Rocky Mountain Straight Talk

by Muriel Sluyter
2 January 2013

America has reached an astonishing and far from enviable state. We have graduated more lawyers than any country could ever need or use. As a result, every time we turn on the TV, we have the great fun of watching law firm advertisements attempting to entice us to sue the pants off everyone we know or with whom we have ever had dealings.

Somewhere within the ad the viewer is assured that he truly deserves money from every firm or individual with which he has had contact. This is designed to whet the viewers’ appetite for money, and lots of it!

Is this really the way the citizens of a great country should think and act?

Does this not turn common, everyday citizens into predators? In my view it does precisely that! It encourages good people to behave in a way that is far from good, far from honorable, even far from decent.

>> Read the rest of the article on News Corner USA

Gun Classifieds is hosting a New Year’s Giveaway and one lucky winner is going to be the proud owner of a brand new DPMS Panther AR15. In other words, Gun Classifieds is leading the way to Beat The Ban and defend our Second Amendment Rights. On January 1, 2013, we’re going to compile all eligible entries and draw a winner.

As we’re sure you’re aware, your right to keep and bear arms is under siege. President Obama is expected to introduce devastating legislature that will attempt to lockdown firearms that many of us hold sacred as safeguards to our way of life. Many believe the nightmare scenario will play out with a knock on the door and a confiscation of your guns.

But in proud celebration of our Second Amendment rights, Gun Classifieds is giving away the symbol of our Freedom. We’re giving away a brand new AR15 . . . a DPMS Panther complete and in the box.

The previous Federal Assault Weapons Ban, signed into effect by Bill Clinton in 1994, expired on September 13, 2004. During the period, it was illegal to manufacture, transfer and import specific firearms that fell into this newly created “assault weapons” category. Cosmetic features defined this category and included” telescoping stock, pistol grip, flash suppressor and bayonet mount. The ban also included any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

The ban became very symbolic to both Gun Control and Gun Rights advocates and after the it expired, several proponents attempted to re-enact similar forms in either the House or the Senate in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. While all of the attempts proved unsuccessful, a renewed effort to ban weapons including the AR15 was sparked by the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Fearful that new legislature could ban the AR15, many consumers rushed to stores to purchase them only to find the rifle sold out at most Utah outlets as current owners became reluctant to part with theirs. With very few available on the market, prices escalated for this very popular rifle and remain well above previous market prices today.

But Gun Classifieds was able to purchase a brand new DPMS Panther model and are using it to promote awareness of their Grand Opening as well as the recent attacks on the Second Amendment through new Assault Rifle legislation.

The owners of Gun Classifieds believe that if banning the weapon can be a powerful symbol for Gun Control, then providing one to a law-abiding citizen can be an equally powerful symbol for Gun Rights.

Here’s what you need to do to be eligible to win:

The winner will be randomly chosen from the list of eligible contestants on January 1, 2013 at 10 pm. We will close the contest at 8:00 P.M. MST to allow time for us to compile and process this data and then select the winner.

Winner must also pass a thorough Background Check and complete a comprehensive Bill of Sale.

No purchase is necessary to participate in this giveaway.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, Please contact Terry Brown 801.420.0687

www.gunclassifiedsutah.com

www.facebook.com/gunclassifiedutah

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Read more stories on www.newscornerusa.com.

Our administration has a fundamental misunderstanding of human nature. They seem to think that, if they speak sweetly and gently to the leaders of countries that hate us, they will cease to threaten us with nuclear extinction. Those with an aggressive nature and a determination to control their fellow humans do not react this way. In fact, such naive, indeed foolish, treatment only makes them more aggressive and dangerous.

Bullies, by their very nature, attack the weak, such as an elderly bus monitor and/or a child with crippling caused by one of those awful diseases to which all humans are vulnerable.

One of my grandsons has been sweet and gentle from birth. He was bullied by some schoolmates for years. Now that he is 6'6" and over 200 pounds of muscle and bone, with coaches salivating over his football future, his schoolmates let him alone. Why? Because he no longer gives off a sense of being an easy victim. To put it precisely, they are afraid to attack him.

