Chicago Insurance Co.
Post Published: 10 March 2010The Obamacare health insurance mandate reminds me of a bunch of Chicago gangsters selling protection. I can just envision Obama (Al Capone), Rahm (Frank Nitti), Pelosi (Teets Battaglia), and Reid (Jack Zuta) sitting around a smoke-filled speakeasy planning to provide “protection” to the neighborhood merchants.
“We’re gonna provide you protection, see…and you are gonna take it, see…or else, see.”
Only in this case, the neighborhood merchants happen to be every citizen in the United States. While they force you to purchase insurance, at the same time, they are forcing their competitors out of business. There is plenty of bribery, arm-twisting, naked shower finger-pointing, and rampant strong-arming that make Al Capone’s exploits look like an episode of the Brady Bunch. Just today, Dick Durbin (Big Jim Colosimo) admitted on the floor of the Senate that premiums under Obamacare are likely to INCREASE versus the average cost of private insurance…what a fabulous time for the racketeering of health care.
Poll after poll after poll shows that Americans are strongly opposed to a government acquisition of the United States health care system. But Al “Obama” Capone and his henchmen are going to use every dirty, underhanded method perfected in the mean streets of Chicago to accomplish their mission.
Where, oh where, is Elliot Ness ??
News or Opinion?
Post Published: 03 March 2010In the modern day 24/7/365 continuous news cycle, it is becoming more difficult to separate what is actually ‘news’ from what is the reporter’s opinion, or, more precisely, what is the news outlet’s opinion. Some outlets (a general term I am using to describe any print, television, radio, or internet source) are easily identified as presenting an opinion. An editorial is an example. This blog you are reading now is an example of my opinions and thoughts. In any example, there are generally a few ‘facts’ or ‘statistics’ thrown in to back up the opinions being presented, but even ‘facts’ and ‘statistics’ seem to be manipulated to tell the story of whoever compiles them. The whole collapse of the man-made global warming theory is an example of statistics being cherry-picked, hidden, or outright deleted in order to present an ‘opinion’ as a scientific fact.
Let’s analyze an example I found just today from Yahoo’s front page. The article is entitled “U.S. Deficit: Higher Taxes Needed to Cut Rising Debt.” It is from Time Magazine and written by Erik Heinrich.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100303/us_time/08599196923100
The first thing I noticed right away was Heinrich’s probable lack of understanding of the terms Deficit and Debt. So we are all clear…The deficit is how much more money the government spends than it takes in. If they take in 2 dollars, but spend 5 dollars, the deficit is 3 dollars. The debt is the total amount of securities issued by the US Treasury…or the total of I.O.U.’s the public owes, thanks to our out-of-control Executive and Legislative branches.
There are two ways to reduce the deficit. Mr. Heinrich’s article – whether purposefully or unintentionally – only offers one solution. I suspect Time Magazine, which is part of Team Obama’s News Corpse, is telling their story the way they want to tell their story. Unfortunately, that makes their “news” story merely an opinion piece.
Reducing the deficit, Option 1: Raising Taxes. An option favored by Time Magazine, and presented as the only option. The story even suggests that the English had their taxes raised, and didn’t really care, stating in the article, “…but the majority of Brits don’t seem to mind so much.” The article goes on to make a whole host of other tax raising comparisons and suggestions.
It would appear that Time Magazine is attempting to aide Team Obama by softening up the public, and trying to sway public opinion towards believing that increased taxation is coming, it is inevitable, it is the only solution, and it isn’t so bad. I suspect many, many people will buy into this story-line, and come to accept it as fact.
However, many of us understand, and we will not accept it, no matter how many “news” organs attempt to convince us otherwise. We understand what is necessary. We know how to solve the problem. We are not stupid.
Reducing the deficit, Option 2: Reducing Government Spending. The math is extremely simple. The government takes in 2 dollars, and only spends 1 dollar until the debt is erased. Then it only takes in 1 dollar and only spends 1 dollar. That is what we hillbillies call a Balanced Budget and it needs to become a Constitutional Amendment. Government should never be allowed to spend more money than it takes in. It is OUR MONEY they are abusing – not theirs.
