SO LONG DAN RATHER

Well .. it sure makes me wonder what my co-workers are going to say when I finish my talk radio career and fly away.  Will Belinda and Royal finally feel free to say what they really think?  Many of Dan Rather's CBS colleagues, including the God of all Anchors, Walter Cronkite, are saying some pretty ugly things about Gunga Dan.  Cronkite has expressed his surprise that CBS kept Rather on as long as they did, considering his miserable ratings over most of his tenure.  I wonder what pigeons will come home to roost when I hit the road.

Anyway .. I am sure those of you reading the Nuze will get all choked up and be holding back tears tonight when Dan Rather steps down as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Just remember, this wasn't his choice. Rather was fired. He likes to go around saying he is "changing jobs," but he fails to mention that his job was changed for him.

This brings to a close a 24-year career behind the anchor desk of Republican-bashing, liberal bias, Bush-bashing and outright yellow journalism. Good riddance. Of course, if you can't get enough Dan, you can always catch the hour-long Dan Rather special tonight at 8 o'clock on CBS. Between 'Lost' on ABC and 'That 70's Show' on Fox, it looks like Dan will wind up in third place in the ratings. Then again, Dan will feel right at home, since that's where he's been for the last 10 years.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

THE PRICE OF GASOLINE

Gas prices are on the way up.  Look for over two bucks a gallon for most of your Spring and Summer driving.  The problem here is not that the world's supply of oil is running short.  The problem is that the supply is undependable.  Every time Islamic goons blow up an oil pipeline in Iraq you see a spike in oil prices.  Add the terrorism problem to the fact that we don't have enough refining capacity .. and you have expensive gas.  

How many years has it been since an oil refinery was built in the United States?  I think that it's been over 25 years. Can't you imagine that this is having some affect on getting gas to the pumps for your Summer driving?  And then there's all those special blends.  We have about 55 different blends for different parts of the country .. all demanded by the eco-whacko crowd.  The refineries can't keep up. 

Who to blame?  How about environmentalists?  Any plan to build a new refinery is immediately met by a tidal wave of opposition from so-called "environmental" groups.  Ditto for any suggestion that we start retrieving the supplies of crude oil and natural gas from the Gulf shore of Florida and the Pacific coast.  No can do, the environmentalists don't like it.  Then, of course, there's ANWR.  On its best days ANWR looks like a vacant urban lot.  Most of the time it looks like an iced-over K-Mart parking lot.  There's oil there, but we can't get to it.  Again .. blame the environmentalists.  

What about nuclear power plants?  Environmentalists again.  

Remember, for many of the so-called environmentalists, the goal isn't protecting the environment.  The real goal is weakening America.  The environmental movement became the refuge-of-choice for socialists and communists who had nowhere else to go after the fall of the Soviet Union and the worldwide communist movement.  Here they found a movement they could use to further their goals of weakening capitalism and the American economy ... and anyone who dares to challenge them is branded as a wicked capitalist who wants dirty air and water.

When you fill up your tanks for your trip to grandmas, remember to thank your friendly local environmentalist groups for their help.

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS ON LIFE SUPPORT

Republican pollsters delivered the news to House GOP leaders yesterday, and it wasn't good: allowing younger workers to have personal retirement accounts with some of their Social Security money is very unpopular. What could be the reasons for this? Let's whip up a quick list, shall we?

1.) The AARP, one of the most powerful and influential liberal lobbying groups, is very effective at scaring old people, none of whom would have any reduction in benefits under the Bush plan.  The AARP declared war on young Americans ... and seems to have won by default.

2.) The AARP is committed to the economic destruction of the working class. They don't care how much money needs to be confiscated in order to benefit their membership.

3.) Most younger workers were educated in government schools. This means they have been programmed by the state not to see the benefits of privately invested retirement accounts, not to mention the fact that they're economically brain-dead.

4.) Most younger workers are too busy being obsessed with our celebrity-worshiping culture, video games, "bling," and watching "Pimp My Ride" to care about their future.

So what needs to be done here? The Republican party, and President Bush in particular, needs to get out there and fight for the plan. Where are the ads on TV? Why isn't the president making speeches about it? If it were properly explained, more people would be for it. The GOP has a marketing problem.

The polling also disclosed that voters had no problem raising the income threshold on Social Security taxes. In other words, most people would rather screw the rich than invest their own money.

What country do we live in again?

JUST MORE RICH PEOPLE TO HATE

We're in bad economic times, right?  Aren't the Democrats telling us day after day that our economy is a disaster?  Doesn't seem that way in the Southeast.  The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that wealth in Atlanta is booming.  The number of families with at least $1,000,000 in investable assets is going to grow by over 66%.  This is really good news for losers.  Now, at least in Atlanta, failures will have 66% more people to be jealous of, and 66% more people to hate.