Human nature never changes, whether Middle Eastern or Western. Our President is telling our enemies that they have nothing to fear from us. The next step in this drama is for our enemies to attack us, as they have done in Libya and Egypt. Why? They no longer fear the consequences of such an attack, because our President has assured them there will be none.

What a special night my daughters have planned for Utah in celebration of our Savior's birth and Christmas.

You, your family, your friends and co-workers are all invited to join them for Twist & Shout's Christmas Concert 2011. It will be an evening filled with song, dance, and laughter, and even a little emotion as they celebrate the return of Utah soldiers from Iraq. The concert is on December 20th at 7:00 p.m.

American Leadership Academy

898 West 1100 South

Spanish Fork, UT

Did I mention it's FREE for everyone in attendance. So join them as they celebrate Christmas, joined by special guest, Jessie Funk. Jessie has "gone country" with the release of her new CD "Dance in the Rain." You may have heard her songs on the radio as you drive around Utah.

Jessie has released five solo albums, published five books, has toured 36 states with the Broadway musical “Footloose,” performed as an opening act for Donny Osmond, Josh Grayson and Billy Dean and she has toured with Broadway sensation Maureen McGovern. She has also been hired for hundreds of recording sessions as a studio vocalist including songs heard on TV’s “America’s Got Talent” and “The Biggest Loser,”  as well as Donny & Marie Osmond's Las Vegas show.

And, for a little special something extra, Santa Claus will be in attendance after the concert for the kids to sit on his lap, get pictures with him, etc. And you have never seen a Santa like THIS Santa! Pictures will be $10/ea. please bring cash, if you want to take advantage of this opportunity.

And in case that's not enough, the hosts of the new television show Simply Stated will be there shooting footage, interviewing people and highlighting director, Heather Hunt (my daughter) in a special show they are doing on her. In addition, Candace Salima (my daughter) of Turning the Tide with Candace Salima will not only be performing, but shooting footage as well for her show.

So please help them fill every single seat, all 650 of them, because this will be a night to remember and a perfect celebration of Christmas.

You can pop on over to the Twist & Shout Christmas Concert 2011 and keep updated on all the goings on as the days count down.

We Americans have been free too long. Many of our citizens no longer value the freedom for which our ancestors fought and died, at least not enough to keep it.

Many of us see nothing wrong with trading that freedom for money, inspiring a particularly unprincipled class of politicians to compete to buy the most votes with the taxpayers’ hard-earned money. That’s the money those politicians have sworn to use wisely. Apparently, "wisely" is in the eye of the beholder, or maybe just in the eye of the guy holding the key to the taxpayers’ bank account.

Both that class of politicians and those citizens subscribe to the "Robin Hood" model of government, "Take from the rich and give to the poor." Inexplicably, they consider such "taking and giving" a badge of honor.

Have we truly devolved to this extent? How do we decide for whom we will vote? Let’s analyze some basic human tendencies: Most citizens who vote for the man they think will be the best manager, the best CEO, become Republicans. Democrats like the candidate who grabs their emotions, who dramatically assures them of their victim status, tells them the owner of the corner store is ripping them off, and promises them the goodies they "deserve". If he makes good on that promise, he is guaranteed a lifetime in office, the perks of which he can and will manipulate to set himself up for life.

Basic human nature never changes, but there always have been and always will be aberrations, for which we can be extremely grateful. There are some truly honorable elected officials and some equally honorable voters. 

Such are the last, best hope of mankind’s freedom. And we need more of them!

Gentle Reader,

Our fighting men are being sent on repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have too small a military to do anything else, so our men come home, then go back into combat again and again, guaranteeing horrific consequences most American cannot even imagine.

When I was a young military bride, an old 2nd World War hand-to-hand combat vet told me he refused to sleep in the same room with his beloved wife for a long time after returning to the States. Naively, I asked him why. His answer has stayed with me for these many years: "I knew if she turned over in bed or mumbled in her sleep, she would be dead before I could even wake up."

