Some Things Just Need to be Said

Wake UP America

2009-12-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

That was great.

If you see injustice, STAND UP
If something needs to be said, SPEAK UP
If you make an appointment, SHOW UP
If you make a mistake, FESS UP
If you’re overstepping, BACK UP
If you get behind, CATCH UP
If they knock you down, GET UP
If you’re out of line, STRAIGHTEN UP
When your boss instructs, KEEP UP
When your elders speak, LISTEN UP
When your teachers teach, SIT UP
When your preachers preach, WAKE UP
When your country calls, MAN UP
Ladies too... WOMAN UP
When the fight is over, MAKE UP
If you’re being hard, EASE UP
If your heart is closed, OPEN UP
If you want to buy something, SAVE UP--
It’s not an entitlement, so SHUT UP!
If you make a mess, CLEAN IT UP
If you drop trash, PICK IT UP
If a car is waiting for you to
walk across the street, SPEED IT UP
If you’re cold busted, GIVE IT UP
If people fall down, HELP THEM UP--
Not the government, YOU STEP UP
If idiots start fighting, BREAK IT UP
If the music is wholesome, TURN IT UP
If the message is poisonous, THROW IT UP
If your words are vulgar, CLAM IT UP
If your words encourage, KEEP IT UP
If your pants are baggy, PULL THEM UP
If the belt’s too loose, CINCH IT UP
If your fly is down, ZIP IT UP
If you’re dressed half naked, COVER IT UP
If you can’t afford stuff, PASS IT UP--
No “bailouts” folks, PONY UP
If you made a promise, you BACK IT UP
And you can take your whining and PACK IT UP
It’s called personal responsibility, so TAKE IT UP
This country was founded on it, you can LOOK IT UP
It’s the American way people, so TURN IT UP
Because when life gets boring, you SHAKE IT UP
When life is good, you SOAK IT UP
When life’s unfair, you SUCK IT UP
When life is funny, you can YUCK IT UP
When life is sad, just LOOK STRAIGHT UP
And life’s too short people, so LIVE IT UP!

Everyone should find a message and an inspiration here.

Validation

2009-12-15T05:29:00.000-08:00

I have written many articles about the minimum wage. Every time I do the sad and angry show up to call me names. Well here it is. Some economic got together and wrote a book with what is considered a record level of research into the subject.

How Minimum Wage Affects the Job Hunt
December 14, 2009 - 2:42 PM | by: James Rosen

It's been an article of faith for so long that the minimum wage offers a "hand up" to the people on the lowest rung of the economic ladder, but some recent studies show otherwise.

The most exhaustive of these is a landmark book published last year called "Minimum Wages." It's by two economists, David Neumark of the University of California and William Wascher of the Federal Reserve.

They examined sixty years of data and concluded the minimum wage actually cuts down on job opportunities and even wages, over time, for low-skilled workers.

Neumark broke down his theory for Fox News in simple, layman's terms, starting with the premise of what would happen if the minimum wage were raised again, say, tomorrow.

"Now, many people, of course, will not lose their job. Many people who were employed at the old minimum wage will, you know, have a raise in their wage, and they will still be employed at the new minimum wage,” Neumark told Fox News.

“A small number -- and it depends how big the minimum wage increase is -- will lose their job.

“Some people entering the labor market for the first time, or, you know, anew, will not be able to find a job because of the higher minimum wage."

The last bump for the minimum wage was this past July, a seventy cent increase to $7.25 an hour.

In September, three months later, the teen unemployment rate hit 25.9 percent, a full two points higher than in July, and the highest since World War II.

Charles Lane, a member of the Washington Post editorial board, recently called for the minimum wage to be rolled back as a way of creating jobs. That would require an act of Congress, and it's not likely anytime soon. Democrats control both houses of Congress and the issue has become, particularly for Democrats, freighted with emotion.

Read the rest

Perhaps some make up reading would help.
The Minimum Wage Isn't the Problem
How Do I Understand Price Structure In Business
The Minimum Wage Comes Up Again

Let's Talk Taxes

2009-12-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

We are almost to the end of the year and although we are preparing for the merriment of Christmas some are looking at their tax situation. Making adjustments to your 401k and donations to adjust your year end tax exposure are on the minds of many. You will notice the heavy holiday push for donations. Many charities make the bulk of their income during the last month of the year.