The cowardly, impotent, weak-kneed politicians – R’s and D’s alike – who present their backsides on a daily basis to their political donors, cronies, and special interest groups need to be removed from office in 2010. Every single incumbent must go home. In Idaho, we have some politicians we like, and we think they do a good job. However, we can’t ask voters in other states to throw out Pelosi and Reid and McCain unless we are willing to do the same. We need Term Limits. We need a Balanced Budget Amendment. We need fresh ideas and a complete overhaul of Congress and the Senate.
Obama is fond of saying, “We don’t need those who created the mess to help clean up the mess.” He is correct. Every single politician in Washington DC helped create the mess. Every single one of them needs to go home. It may sound harsh…but something needs to change in a big way, in a big hurry. We simply cannot endure trillion dollar deficits. I refuse to give this country to my grandchildren in worse shape than I found it. For their future – 2010: Reboot Washington DC.
Alternate ending, for all my computer nerd readers: The political structure is infected with a spending virus. The politicians’ mainframes are overheated. The operating system in D.C. needs de-bugged and re-programmed. For their future – 2010: Reboot Washington DC.
CNN and Big Nanny
Post Published: 26 February 2010The above article is a story about a new CNN poll that shows most Americans feel the Federal Government is a threat to their individual rights and freedoms. I don’t find that very revealing, in fact, I am surprised it is only 56%…
What I do find disturbing is that only 37% of Democrats agree. These are the people who think George Bush destroyed the economy, made us LESS safe by fighting two wars, illegally wire-tapped peoples’ phones, and illegally imprisoned enemy combatants…yet they actually TRUST the Federal Government? I am confused…help me out, oh Liberal readers !!
Independents agreed at 63%, and Republicans agreed at 70%.
Republicans…exactly who are the 30% who love the Federal Government ? Oh..ok…yes…John McCain centrist-moderates. (On a related note – check out this article with Big Nanny McCain wanting a huge new government program to tax your protein powder and vitamins: http://www.jbs.org/health-care-freedom-blog/5957-proposed-dietary-supplement-regulatory-bill ). That guy is a putz…go JD Hayworth !!
Finally, since Obama has hired and given raises to a whole slew of Federal employees, I’m betting the 63% of Democrats who love the government are all employed by Big Nanny…
Poland’s 2009 GDP
Post Published: 21 February 2010I found a headline that made me do a “double-take”: Poland’s GDP Tops European Union in 2009.
What? Poland? I had to read further…
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/poland-economy.2g9
There are 27 countries in the European Union. The ONLY one to increase its GDP was Poland. (Gross Domestic Product – a basic measure of a country’s overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year.)
Not Germany (down 5%). Not Great Britain (down 4.3%). Not Italy (down 5%). POLAND – up 1.7%.
I have long argued with my Liberal counterparts – who long for the USA to model itself after Europe – that the European socialist economies are nothing to be that proud of. Okay, Libs…I will at last relent. We SHOULD be modeling our economic growth after Poland.
How did they do it, you ask? How did Poland experience growth when the rest of the world, including the USA, experienced decline?
Ask Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk: “We want to limit debt and decrease the deficit to make Poland the most attractive place in Europe to invest.”
From the EUBusiness article:
“Poland is by far the country in the EU with the best economic performance in 2009,” senior Danske Bank economist Lars Christensen told AFP Thursday. “Its growth was also impressive compared to the global economy.”
“Conservative fiscal and monetary policy prior to the crisis created a foundation for Poland to avoid falling into crisis,” he said.
You see, Liberals, even those in Poland know that in order for a successful economy to grow, you need to limit your debt, decrease your deficit, and practice CONSERVATIVE fiscal and monetary policy.
Twin Falls Tea Party
Post Published: 16 February 2010I recently had a very informative conversation with Rusty Satterwhite, the spokesman for the Twin Falls area TEARS of the Patriots. For those that don’t know, the TEARS (Traditional Earnest Americans for Responsible Service) of the Patriots is a local non-partisan Tea Party group that is open to anyone who is worried that our Republic is in serious trouble, and would like to start the rebuilding and repair process at a local level.
I asked Mr. Satterwhite to answer some questions.
Question 1: I don’t think very many people understand the Tea Party groups…Explain in a few sentences WHAT the Tea Party movement is exactly.