He was telling me he could, and absolutely would, kill the woman for whom he gladly would give his own life, by sheer instinct. He had been in combat so long, and had been so conditioned that, even while asleep, he reacted with lightening and deadly speed in response to any movement or sound.

According to what I have been told, this very horror is occurring in some of today’s military families. The serial deployments, causing our men to go into combat repeatedly, while fighting on two fronts, is directly responsible for this.

What is happening to our men, who kill their own wives while asleep? Are they charged with murder? And even if they are not, can anyone imagine what it does to both them and their children? Neither will ever recover from such a horror.

The answer? I haven’t a clue. Unfortunately, neither has our Commander-in-Chief, who has never seen, nor will ever see, a minute of deadly combat.

Until next time,

Dear Editor:

Why do we teach our children good values, especially since such things are so mocked in today's world? Why don't we let them grow up to behave as they please? It surely would be easier.

Simple. A depraved people cannot be trusted with liberty. The strong invariably use that liberty to enslave the weak, and the weak are ever with us. All people age and become dependent on the virtue of others. Invariably, some are born handicapped in one way or another. They, too, are dependent on the care of others. Otherwise they would be preyed upon by the strong and merciless.

There is no way to be both depraved and free. The two are mutually exclusive. A people will invariably be either free and decent, moral and law-abiding, refusing to accept all forms of tyranny, or they will be divided into masters and slaves. There is no middle ground.

Why have Americans remained a free people for these centuries? Because they have struggled both to be decent and good and to rear law-abiding, honorable offspring. They have recognized that depravity and freedom have never successfully coexisted. There is always, and has always been, either depravity or liberty, but never the two at the same time.

Why? Because the very degeneracy in which such people wallow forms the fetters that enslave them. Any and every people who have ever tried to make the two coexist have failed, and always will fail.

This is why we try so hard to rear an honest, basically good, posterity, even in a culture that glorifies everything we abhor. Now is not the time to throw in the towel, though a hefty percentage of Americans demand that we do so.

Let's choose leaders who understand this.

Until next time,

Muriel Sluyter

Can’t the knuckleheads we send to Congress and the White House count? It appears they cannot. They are determined to spend billions on health care and other things in which government should never be involved, even though they know the voters are furious about it. Why do we think they are ignoring us? Probably because they are.

If they would clean up their financial act and stop wasting taxpayers’ money, while taxing us into the poor house, they would have all the money they need to run legitimate governmental affairs.

Let’s look at some of their grossly irresponsible spending: The government has spent about $100 billion in verifiably improper payments, and they knew those payments weren’t legit. The agencies include Medicare, Medicaid, Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Education, Dept. of Energy, State Dept., HUD, etc. Their books show it. So which lazy, irresponsible incompetents were minding the store when that happened? Both Government employees and elected officials were guilty. Why? It wasn’t their money.

How about those earmarks? In March of ‘09 the $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations Bill (good for only part of 6 months worth of spending) had 8,500 earmarks, costing $7.7 billion. Almost all were a worthless waste of money. We taxpayers were furious and didn’t keep our rage a secret, but were ignored.

In a recent year, the feds couldn’t account for $24.5 billion. Treasury says it’s "unreconciled." Translation? They can’t find it! It could have been swiped or just lost, but they don’t know for sure.

If these knuckleheads intend to continue to spend trillions (and they do) lets can the lot of them. Scott Brown’s election was a shot across the bow for all Reps and Senators. Come November, let’s rub their noses in it.

Many of the world’s con men (think Al Gore) and absolute fruitcakes have met in Copenhagen, Denmark, to cook up a method of shaking down all the productive countries of the globe. They figure they will never see a better vehicle for their nefarious plans than the much-touted global warming, and they are probably right.

Well, dear con men and fruitcakes of the world, I have a plan. Let’s get truly serious and simply outlaw CO2. If we do that we will be able to meet and defeat your verifiably fake global warming (the world has been cooling for a decade) with a sufficiently self-righteous law designed to solve all our CO2 problems. (Of course, it won’t change anything, but we will feel so noble!)

