TIME TO LET HER GO

Let's add things up.  Nineteen Florida State Judges, the Florida Legislature, the Congress of the United States, one Federal District Court judge, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, three trips to the U.S. Supreme Court ... all leading to the same result.  Terri Schiavo's wishes should be honored and her body should not be kept functioning through extraordinary means long after the soul who was Terri Schiavo died.  This should be the end of it.  Terri should be allowed to pass on.  Her life was over 15 years ago, all that has remained is core body functions. 

This same scenario is taking place in many places other than Pinellas County, Florida today.  Feeding tubes are being withdrawn, hydration is being withheld and ventilators are being turned off.  The big difference is that in most cases the families of the dying understand the nature of their loved ones condition and are not operating under some delusion that their family member might one day hop out of their hospital bed and ask to be taken to the mall.  You're known by the company you keep.  Randall Terry is the principal spokesman for Terri's parents.  They, and their daughter, have been figuratively abducted by the anti-abortion so-called "right to life" crowd.  They just can't see that they're being used to further an agenda completely apart from the fate of Terri Schiavo.  Fortunately, the courts can.

The hate mail keeps pouring in.  So what else is new.  We'll share some with you on the air today.

THE 16-YEAR-OLD GUNMAN

Does anybody else find it odd that the media is continually referring to the 16-year-old teenage killer in Minnesota as a "gunman?"  The left tells us that teenagers who kill shouldn't be tried as adults and executed, but they have no problem referring to him as a man in the news coverage.  Just an intemperate observation.  Fortunately this kid took care of the capital punishment thing on his own.

Details continue to pour in about this kid's background and his upbringing.  He lived with his grandparents, with his father having committed suicide and his mother in a nursing home because of a car accident.  Apparently he took an interest in Nazism, though he had no real idea what Nazism really was. [Here's the Google cache of some posts that may have been made by him in a Nazi forum.] He wore a black trench coat and talked a lot about death.  For some reason we don't know, he had been kicked out of school and was being taught at home.  A real peach.

The pity party has already begun.  We're told that this kid went on a killing spree because of a rough childhood.  What about the vast majority of children with rough childhoods that don't go on shooting sprees?  Evidently they're just an anomaly. Remember, when it comes to liberals, this teenager just cannot have been an evil psychopath.  There must be something in his environment, his childhood to lay blame upon.

Oh, and by the way....do we know whether or not little Jeff Weise was doped up on Ritalin or some other psychotropic drug,  like the Columbine shooters were?  Just wondering.

SUPPORT FOR PERSONAL ACCOUNTS DROPS

Bad news today for those working tirelessly to feed the Gimme Generation....it's looking less and less like you're going to get your own private Social Security account.  In a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 909 adults, only 40% approved of President Bush's proposal for private accounts.

Amazingly enough, the scare tactics of the AARP and the Democrats are working.  People are believing the lies that there is a trust fund, that George Bush wants to destroy Social Security and that they'll get more from regular Social Security than if a portion of it is invested.  Again, those are all lies.

We have government schools to thank for people's ignorance about simple economics.  They would rather accept a broken government program with no guarantee of benefits than a private account that will provide them with exponentially higher returns.  It's too bad that the liars on the left are going to win this battle.

As the saying goes, people get the government they deserve.

In the middle of all of this it is important to remember just why Democrats are so anxious to preserve Social Security in its present form.  It is all about control .. and nothing else.  Democrats are constantly looking for a way to tighten their grip on the lives, the futures and the very security of the American people.  People worry about retirement.  That's understandable.  You reach a point in your life when your earning power is limited .. your ability to work more so.  You don't want to be scrounging in dumpsters for your next meal.  At this point in your life freedom means very little.  You've been free.  You made your decisions.  Some worked, some didn't ---  but here you are in your late 60s and your thoughts are much more focused on security than on the freedom to make any more decisions in your life. For many the most important decisions they will be making from that point on  will be which bingo game to go to and what color of scooter they want and when to change the oil in the Buick.  You're old, you're fragile, you're vulnerable, and you're scared.  Security is your main goal.  You want to know where your next meal is coming from, where you're going to sleep tonight and whether or not you're going to be able to see a doctor tomorrow.  Your total focus on security makes you a prime target for politicians.  They know what you want, they know how important it is to you, and they know how easily you can be manipulated. 

Social Security has been a prime vote getter for Democrats for over 50 years.  In virtually every election since the end of World War II Democrats have told these frightened, vulnerable older citizens that if they dare to cast a vote for the Republicans they will lose their Social Security benefits.  These frightened old people look at losing Social Security benefits as something tantamount to death.  The lies of the Democrats are heeded .. and senior citizens become one of the most dependable Democratic voting groups out there.

But what happens with private accounts?  When politicians control your Social Security checks,  threats of having those checks taken away or reduced carry great weight.  But what if those checks are coming from an account you own?  An account you control, not the government?  If the politicians don't have full control over your retirement accounts, how can they threaten you with its removal?  The Democrats will say "Vote for a Republican and you're going to lose your Social Security."  You think: "You idiot!  I own the account!  How am I going to lose it?"