Answer: Mainly, we are interested in educating people on the restoration of their authority and power…and to help them understand both their responsibilities and their duties as a voter. We are also interested in holding our leaders accountable for their actions and voting records.
The Tea Party Platform is pretty simple:
* Small, limited government based upon the Constitution
* Political and Economical Accountability
* Limited spending resulting in limited taxation
* Honesty and personal honor in politicians
Question 2: What got you personally involved?
Answer: A few years ago, I was a Bush supporter, and more and more, I started feeling like a stooge. I started doing some research and read the Federalist Papers. A particular passage struck a chord with me…”Administrations change, but power stays”. I realized that the two-party system was flawed in that respect. If you give the government that you are supporting the power to do something TODAY, the next administration can use that power against you TOMORROW.
You should understand that the Founding Fathers divided the country up into precincts designed for “bottom-up” control….hence the term “decentralized.” They purposefully used the term Federal Government for a reason – that the people, through the states, delegated power and authority from the people to the government. Currently, we use the term National Government, which implies the government has the power, as it governs the nation. This goes directly against the intent of the Founders. Take a look at the RNC or the DNC – they both act as if they are leaders to be followed, rather than listening and taking direction from their members.
Question 3: The Republicans are “glomming” on to the Tea Party’s platform lately. What is it about Republicans that doesn’t quite fit right into the Tea Party platform?
Answer: Most Republican politicians are still “statists” and simply take direction from their leaders in Washington DC. The Republican Party voters have a tendency to “rubber-stamp” whatever their elected politicians vote for. Many of them are very politically uneducated followers that just support anyone with an “R” behind their name. What they don’t understand about the Tea Party movement is that we are becoming more and more educated about the Constitution and the proper role of government.
Question 4: The National Democrats have really objected to the Tea Party events. Why do you think that is…and what are local Democrats telling you?
Answer: I think that the Democrats distaste comes from not being able to put labels on the Tea Party. Historically, Democrats have had a tendency to break everyone down into small groups – whereas the Tea Party is just one big group. Democrats and Republicans are just about big money and big business. The Tea Party is about working class men and women working on the common goal of removing the centralized power that has accumulated in Washington.
As far as local Democrats expressing any interest – none have. My guess is that they jumped on the national bandwagon of demeaning and trashing the Tea Party – before they even bothered to look into their local chapter. The national Democrats took the distasteful and most cowardice road possible by claiming the Tea Partiers were “racists”…in a lifetime you can never disprove such a statement after it is made. It was their shortcut way to simply avoid a true debate of the issues.
Question 5: Many “experts” believe that for a 3rd Party it is impossible to win a National Election. Do you agree and what can be done to change this perception?
Answer: I believe that someday a 3rd Party could win a National Election…but not right now with existing laws. Each state has roadblocks in place – put there by the two-party system – some even prevent 3rd parties from having a primary election: Idaho is one of them. Every state will need to build a 3rd party from the ground up…it could take 15 to 20 years of constant adaptation of the current laws.
Question 6: My personal belief is that ANY national elected political position (Congress, Senate) should have Term Limits that do not exceed the President’s term limits – but even shorter would be preferable – What are your thoughts ??
Answer: Term limits are an absolute necessity. One serious problem right now are lifetime politicians that don’t understand business or budgeting – there is no way they can lead the free market or the free world. Those who don’t want term limits will argue that the politicians get better at their jobs over time. I don’t agree – I think they just learn how to “game-the-system”. Their true goals simply get watered-down due to back room deal making.
For more information, you can check the following web-sites:
Where are the Leaders ?
Post Published: 09 February 2010Where are the leaders who know how to LEAD us out of the financial mess and joblessness in the country? Where are the ADULTS out there who are willing to make the tough decisions despite their poll numbers? Where are the brave men and women who know right from wrong and are willing to make judgments and decisions based on the common sense that we all have? Are there any leaders who actually understand economics and the dangers in artificially increasing the money supply?