Unfortunately, there will be a few unavoidable consequences, for instance: since all growing plants (think food) require CO2 , we will have to figure out another way to get food. Maybe we will have to become meat-eaters only.

No. That won’t work. Meat comes from animals, and those bloomin’ animals eat plants, and we won’t have any plants. Okay. Let’s go to plan B; we’ll become vegans.

Oops! That won’t work either. Vegans eat vegetables and other plants, and we won’t have either of the two (they need CO2 to grow and once we’ve outlawed it, we won’t have any of that nasty, wicked stuff).

We could adopt the storied diet of famous prisoners. You know how that worked, they had nothing but bread and water.

Oh, oh. Bread comes from wheat and wheat cannot grow without CO2. Maybe we could do just water, but I think we would have the opposite of an overweight problem in short order.

There are people who, when they are starving, eat tree leaves and tree bark. They even make a tasty tea out of them. The only problem with that is trees need CO2 to grow, so without growing trees, there will be no bark either to eat or to make into tea.

It is beginning to look as though we will simply have to go sit under a beautiful green tree and try to think of a solution to our CO2 problem. Oh, dear, that won’t work! There won’t be any green trees, because all the trees in the world are dependent on CO2 to survive, so without CO2 there won’t be any green trees under which we could sit. They all would be brown, brittle and dead!
Oh, woe is us! How ever are we going to feel righteous if we are forced to depend on CO2 for the survival of the human race! It just isn’t fair!

Well, I guess there is only one solution. Let’s do what the con men and fruitcakes do. Let’s say we have saved the planet (yeah, right!) by banning, and thereby reducing to 0, the CO2 we produce. It doesn’t have to mean anything. The super brains (giggle), who are computing how much CO2 the productive countries emit, are busily deleting any data that exposes their confidence game, so let’s take a page from their book and simply announce to the world that we have saved all mankind.

Next, let’s round up the nuts, send them all to the funny farm, then go sit under a tree and drink lemonade. Since lemon trees require CO2 to survive, we’ll sue those environmentally irresponsible lemon trees and send an announcement to the whole world, "AS SOON AS THE LEMON TREES PAY UP, WE’LL LET YOU KNOW. UNTIL THEN, DON’T BOTHER US."

Environmentally yours,
Muriel Sluyter

Every single day I receive phone calls, emails and Facebook messages from people begging me to give them the answers ... they want to know how we are going to rescue the U.S. Constitution and the Republic. I have been very public about the solutions: become educated about the Constitution and the Republic, American history and our founding fathers. Learn why they chose a representational form of government over a pure democracy. But the thing I've said once if I've said it a thousand times, "find a candidate you can get behind and thrown your support behind that person, 150%."

While Mike Lee has not formerly announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate and the seat Bob Bennett currently holds, he has made his intentions clear enough that everyone knows he will be throwing his hat into the ring in a matter of weeks. He is the one I'm throwing my support behind, 150%.

But this night is about the U.S. Constitution, why it was created, what it is all about. The Constitution is our rule of law, and as Mike Lee has said, every law and piece of legislation should be measured against the Constitution and then dealt with accordingly. Come and learn, be motivated and be inspired. Bring your friends, family and neighbors...leave no one untold about this incredible opportunity to learn from one of the most brilliant constitutional minds in our nation. I do not grant that title lightly, for I am related to another of the greatest constitutional minds in our nation.

This is an amazing opportunity for every Utahan. I love, support, stand for and defend the U.S. Constitution as our rule of law. This is your chance to strengthen your educational foundation as an American citizen. An educated and literate society cannot be overthrown...think about that for a moment, and then come meet Mike Lee.

I've created a flyer announcing "An Evening with the U.S. Constitution and Mike Lee" for willing Americans to hand out to their friends, family and neighbors. If you are interested in receiving one, please feel free to email me at ces@candacesalima.com and I'll send it right back to you.