The solution for Democrats?  Make damn sure that you never own your own Social Security accounts.  They can't allow even a small part of your Social Security benefits to come from an account you own.  Today, 30%.  Next year, 50%.  The next thing you know you're counting on yourself for your retirement, not on the government.  Bad news for Democrats.

But .. the idea seems to be dead for now.  Dead because Americans, especially older Americans, are no longer in love with freedom and personal economic liberty.  Security.  That's the deal.

FRANCE DROPS THE 35-HOUR WORK WEEK

French lawmakers abolished the 35-hour work week yesterday.  They passed a bill allowing employers to increase working hours an additional 220 hours a year, which puts the new work week closer to 40 hours.  The former Socialist government had swept into power with the 35-hour work week policy, and what happened as a result should come as no surprise.

Working only 35  hours per week, France was not competitive.  Unemployment is high there...10.1 percent.  But wait...by reducing the work week, that was supposed to create millions of jobs! It did not.  Just like raising the minimum wage here, manipulating the market did not produce the intended result.

Besides, anyone who only works 40 hours, much less 35, is not going to be particularly successful in life.  Hard work is how you get ahead in this world, and that includes working a lot....not sitting around bashing America and eating buttered snails. 

You do have to pity the French, though.....with a longer work week, they're probably going to have to shower more than twice a month now.

Yikes.  Did I really say that?

OK .. SO THIS IS STRICTLY LOCAL ....

... but it's been about 10 days now since someone did some sidewalk repair work in front of 2299 Peachtree Rd.  Ten days, or more, and STILL they have a lane of Peachtree Road traffic blocked off with flashing signs and orange cones.  What the hell?  Are the people who built that Aramore thing just moving their endless roadblock down the street a ways? 

AND IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK ....

... like were going to have to revisit how we treat sexual offenders ... especially those who prey on minors.  How many of you are ready to adopt a policy that anyone who preys on a child for sexual purposes goes to jail .. and stays there until the day they die.  This Jessica Lunsford case really tears me up.  I'd like to kill that bastard myself. 

Are there sex offenders in your neighborhood? Find out here.

Sometimes Neal refers to spending some of his early years in the town of Thrall, Texas. Listener Suellen recently drove through in the hopes of finding a statue of the Talkmaster on the town square. Sadly, such a monument has not yet been erected so she had to settle for a snapshot in front of the Thrall Volunteer Fire Department.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

The FEC is being asked to reign  in blogs.  Or, as The Wall Street Journal puts it, "Now the FEC is being asked to censor another segment of society, the millions of individuals who engage in political activity online." That would include Nealz Nuze.  Isn't it wonderful living in a country where free speech is so protected!

Claudia Rosett takes on Kofi "The Korrput" Annan as Kofi takes aim on your pocketbook.  Wake up folks.  There's other things going on besides Terri Schiavo and steroids in Baseball.

A new movie coming out chronicles the rise and fall of 'Air America,' the liberal talk radio network featuring host Al Franken.  This could be the best reason to get HBO since the Sopranos.

Al Sharpton is taking on the culture of violence in the hip hop industry...all of which seems like a noble cause.  Except what's this bit about bringing in the FCC?  That's a bad idea, Al.

Baghdad shopkeepers are striking back at the anti-Democracy Islamic terrorists.  They pulled out their own guns and sent three insurgents to see Allah who were shooting at passers-by.  Nice to see the right to bear arms works even in the Muslim world.

Dan Rather's legacy continues to shine....this time it is revealed that a Clinton administration. lawyer stage-managed Dan's interview with Elian Gonzalez's father when all of that was going on.  If that doesn't show a conflict of interest, I don't know what does.

Illegal immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area are protesting the law that keeps them from getting driver's licenses.  That's right....illegal, as in against the law....aliens.  Why not just go right down to that rally, arrest them all and deport them?

The Euro-weenies are now doing their best to deny that President Bush was right about democracy in the Middle East, and are coming up with the most ridiculous excuses.  Ralph Peters reports.

Will Hillary Clinton run for a second term in the U.S. Senate in 2006?  Some people think so, because they say trying to occupy her Senate seat while running for president could complicate things.  John Podhoretz takes a look at the situation.

The media continues to spin out of control with their reporting of gas prices.  As usual, liberal bias abounds....and The Media Research Center is there to bring you a full report.

Congress is once again trying to raise the minimum wage.....but is this a good idea?  Absolutely not, explains Walter E. Williams, who tells us the minimum wage is a job-killing waste of time.

Renowned Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky credits Ronald Reagan's "evil empire" speech with giving him hope while he was imprisoned in a Soviet gulag.  Diana West says we're now facing a new evil empire....Islamic terrorism.

I know you all want that audio of the guy leaving a voicemail and describing 4 old ladies beating up a man who hit their car. How can you get it? Sign up for the Boortz Blast newsletter. Thursday's issue will include the audio.

Pet store owner reports image of Satan on a red-eared slider turtle.

WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE POINTY HAND THINGS?
These are links to each individual story on the Nuze, p-links for the geeks out there. Plus, they work today and they'll work tomorrow. Now you can easily discuss/debate/rip apart the Nuze without worrying about the links going bad. Enjoy!

BOORTZ BLAST NEWSLETTER
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NEAL'S FANS GET TOGETHER
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• Talkmaster Yahoo Group
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