As Americans, we have a common “gut feeling” that it is dangerous to spend more money than we earn. From time to time, many of us get into trouble by over-using credit. When that happens, most of us buckle-down and reduce expenses in other areas until we repay that credit. Sometimes, a few of us declare that we are simply unable to repay the credit, and default. The entity called “The United States of America” is in that very pickle – it has borrowed and borrowed, and spent and spent, until it now faces the very real possibility of defaulting. The interest on the debt is in the billions, the debt itself is in the trillions.
How did we get to this place? Don’t ask the politicians – they are very adept at manipulating the English language and will simply find a fancy way of blaming the other guy. The “Leader” of our country is the Jedi Master of blaming others…but sadly, a mere Padawan Learner at producing results. If you aren’t willing to take responsibility and LEAD, then DO NOT APPLY for the position.
I can’t figure out how a person who has never run a business feels they are qualified to lead the world’s largest business or how a person can make the serious decision that we need to “spend our way out of debt”?? Obama knew the country was entering a period of financial turmoil when he applied for the job. Instead, he spends most of his time on Health Care and the Global Warming hoax…items of which the public places almost no priority, and at this point, have basically rejected.
Obama has proven to be too divisive to effectively lead. We knew he was far too partisan and beholden to the far left and way too radical to bring the nation together when he was candidate Obama…I blogged about it repeatedly. You can’t take an extremist from the 20% of Americans who identify as Liberal and ask them to lead the Nation. Americans will reject Liberal policies because we are a Moderate/Conservative country…and every poll backs that claim. The vast majority of Americans want smaller government, lower taxes, legal immigration, balanced Federal and State budgets, term-limits, and a strict adherence to the Constitution.
The next series of blogs will be devoted to identifying potential LEADERS.
Barry the Blamer
Post Published: 01 February 2010I have never heard a United States President pass-the-buck as often as Barry Soetoro does. I think it is a standard line in all his speeches where he repeats somewhere in the middle “…I had a huge problem when I walked in the door…” Yes, it is true Bush left Barry a big bleepin’ bleep of a mess. But Mr. Soetoro also conveniently NEVER blames the Pelosi/Reid regime that took power in 2007 and actually created the budget mess he inherited. However, Barry knew what the problems were when he applied for the job….you should not aspire to the Presidency without having knowledge of the tasks before you.
Here is where BS’s story runs afoul of common sense:
Depending on who you get your numbers from, Bush’s last year left a budget deficit of between 400 and 500 Billion. BS’s first year left a deficit of 1.4 TRILLION. He just proposed a new budget of 1.56 TRILLION.
You don’t get to triple the budget deficit, and then blame the guy before you. I still believe the economy would and will mend itself faster without ANY stimulus, tarp, bailouts, or increased government money printing. The surest way to a recovery is the unequivocal REMOVAL of government interference.
You don’t get to triple the budget deficit, and then run in front of the cameras and talk about “freezing” spending or “taking a scalpel” to the budget. This is just more empty rhetoric for the brain-dead masses. Trimming 15 Billion out of 1.56 Trillion is like the average family cutting a penny out of their yearly electronic purchases budget. Sure, they could go on Oprah and tell her, quite truthfully, that they cut their electronics spending budget as compared to last year, while they secretly spent more on every other aspect of their budget, and while putting all that increased spending on a high-interest-rate credit card.
Barry is a slick talker, surrounded by political professionals (paid for by you and me) who do nothing but sit around all day figuring out new ways to manipulate the English language. Forget what BS says, and watch what he does. Getting tough with spending and the deficit and the Federal budget would not typically include a yearly INCREASE…only in Barryville does increasing equal reducing.
The Constitution Wins One !!
Post Published: 22 January 2010One of the major reasons I was unable to strongly support John McCain in the last election was his McCain/Feingold bill that limited freedom of speech for some, while allowing it for others. The bill was called the “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act” because both sides loved the bill’s goal of not naming a federal candidate within 60 days of a federal election. All the bill really did was provide aid and comfort to the incumbent politician…something both sides could easily agree on. When voting to save your own job, bipartisanship becomes a free-love Woodstock-style gathering. The bill also initiated those annoying ad endings of “I’m Senator Cor Rupt, and I approved this message.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipartisan_Campaign_Reform_Act
Yesterday (Jan 21, 2010), the Supreme Court sided with the First Amendment which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
It is a simple concept: The government does not get to decide what I write, read, or say or how I spend my money to consume what others read, write, or say.