Here's a little bit about Mike Lee himself:

Mike has a great love of the Constitution, which he holds dear and wants desperately to preserve. The Constitution - including everything from the Due Process Clause to the Presentment Clause - was discussed around the Lee family's dinner table, almost in the same way many families talk about the weather, school, or the day's events. As a result, at a very young age Mike acquired a great love and admiration for the Constitution and for the principles found therein.

After graduating from Law School in 1997, he served as a law clerk to Judge Dee Benson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. He then clerked for then-Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., who was serving at that time on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Court. From there he went into private practice, joining the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley & Austin, where he specialized in appellate and Supreme Court litigation. Several years later, Mike returned to Utah after being invited to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Salt Lake City, preparing briefs and arguing cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He served as Governor Huntsman's General Counsel from January 2005 until June 2006, when he returned to Washington to serve a one-year clerkship at the U.S. Supreme Court with Justice Alito.

Mike returned to Utah (and to private practice) in the summer of 2007, joining the Salt Lake office of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Howrey LLP. Mike has earned a reputation as a truly outstanding lawyer based on his sound judgment, unsurpassed writing and courtroom advocacy skills, and thorough understanding of the Constitution (and of federal law generally).

Mike has a strong desire to bring about fundamental change in the way the federal government operates. In particular, he supports efforts to:

1. Secure passage and ratification of a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to operate on a balanced budget

2. Secure passage and ratification of a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on U.S. Senators and Representatives

3. Rein in entitlement spending

4. Reform campaign finance laws, many of which restrict core political speech in violation of the First Amendment and - while cleverly presented to the public as ethics-reform laws - are principally designed to give incumbent Senators and Representatives an unfair advantage over challengers

Mike, his wife Sharon, and their three children live in Alpine.

Mike is an administrator for The Article I Society, check it out: (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=143699482286&v=info#/group.php?v=wall&gid=143699482286)

And please become a member of "Draft Mike Lee to run for the U.S. Senate: (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=221765717795&ref=ts)

Keep an eye on this man. Michael Lee will be our next U.S. Senator. I am putting my "money" where my mouth is. This is how we will turn this nation around. Electing men and women with courage, strength, a deep and abiding love of the U.S. Constitution, America and an understanding of the American purpose in the world. Last night I heard everything I needed to hear to support this man.

Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Noah Webster Academy
Street: 205 East 400 South
City/Town: Orem, UT

Candace Salima
OR28 Precinct Chair
Republican Party

...but more importantly, first and foremost,

an American citizen.

Walter Williams, George Mason University economist, reports that, when a reporter asked Nancy Pelosi where, specifically, the Constitution granted Congress authority to mandate American citizens buy insurance, her response was: "Are you serious? Are you serious?"
When the reporter said: "Yes, yes, I am." Pelosi just shook her head and took a different reporter’s question.

Pelosi’s press spokesman later explained: "You can put this on the record. That is not a serious question. That is not a serious question."

After that response does anyone wonder why we are going to end up with government mandated, controlled and disastrously run health insurance (and I use that word "insurance" loosely)? It also explains why and how our country will go bankrupt, literally.

These people not only consider the Constitution irrelevant, they have utter contempt for it.
This demands a complete flushing of Washington. Why? Because, though John Shadegg introduced the Enumerated Powers Act in 1995, to "require Congress to specify authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws and for other purposes," it has never gained more than 54 co-sponsors in the House and none in the Senate, until this year. Now it has 22 senators.

Why so few sponsors? And why almost none until this year? Because only a few representatives or senators have any use for our Constitution, except when it serves their political purposes.
Many of our tragically uneducated citizens have no use for the Constitution, either, though it is the only thing that has stood between us and the utter devastation forced on vast portions of the world’s occupants throughout history. Look it up!

It is time to flush Washington’s political toilet. When it stops up, I vote we use ballot box lye on it. Nothing else will work.

Muriel Sluyter

In the West dog packs are always a problem. They hunt down a cow, deer or elk and run it until they exhaust it sufficiently to take it down. Then they tear chunks of its flesh and eat them, while the animal is still alive. They do this to any animal that cannot protect itself.

