We Can Always Count On Ron To Tickle Our Fancy

Thanks to Ron Hanks for this one:

I was walking past the mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were shouting, ‘13…13….13…13.’

The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks and looked through to see what was going on.

Some idiot poked me in the eye with a stick.

Then they all started shouting. ‘14…14…14…14….’.

Is This The System Our Founders Envisioned?

We all occasionally get those forwarded chain-letters, but seldom do they make as much sense as this one. (Thanks to Ron Hanks.)

I have been stomping on this stump for years and it seems no one wants to listen.

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices — 545 human beings out of the 300 million — are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it’s because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses — provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

A New Message From Ron

Hey, all of you Weston-Wabash retirees:  Do you know what’s the worst thing about retirement?  The answer is—–You never get a day  off.  But that’s okay with me because I don’t want a day off……………….I confess that this is my second  attempt to see if ol’ computer dumb me can input direct to Boxsite rather than go thru the editor, Steve Albin.  So I beg you to indulge me with the perhaps not-so-funny-questions/jokes such as the above as I practice.  I am 77 years of age but got my first computer (thanks to my family) when I moved to Indianapolis only 2 1/2 years ago.  I took a computer course, Computers For Savvy Seniors, but about all I learned was to not to be afraid of computers; keep trying.  And so I do.  And I warn you now:  I may continue to pester you all to SEND IN NEWS.  Boxsite is special.  And so  is Steve Albin for causing this whole thing to happen.

Ron Hanks

How About Some Help With The Pictures?

Hey, everybody — don’t know how often you click on the thing at the right that says “More Photos” but if you do, it will take you to the site with all the Boxsite’s photos (and I’m adding to them all the time). I’ve also numbered each picture underneath and identified - by first name only - who it is.

But here’s the thing — my memory is like Swiss cheese, and sometimes I just can’t think of a name even though I remember the person well. Drives me nuts. So I thought maybe some of our readers could help.

If you see a picture that has no name under it - or the wrong name - just send me the picture number and the name. (Again, just first name only - let’s keep some anonymity.)

You can do it by sending me an email, or just use the “comments” space below this post. Note: if you don’t see a space, click on the “no comments” and it will appear. It’s easy and you don’t even have to identify yourself if you don’t want to.

How about it?

A Few Words From Ron Hanks

Excerpts from a recent email. He makes some good points.

When I first learned that there is such a thing as Boxsite I immediately logged on and spent quite a bit of time pulling up all the news available.  I was delighted.  I’ve watched some of it two and three times.  But I’m both surprised and disappointed—-surprised and disappointed that there is not much input.  I look forward to hearing about people, even people that I may not know other than their name.  I think Boxsite is a masterpiece of an idea, an easy and a convenient means, for both old and young Weston/Wabash friends to stay in touch.  Perhaps we all should vow to take advantage of it, and to use it more often……….Ron

Some Helpful Advice From Harley

Our thanks to old buddy Harley Bennet, for sending in some advice about gas and the high prices we all face at the pumps. (It’s in the form of a chain letter.) Comments can be left at the bottom.

THIS IS NOT THE ‘DON’T BUY’ GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT  WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO  $1.30 PER GALLON.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive.  It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton.  If you are tired of the gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the “don’t buy gas on a certain day”  campaign that was going around last April or May!
It’s worth your consideration.  Join the resistance!!!!

I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!!It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can Really work.  Please read on and join with us!Now that the oil com panies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace…not sellers.The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit s someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas!  And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.How?  Since we all rely on our cars, we can’t just stop buying gas.But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here’s the idea: For the rest of this year, DON’T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices.   If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers.

I am sending this note to 30 people.  If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ..  and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)…and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people.  That’s all!

How long would all that take?  If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!

Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on.  I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN.  THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

A Message From Our Favorite Bee-Keeper

It was nice to hear from Lisa (Lowe) Yowell, and find out what she’s been up to. She also sent along some pictures, which you can see over on the right side===>

(Remember, everybody — you too can send in pictures to have posted.)

Frank Hires came in the shop today and told me your website was still up. I thought you had closed it. I can’t believe how young we all looked. I see Brenda and Michel sometimes, but not very many others of the old crowd.

An update on my life (as it is…)

I am still working at Clabber Girl and my husband works out of town all week. We only see each other on the weekends and in the summer, we are both busy with our hobbies. He races motocross - he seems to forget he’s not young anymore. When he was 19 - 20’s he raced professionally until he broke his back.

I have been beekeeping for the past 4 years. People think I’m strange, but that’s nothing new! I am on the board of directors of our state beekeeping association and also I head the young beekeeper’s program. It’s really a fascinating hobby and I like working with the young kids. I also judge the 4-H honey. I’ll send some pictures next time of the bees.

My mom had a stroke about a year ago and she never really recovered fully. She was living with us, but is back home now. I spend a lot of time with her and take her places & take care of her medical stuff.

I guess that’s about it. Pretty simple life, but that’s the way it goes when you get older!

Lisa Lowe Yowell

IP Gets Bigger

News item from Indianapolis Star:

Weyerhaeuser Co. agreed to sell its containerboard, packaging and recycling business to peer International Paper Co. for $6 billion cash, the companies said today. The deal includes 72 packaging locations, including Indiana sites Butler and Indianapolis, and 10 specialty packaging plants, including one in Indianapolis. Weyerhaeuser, based in Federal Way, Wash., said it would use the proceeds from the sale largely to reduce debt. The company had said last May that it would assess strategic alternatives for the business, according to Dow Jones’ Marketwatch. Today’s sale affects 14,300 employees, according to a news release.

My Trip To The Doctor

I thought readers might get a “kick” about how my last visit to the doctor went.

Watch For Those New Photos!

Just a reminder that new pictures will appear in the sidebar from time to time, so you really should check this website once in a while. Who knows, you might see yourself!

(In fact, if anyone has any digital pictures they’d like posted, send ‘em along.)