Santa and Baby Jesus

We went looking at Christmas lights yesterday after mass. We saw some Santas, some snowmen, and after we passed a nativity set, Ella became instantly fascinated by Baby Jeezy. Now Stacy is at Target trying to find some Baby Jeezy books for bedtime.

Him too??

When I had just gotten used to the idea of President Obama, I read this headline:

"US must halt spread of nuclear, bio weapons - Biden"

Eegads!! Joe Biden? I had done so well having forgotten all about him! That will take a LOT of getting used to.

Ella Ella Ella

I just did a search on my blog, and I only mentioned Ella in my posts three times this year! How about that. Well, we can fix those averages...Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella Ella.

I guess they got the message...

Remember when I was yelling at Nebraska's governor and state legislature to get their heads screwed on straight and call a special session to undo their misguided compassion? Good thing they're regular readers of The Edwells.

11-year-old Florida boy is 31st Nebraska 'safe haven' case

By ANNA JO BRATTON

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An 11-year-old Florida boy was abandoned at a Nebraska hospital Wednesday, just days before lawmakers meet to change the much-criticized "safe haven" law.

The boy is the 31st child abandoned since the law took effect in July. It was intended to protect unwanted newborns from being abandoned but doesn't set any age limit.

Todd Landry, director of children and family services for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the boy's father left him at Boys Town National Research Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

The boy is from Miami-Dade County, but officials didn't immediately say whether the family had a connection to Nebraska. The department has contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The Legislature opens a special session on Friday to fix the law (a little ahead of the Governor's January timeline!!). Most legislators have already agreed to add an age limit of 3 days, which would change Nebraska's law from the most lenient to one of the strictest in the nation.

The revised safe-haven law could take effect as early as next week if senators pass it with an emergency clause and the governor signs it right away.

The value of good SCOTUS justices

US Supreme Court OKs Navy's sonar use

"The public interest in conducting training exercises with active sonar under realistic conditions plainly outweighs" the concerns voiced by environmentalists, Roberts said, speaking for a five-justice majority. This "does not strike us as a close question," he added.

Your loss

Apparently America doesn't read my blog. Your loss...lots of good stuff here. Now, more pictures of Ella.

Finally, a plan for myself

I think the plan now is that I will continue my schooling towards my MSN, I already have a few classes out of the way, but in addition, I will jointly pursue an MBA. Cleveland State has an MSN/MBA program, and the Clinic will reimburse $7500/year in graduate level tuition. I recently and had a talk with my boss's boss after she found out that I was elected vice-chair of the Nursing electronic medical records committee. After learning of my desire to get into administration, she very stongly encouraged me to pursue the MSN/MBA, and gave me that motivating kick in the pants that I needed.

So if you need me for the next five years...you should have asked me when I was still in Brecksville. And in five years? You can ask my personal secretary...or my butler.

Obama and the Tax Tipping Point

By ADAM LERRICK

In 2006, the latest year for which we have Census data, 220 million Americans were eligible to vote and 89 million -- 40% -- paid no income taxes. According to the Tax Policy Center (a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute), this will jump to 49% when Mr. Obama's cash credits remove 18 million more voters from the tax rolls. What's more, there are an additional 24 million taxpayers (11% of the electorate) who will pay a minimal amount of income taxes -- less than 5% of their income and less than $1,000 annually.

In all, three out of every five voters will pay little or nothing in income taxes under Mr. Obama's plans and gain when taxes rise on the 40% that already pays 95% of income tax revenues.

The plunder that the Democrats plan to extract from the "very rich" -- the 5% that earn more than $250,000 and who already pay 60% of the federal income tax bill -- will never stretch to cover the expansive programs Mr. Obama promises.

What next? A core group of Obama enthusiasts -- those educated professionals who applaud the "fairness" of their candidate's tax plans -- will soon see their $100,000-$150,000 incomes targeted. As entitlements expand and a self-interested majority votes, the higher tax brackets will kick in at lower levels down the ladder, all the way to households with a $75,000 income.

Calculating how far society's top earners can be pushed before they stop (or cut back on) producing is difficult. But the incentives are easy to see. Voters who benefit from government programs will push for higher tax rates on higher earners -- at least until those who power the economy and create jobs and wealth stop working, stop investing, or move out of the country.

Tomorrow's children may come to question why their parents sold their birthright for a mess of "fairness" -- whatever that will signify when jobs are scarce and American opportunity is no longer the envy of the world.

Mr. Lerrick is a professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Every vote counts

After seeing McCain-Palin yard signs selectively targeted for vandalism on my drive through Broadview Heights and Seven Hills, I chose to drive my Absentee Ballot to a blue mailbox. I had real concerns that the mail carrier, after seeing my yard signs, might misplace my ballot before it reaches its destination. To be fair though, I'd probably feel the same way if I had Obama signs in my yard. Either way, I feel much better now.

Making Dough

Barack Obama is tired of "Trickle Down Economics." It's tried and failed. So instead, he's proposing "Trickle Up Poverty." Better that we all be poorer than there be some rich and some poor.

That's why he wants to "spread the wealth around." I don't appreciate him buying your vote with my money.

Robinhood was a thief.


From US News & World Report:
July 25, 2008:
Presidential candidates, please focus on this: A Gallup Poll found that Americans overwhelmingly—by 84 percent to 13 percent—prefer that the "government focus on improving overall economic conditions and the jobs situation in the United States as opposed to taking steps to distribute wealth more evenly among Americans."

What would you have said in July? Did that change when Obama proposed wealth redistribution to Joe the Plumber? Be honest with yourself.