That is what our elected representatives are doing to us. They write bills that will take more money from us than we make. I don’t mean these bills will take whatever money we have left after we support our families. No! They will take the money we need for food, shelter and clothing.

They pretend to be "looking out for us." No! They are taking power from us and concentrating it in Washington. This is a power grab by conscienceless, power-hungry people.

Do our Senators and Representatives in Washington represent us? Sadly, Republican or Democrat, they have come to represent only their leader, not us. The President says we must have government-run healthcare or our country will collapse, so they sign bills that will bankrupt us, no matter how vehemently we tell them not to do so. The President says we must cap greenhouse gases (volcanos produce almost all the carbon dioxide on the planet), so they pass a bill they know will bankrupt our businesses and private citizens. The President has openly stated as much.

They sign bills they haven’t read. We tell them "Read the bill!" and they mock us by hiring a speed reader.

They are ravening dogs, and we have become their prey. We must flush ALL of them at every election, until they remember for whom they work.

Muriel Sluyter

PS: This was the coldest summer of my life. Ain’t global warming grand!

Dear Israeli Citizens:

We have a deal to offer that we trust you will find attractive. We propose a straight-across swap, your Prime Minister for our President.

We would venture a guess that our President is in better physical condition than your Prime Minister. Not only is he younger, he is almost unused, while your Prime Minister has been through hell on earth. Nonetheless, though your man is considerably older and has had very rough use, we are willing to accept him in what we are sure you will consider a very fair swap.

We are sure our man would please your citizens. He is charming, and, if he has a Teleprompter, is absolutely unexcelled in public communication.

Now, if you have reservations considering the comparative value of these two leaders, we are prepared to sweeten the deal by offering you 34 Czars. We cannot guarantee their honesty and/or integrity, but we are confident you will find some use for them (we have none).

If you are not ready to jump at this fantastic offer (and we are confident you are champing at the bit at the very thought), we could throw about 100 or so Senators into the deal. Actually, we have a goodly number of House members we could spare (possibly as many as 435) if you are still hesitant.

All in all, Gentlemen and Ladies of Israel, we are prepared to begin negotiations at your earliest convenience.

We anxiously await your response.

Most cordially, responsible citizens of the United States

Muriel Sluyter

Gentle Reader,

As I unwound my buck for the umpteenth time, I told him he should be required to get a license to be this stupid! That’s when it dawned on me that our Representatives and Senators need to be given precisely the same message. They should have to buy a license permitting them to be this stupid! That way we voters could rescind their license when they act like arrogant idiots–as they will–automatically kicking them out of Congress!

Udall says they will be able to pass national healthcare without votes from the other side of the aisle. Even though they are being vociferously upbraided by those very voters who put them into office, he and many other Reps are determined to defy constituents’ wishes.

At present 57% of Americans think all Reps and Senators should be voted out of office, but politicians aren’t worried. Why? Because they think we won’t act on our convictions. So, I have a plan: Let’s send everyone of them a letter informing them that, due to their regularly exhibited lack of the most minimal intelligence and integrity, they will, as of this date, be required to purchase a license permitting them to behave like both village idiots and members of a criminal enterprise.

Then in November, 2010, we kick them out on their crooked rears! Two years later, we do it again! Then we do it one more time!

They will hate it, but we will love it! Why? Because by mid-November, 2014, we will have one humble bunch of Reps and Senators. We will have kicked out everyone who has treated us with contempt, everyone who has voted for bills they knew we voters neither wanted nor could afford.

Do I owe my buck a consulting fee? Nah. I’ll just call Senator. He’s almost as dumb as they are. Not quite, but almost!

Muriel Sluyter

From my daughter:

This Saturday is July 4th, America's Birthday. The Patriot's Day Tea Party is a gathering of Americans from all walks of life, from all parties, all organizations, all with one goal...the restoration of the Republic and the Constitution reinstated as the rule of law. We are speaking up for America. Americans uniting in a single voice in defense of our nation.

