NFL has fined Horn $30,000 for the stunt.  A memo had already been sent to players warning them of fines for any such antics in the future.  Horn chose to ignore the warning, and now he has a $30,000 tab to pay.  Horn, of course, says he will appeal.  Let's hope the NFL sticks to their guns on this one.  This grandstanding and showboating is getting a bit hard to take.

ALSO ON THE BOORTZ SHOW TODAY

I'm sitting in a hotel room working my notes and boortz.com with a connection slower than a valedictorian at a government high school.  In the time I have left all I can do is give you a taste of some of the other things you'll hear about on the show today:

I still don't think I've done an adequate job of conveying to you how very un-American that Supreme Court decision was last week .... you know, the one that says you can't express your opinions about a political candidate in a newspaper the week before a presidential election, but the newspaper's editorial writer can.

We'll have to say a few things about the full-panic mode of the Jackson family.  Their money source is going to be charged with a felony today.

We also have more stories about government eminent domain abuse.  How about a family losing their family farm .. a farm that's been in the family for almost 50 years ... because a local government wants to build a golf course.

A new study shows that when men find themselves in the company of a very attractive woman their IQ actually goes down.  A group of us proved that last night at a Dayton restaurant.

The Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA says that non-citizens should have the right to vote.  This is a new cause for Democrats my friends ... getting non-citizens, including illegal aliens, to the polls.

And ... Democrats are fond of accusing others of assailing their patriotism.  But, has it ever happened?  Can anyone name one instance in which a leading Republican, including anyone in the Bush White House, has challenged the patriotism of any Democratic presidential candidate?

READING ASSIGNMENTS

And who finally gives the inept United Nations the tongue-lashing it so richly deserves?  The Iraqi foreign minister, that's who.

Pity the poor Democrats.  The capture of Saddam Hussein has lifted the spirits of the American people, who now actually feel better about their own country.  Democrats don't thrive when Americans are feeling good.  The Democratic Party is the party of depression and dismay; the party of misery and gloom. 

Americans are still celebrating the capture of Saddam Hussein.  Hell, almost the entire world is celebrating Saddam's capture.  But Howard Dean? He's worried about bike paths.  Read this one, my friends.  Excellently written.  That's why I used bold type right there.

I've seen many people write on this subject before.  The subject is why do so many people hate George Bush so very much?  The answer, because he is a devoutly religious man; it's because of his religious faith.

How out of touch are the people at Guideposts for Teens? Read their 100 Things to Do With Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend...Instead of IT.

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