I have been thinking about government spending and our obligation to the debt our government places us under. Most of us our aware of Tax Freedom Day, that is generally celebrated around the middle of April. This year Tax Freedom Day was generally recognized on April 13th even though each state has its own tax variations. This was eight days sooner then 2008 with April 22 being the recognized day. This is a little misleading because it doesn't include many taxes and fees that we pay. This event is directly attributed to income taxes while failing to recognize various user taxes like phone, cable, electricity. It even fails to account for property taxes and licencing fees. We also don't see any allowance for the vast debt our government has racked up and expect us to pay.
If we were to change the name to No Longer Paying Government Obligations day, what day would we actually start working for ourselves?

We can now see taxation holding our wages until June.

In doing my research and reading I ran across a section that gave me great pause.

Nevertheless, in 2009, Americans will pay more in taxes than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.

Go back and read that again. Americans will pay more in taxes than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.

People are often asking why we have to have two incomes to survive. I hear people wishing to spend more time with their family but we are seeing government mismanagement of our money forcing these things upon us. It is time for there to be a change in philosophy in every government office across the land. We need leaders who are willing to review and judge each program as worthy or worthless. We need a serious look at downsizing government.

Let's look at tax history. Here is the tax obligation broken down in ten year cycles. I will include all years since 2000.
1900 5.9%
1910 5.0%
1920 12.0%
1930 11.7%
1940 17.9%
1950 24.6%
1960 27.7%
1970 29.6%
1980 30.4%
1990 30.4%
2000 33.6%
2001 32.6%
2002 29.8%
2003 29.0%
2004 29.3%
2005 31.1%
2006 31.7%
2007 31.8%
2008 30.4%
2009 28.2%

We no longer have a government that reflects our founders mistrust of the government and the original intent of keeping government small with the power base held by the people. We have a continuously growing government that seems to have a ravenous appetite for taxation. The first 150 years we had a government who taxed at less then 7% allowing for the growth and incredible innovation that made America great. We now have a stifling government with business taxes that average 42% and personal taxes that hover near 30%.
Even with these facts easily obtainable people are still acting as if businesses pay nothing.

If we want to return to prosperity and bring back jobs to America perhaps changing our obese government is the starting place. It's time to put congress on a diet.

How To Reduce Crime

2009-12-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

The current liberal mantra is to make us more like Europe. Switzerland, being a small European nation, has been maintaining a policy to reduce crime and mobilize its citizens for years. Perhaps this should be brought to BO's attention.

We have similar results showing up when we look at how guns are treated in various states and cities. The more anti-gun the more crime and violence.

I look forward to at least some European policies being implemented.

More Jobs -- Where?

2009-12-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, the seasonal job surge has once again shown up. Companies are not hiring as many as usual but an up tick was expected as sellers, mailers and marketers enjoy the Christmas rush. The slight improvement from 10.2% to 10% was used as a lifting point in a speech given by BO.

Once again nothing happened but everyone is making a big deal over it. These seasonal jobs are generally low in pay and high on inconvenience. They usually fall into odd times in the early morning or evening hours. Let me not diminish the fact that working and providing for ones needs at any job is better then being destitute over the holidays. So many suffer do to the economic conditions brought forward by Bush and magnified by Obama, that any help should be welcomed.

Instead of allowing big business to fail and small businesses to step in and rise up. They rewarded bad business practices with our money and then denied us things that we actually needed. These poor choices by our representatives have lengthened our suffering and prolonged our economic failings. Millions continue to be out of work while we witness more bank failures and more businesses closing.

To big to fail? Perhaps to big to save. How much more will they give away?

What About Cutting the Cost

2009-11-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Americans wanted someone to do something about healthcare because the costs are through the roof. The average family pays almost as much as a car payment for healthcare. The costs keep rising and what do we hear from our leaders? The costs will be going up so they can take it over. That's right. We can't afford it now but according to congress we can pay more. The issues that I and others have outlined that raise the cost of healthcare and could be addressed to lower it, haven't even been discussed. It doesn't seem to matter what the people need.

After looking over the current offering, the people are starting to run. The polling numbers are quickly turning against congress.

Poll: Americans no longer believe in health 'crisis'
Support for government solution plummets from only months ago

A poll released today shows Americans' belief in the current health care system has risen dramatically in the last year, and support for a socialized solution to a health care "crisis" has nearly evaporated.