Yes, we have great speakers, great music, great food and fun planned for this tea party. But at its heart is the desire of each person attending to restore America to her full glory. May I issue each of you a solemn promise: America will not fall. We can and will save her. But it will take each of us talking to family, friends, neighbors and peers, encouraging them to stand up for truth, stand up for America.

This Saturday, those attending the Orem tea party will be joining over 1,331 other tea parties and millions of Americans across the nation as we unite in this great cause. As I have stated over and over, there is no greater way to celebrate the birth of America by fighting for our liberty and our Constitution on our Independence Day.

Have a wonderful week everyone. See you on Saturday, 10:00 a.m. sharp!


Park in the UVU (Utah Valley University) parking lots H & J right across the street (behind the trees).

The parking lot to the north of Lakeridge Junior High is reserved for the disabled and elderly who are limited in their physical capabilities.

Remember that Rubios, Wallabys, Hot Dog King, Flour Girls & Dough Boys as well as SubZero Ice Cream will all be there selling food.

Also, Veterans of Foreign Wars will be selling drinks, the proceeds of which will go to the Veterans Administration in order to purchase a van to transport soldiers and veterans to and from their appointments.

I look forward to seeing you all there. Join us in the morning and early afternoon and then you're off for family celebrations and Freedom Festival festivities.

Speakers: Candace E. Salima, AG Mark Shurtleff, Rep. Brad Daw, Jean-Claude Wicks, Scott Bishop, Jennifer Kindrick, Doug Osmond, Denise (Letters to Soldiers), Sgt. Kraig A. Thorne

Musicians: Shaun Barrowes, Doug Osmond, Jill Camp Swensen, Drew Reese, Heather Andrews, Angela Winston and the One Voice Children's Choir

May God bless each of you and America,
Candace E. Salima

More details at: Tea Party Utah Blog
Facebook Event: Patriot Day July 4th Tea Party - Orem

Greetings, Gentle Reader,

Every Christmas we watch "White Christmas" at least once. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye do a number called, "Oh! I wish I were back in the Army." One line goes this way: "The best of doctors watched us carefully." Every time I hear that line I crack up laughing. I know the guys were cared for, and I think it may be even better today, but universal medical care, as they have in the service, doesn’t include "watching carefully."

Let’s examine this thing called "universal healthcare." We are hearing much about it from the new administration. It sounds great! Affordable medical care for everyone! Wow! Who could argue with that? The answer? Anyone who has experienced it. Why? Because it works very badly. Want an explanation? I thought you’d never ask!

Okay. All joking aside, it really doesn’t work well at all, as anyone who has been involved in it can explain. Since my children and I were military defendants for several years, they and I had plenty of time to see it from the inside out.

Those years were during my youth, back when I was still having my children. The rules said you had to make an appointment by a certain time of your pregnancy, because they had to get you on the schedule for the baby’s delivery, so they would not be too backed up by other mothers due to deliver all at the same time.

It is important to know that the bulk of the military dependent women were young wives, almost all of whom were having their families during that time of their lives. That, all by itself, created the same conditions that exist in today’s clinics, designed to provide universal medical care. Both Canadian and English residents can attest to the results of those conditions.

Many of the military doctors were interns, who had recently graduated from medical school. Back then, all men were required to serve in the military during their youth. If they didn’t enlist, they would be drafted into the Army, so many chose to enlist in the Marine Corps, Navy or Air Force, rather than the Army. This meant many doctors were still young and relatively inexperienced compared to civilian doctors, who often had decades of experience under their belts. It was not unusual to have complications that increased the chance of danger to either the mother or baby. If there was an older, more experienced doctor on duty, you were in luck. If not, you simply took your and your baby’s chances with the young doctor. You had no choice. If he made no mistakes, all was well. Sometimes he did make mistakes.

When your new baby was six weeks old, you were required to take it to a "well baby clinic." It was universally assumed that your baby would come down with a cold the next day. Why? Because you had to sit for hours in a crowded room with what seemed to be thousands of other babies, some of whom had colds. There really were not thousands, but it was usual to have several dozens of mothers and babies, many of whom were accompanied by older siblings. It truly seemed like thousands.