What I find profoundly disturbing, is that yet again, the simplicity of the 1st Amendment, much like the simplicity of the 2nd Amendment, requires so much debate and consternation. “Congress shall make NO LAW…NO LAW, none, zero, zip…abridging the freedom of speech.” None Senator McCain. None Senator Feingold. None Justices Ginsburg, Bryer, Stevens, and the independent thinking Sotomayor. Yes…they voted down “party lines” again with the 5-4 decision. The 4 liberal justices have proven, once again, that they HATE the Constitution and the principals for which it stands.
Writing for the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote “When government seeks to use its full power, including the criminal law, to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought. This is unlawful. The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves.”
He goes on “Quite apart from the purpose or effect of regulating content, moreover, the Government may commit a constitutional wrong when by law it identifies certain preferred speakers. By taking the right to speak from some and giving it to others, the Government deprives the disadvantaged person or class of the right to use speech to strive to establish worth, standing, and respect for the speaker’s voice. The Government may not by these means deprive the public of the right and privilege to determine for itself what speech and speakers are worthy of consideration. The First Amendment protects speech and speaker, and the ideas that flow from each. We find no basis for the proposition that, in the context of political speech, the Government may impose restrictions on certain disfavored speakers. Both history and logic lead us to this conclusion.”
Not surprisingly, Team Obama is furious with this decision. They simply do not like freedom, for a host of reasons that all relate back to their simple goal of a massive central governmental authority (socialism). This juxtaposition in the liberal wing has always confounded me…on one hand, you have the big-government all-controlling all-powerful liberals, but then you also have the anything goes, every-perversion-is-normal, Hollywood-filth liberals. One side wants to control all (including our health and the very air we breathe) and one side wants no controls over their drug-infused Hollywood Pop-Culture lifestyles. Maybe we should just get out of their way and let the two sides consume each other…
In the mean time, I think after I enjoy writing this blog with the 1st Amendment intact, I shall go out and enjoy the 2nd Amendment. I urge our local politicians to brush up on the 10th Amendment, and ask Team Obama to thoroughly review the 14th Amendment.
Panderer-in-Chief
Post Published: 21 January 2010All throughout his campaign, candidate Obama insisted he would be about a “new-tone” in Washington…bi-partisan approaches…open and ethical government…meetings televised on C-Span. All throughout 2009, Team Obama did NONE OF THOSE THINGS. In referring to Republicans, Team Obama’s team captain repeatedly made statements similar to “Why would we have those who created the problem help solve the problem?” Next came the closed meetings, back-room deal making, voting before reading the bills, etc.
And then the earthquake. No – not the tragic one in Haiti – the one in Massachusetts. The deepest, darkest of “blue states” voted a Republican into Ted Kennedy’s seat. My faith in Americans everywhere was restored. When the country needed them, the independent voters in Massachusetts stepped up and threw off the BLUE stranglehold, and restored some much needed sanity back into the political fray.The hard-core left, of course, blamed the local candidate for not trying hard enough. But Obama seems to have taken notice:
“President Barack Obama advised fellow Democrats against trying to jam a health care bill through Congress after taking a devastating hit from the loss of a Senate seat. He said Wednesday it’s time to come together around a bill that can draw Republican support, too.”
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9DBMHA00&show_article=1
While the rest of Team Obama is running around trying to do damage control, it seems the President himself might be starting to get the message. I remain cynical, for now. Obama’s entire history suggests he is incapable of governing from the center…but with his poll numbers tanking faster than both the economy and his health care legacy, he now says it is time to let the Republicans sit at the negotiating table. Is it because of two devastating earthquakes in one week, or is he simply becoming the “Panderer-in-Chief”…???
I’m in shock
Post Published: 14 January 2010I just saw a video in which a CNN contributor just ripped Nancy Pelosi a “new one.” I am not used to seeing CNN offer commentary such as this. Maybe they are tired of getting trounced by Fox News.
In any event, here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc9fsPTyqe8&feature=player_embedded#
And yes, Nancy Pelosi is an elitist, pandering, tax-gobbling, spendaholic.