Do you think I'm exaggerating this situation?  Sorry, I don't agree.  I think a case could be made that the number one emotion driving the political thoughts of the majority of the American people is pure, raw, unadulterated envy.  Envy of the rich is really a defense mechanism.  If you actually admire the wealthy and if you acknowledge that they got there through hard work, good decision making and perseverance, then you find yourself in a position where you have to take personal responsibility for your own economic status.  You'll have to question your own choices and your willingness to make sacrifices and work as hard as it takes for you to actually become wealthy.   Too many people, perhaps a majority, find it much easier to deride the rich.  Cast them as evil and crooked.  Convince yourself that they got where they are by exploiting others and with the help of their crooked lawyers.   This gives you a god excuse for your lack of financial success.  At least you're not crooked, right?  At least you didn't climb over other people to get to the top.  There .. now you feel so much better.

I found something interesting during my research for the book that Congressman John Linder and I are writing on The Fair Tax.  In writing the chapter on the history of the income tax I discovered that to some extent we have the American penchant for wealth envy to thank for our current tax system.  The promoters of the income tax in Washington promised Americans that the tax would only be applied to the rich.  The 16th Amendment  was eventually ratified because Southern and Western states were convinced that their citizens wouldn't have to pay ... the entire burden would be on the wealthy Northeast states.  

Oh well .. hating those who succeed is so much easier than doing what it takes to succeed on your own, doesn't it?

DID I HEAR AL SHARPTON RIGHT?

Is Sharpton really admitting that the so-called Hip Hop Culture has a legacy of violence?  Now how long have I been telling you this?  You may not like country music, bt at least you don't see country music camps shooting it out with one another ... and believe me, those guys have guns.  Just look in those racks on their pickups!

Well, Al Sharpton has it right.  The Hip Hop culture is a culture of violence.   It's a culture of violence, anti-achievement, disrespect of women and predatory sex.  But the solution is not, as Reverend Al suggests, banning "artists" from the airwaves who use or glorify violence to settle their petty disputes.    Sharpton actually has a point here.  If your a basketball player who gets into a fight with fans, you could be suspended from play in the next few games.  Why not some suspension from airplay for rappers who actually engage in violence as part of their act?  This might be a good idea, but only if it's an action voluntarily undertaken by the radio station owners -- not by the government

TEREEZZZAA'S CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Maria Teresa Thierstein Simoes-Ferreira Heinz Kerry, better known as The Poodle's Keeper, has taken off her tinfoil hat long enough to weigh in on why she thinks her hubby lost the 2004 presidential election.

Teresa Heinz (she has now officially dropped the "Kerry" part of her name)  now believes that the election was hacked. Her husband couldn't have possibly lost....there must be a reason! Speaking at a fundraiser in Seattle, she said this: "Two brothers own 80 percent of the machines used in the United States." She said that it is "very easy to hack into the mother machines."

She is referring to Bob and Todd Urosevich, the two top executives at the two biggest companies that make electronic voting machines. These "hard right" Republicans (as Terrreezzzza calls them) are actually Ukrainian immigrants that call themselves conservatives. Remember: when the facts don't support your argument, create a conspiracy.

And what does Mrs. Kerry think of her husband's future prospects? She won't look that far ahead, saying instead "I fear for '06. I don't trust it the way it is right now." Whatever, Teresa. Don't you have a poodle to groom?

READ THIS STUFF

Farrah Gray grew up in a roach infested apartment in Chicago.  He made his first million at 13.  He recently spoke to school children in Naples, Florida.   Gray believes everyone is directly responsible for whom they become, no matter their circumstances. Read his story. You could learn something.

Here is the full transcript of President Bush's excellent speech at the National Defense University.  One thing's for sure: George Bush says what  he means and means what  he says.

Michelle Malkin says the real scandal in the Giuliana Sgrena affair is not that  her car was shot at, but that the Italian government paid off her captors.

Ann Coulter is under fire for calling Helen Thomas "an old Arab."  Democrats are crying racism.  Of course, these same Democrats  have no problem criticizing Jeff Gannon's sexual orientation.  Here is the column in question.

Congress is on the verge of passing a bill that would reform the bankruptcy laws.  Democrats are up in arms. Why? Because now you'll actually have to be bankrupt to declare bankruptcy.

Remember Paul Wolfowitz?  He's the alleged neo-con mastermind who pioneered the notion that people in the Middle East might actually yearn to be free.  David Brooks says it's time to give him his due.

Why does the United States continue to finance Islamofascism by spreading billions in oil money around the Middle East?  Frank Gaffney says it's time to become dependent of foreign oil.

And now for a rousing defense of Libertarianism, brought to you by Daniel McCarthy of The American Conservative.

The shooting at the Italians in Iraq has becoming nothing more than the latest anti-American crusade.   By the way, did you know that  the United States caused the tsunami?   This editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times explains.

The mainstream media is avoiding reporting that Giuliana Sgrena worked for a communist newspaper in Italy.  The Media Research center is there to call them on it.

Who pays the full "contribution" to the Social Security system...the worker or the employee?  Find out in Walter E. Williams column today as he unravels the many lies about the program.

Dan Rather may be done behind the anchor desk at CBS, but he leaves behind a shoddy legacy.  Brent Bozell reports.

How do you get rid of that chatter at work? Use the right body language. What do you do to get rid of chatters? Let us know your favorite method. Use "chatters" in subject so we can find them.

WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE POINTY HAND THINGS?
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