During the winter, getting a cold increased your baby’s chance of getting pneumonia. If the young mother realized what was happening and caught it in time, and if the baby responded to the antibiotics, the baby recovered. If she did not, or if the baby didn’t respond to the medicine, the consequences could be fatal. Why? Because with universal healthcare, you have to follow the schedule of the clinic, which told you what, when and how.

It became the norm for a mother to wait until the baby/child was definitely sick , before going to the clinic, because if he was not really sick when he was taken to the clinic, the attention he got would be scant and hurried. Unfortunately, waiting for a child to get really sick is a recipe for a potential disaster. A sickness caught early is much easier to treat than one that has had time to get past the child’s defenses and become entrenched in his little body.

The quality of prenatal care in the military was such that I learned to wait until I was a few months along, rather than going in when I was supposed to do. That way, I was told the delivery date schedule was full, and I must arrange to be treated by a civilian doctor. I learned the hard way that an experienced older doctor would not give me a prenatal exam until I was far enough along that it would not cause a miscarriage, which had happened several times. The military clinic followed a schedule designed for the mass of women, ignoring the special needs of problem pregnancies.

This is just the tip of the universal healthcare iceberg. It goes straight downhill from there. My first daughter came within a hair of dying because of a careless and grossly incorrect diagnosis by doctors who were required to treat indigent citizens. Unfortunately, many doctors are less diligent with those who are not paying patients. It is a fact of life, and it accomplishes nothing to deny it. They often must care for people who are destroying their own health with disgustingly destructive types of behavior, and some of them react in a fashion that is all too human.

In both of these circumstances, whether with military or civilian universal healthcare, the quality of care is too often questionable. The doctors and nurses are overworked, because people who do not have to pay for care tend to come in more often than they would if they had to turn over hard cash every time they saw a doctor. The result is a doctor having to spend time on someone who doesn’t feel well, instead of spending it on a patient who is genuinely sick. The genuinely sick patient needs more time than the doctor has to spend, while the "doesn’t feel well" patient uses up time without legitimate cause. Why? Because the care is free or close to it.

Universal healthcare sounds great, but it isn’t. Don’t be tricked. If you can afford to pay the doctor, you will be given much better care when you truly need it. And if it’s any comfort, before the government got involved in medicare for the elderly, a doctor’s visit cost five dollars. From the time medicare began, healthcare began a rapid climb, until now, it’s through the roof, as everyone knows.

Until next time,

Muriel Sluyter

To the Editor
Cortez Journal Newspaper

The charge that Republicans want to see Obama and our country fail is a red herring designed to distract the citizenry from his administration’s unconscionably irresponsible handling of the economy.

Obama decried the proliferation of earmarks and the deficit spending of the Bush administration. Now that he is doing precisely the same thing, only on a vastly greater scale, he wants to keep Americans distracted, hence this flap over Rush Limbaugh.

Anyone who heard Limbaugh’s statement (and it has been played repeatedly all over the country) knows he said, specifically, that he wanted Obama to fail to establish socialism in this country.

Since approximately half our citizens agree that European-style socialism would be detrimental to our national welfare, it is the height of foolishness to pretend they are traitors. This is especially so since Obama’s margin of support among the citizenry is not only narrow, but tenuous.

Voters who can count and have any understanding of compound interest know not even our grandchildren will be able to repay this vote-buying, supporter-rewarding, citizen-controlling spending gusher. Additionally, he is compounding the approaching disaster by raising taxes on America’s hardest-workers, in order to "spread the wealth around."

He is avoiding any mention of the national bankruptcy waiting in the wings if China, Japan and Arab countries stop buying our paper, and the danger of that is real.

Those of us who were furious about Bush’s bailouts and deficit spending are aghast at Obama’s doing precisely the same thing, only worse. Additionally, most Americans are too smart to fall for his attempt to draw attention from his actions by generating this preposterous Limbaugh fabrication.

Do Republicans want Obama to fail? If his intention is to turn us into a European-style socialist nanny state, for my part, the answer is a resounding "Yes!"

Muriel Sluyter