The latest results from Rasmussen Reports show 49 percent of Americans now rate the quality of U.S. health care system as good or excellent, to only 27 percent that still argue it's poor.

The favorable numbers reflect a 20-point jump from prior to the presidential election, when a June 2008 Rasmussen poll showed only 29 percent rated the health care system so well and 37 percent rated it poor.

Furthermore, the more government reform of health care has been in the national spotlight, the more Americans have grown to appreciate a private health care industry.

The 49 percent rating the U.S. system as good or excellent reflects a rise from 29 percent last year, to 35 percent in May and 44 percent at the beginning of October.

"Those opposed to Mr. Obama's reform appear to have momentum on their side," writes pollster Scott Rasmussen in a Wall Street Journal editorial. "It appears that the prospect of changing health care has made the existing system look better to a lot of people."

Read the rest

Have you let your congress critters know where you stand on healthcare?

Have you made up your mind about healthcare?

2009-11-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

I have made 27 posts about Healthcare since June. I have pointed to real issues and solutions as well as mistakes and problems. There has been some things worthy of a good laugh and other things that have made me very mad. We have seen bills passed in congress that nobody read. Do we really want to make a change of this size with no trial period and no evidence that it would work?

Shouldn't we test out something this big? I want proof it works. I question if congress even has any authority under the constitution to do this. I can find no grounds for such an action. Some have pointed to the preamble as there authority.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I see promote as a synonym for encourage or press for. I don't see it as take over and force. We should also note that this was written as a focus on state unity under a common government and not personal unity and needs as some would wish it to suggest. The US constitution was written to help a small group of independent states defend and promote themselves. The federal government was carefully crafted as a balance of state interests and populous needs. We have moved a long way away from the government envisioned by our founders.

It might be your last chance to speak your peace about healthcare reform. Use the button on my side bar to write your senator and tell them and there staff what you think should be done about healthcare. Encourage them to actually read the bill. encourage them to push for a amendment that tests this proposal before it goes nation wide. I think this will ultimately cost us more and give us less. Tell me why you think I am right or wrong.

Not Your Father's Union

2009-11-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Unions have changed a lot since my father and grandfather entered the work force. We now see unions actually attacking the traditional values they once were instituted to secure.

Big Labor and Big Government Are Officially the Same Thing

Who do the words “union members” bring to mind? United Auto Workers building cars in Detroit? Teamsters truckers hauling freight? Steel workers in Pennsylvania?
Not any more. Newly released numbers show that the actual face of today’s union movement is the teller at your local Department of Motorized Vehicles.
Preliminary estimates of union membership this year show that most union members now work for the government. The overall unionization rate between January and September 2009 stood at 12.4%, unchanged from last year. However, this difference masks a large difference between unions in the private and public sectors.
Union membership has fallen to 7.3% of private sector workers – the lowest rate since Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act into law. But it is a completely different story in the public sector: 37.6% of government employees belong to unions, up almost a percentage point since last year. Those 7.9 million unionized government employees are 51% of all union members nationwide. Most union members today now work for Uncle Sam.
So when unions start lobbying, taxpayers should hold onto their wallet. Government employees don’t strike to get higher wages from a private business – they strike to get higher wages from you. Their pay is funded through your tax dollars. For government employee union members to get more your taxes need to go up. So that is what unions now lobby for. Just take a look at what the labor movement is doing to taxpayers on the Pacific Coast:
In Oregon the labor movement is donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund two ballot initiative campaigns to raise personal income and business taxes. The unions want tax hikes instead of cuts in the gold-plated medical benefits for state workers.
In California the Service Employees International Union spent $1 million on a television ad campaign pressing for higher oil, gas, and liquor taxes instead of spending reductions.
Washington State Democrats, however, have so far resisted the labor movement’s call for higher taxes. In response labor unions are threatening to fund primary campaigns against the Democrats who oppose the tax hikes.
This is not your father’s labor movement. Unions today want higher taxes and bigger government because they are the government.

What once saved middle America now wishes to rob her.

Still Watching?

2009-11-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

It seems the race for the 23rd District seat in New York may not be over. I pointed to this as the race to watch and it is still worth watching. Yeah, I know the Conservative Party candidate Hoffman conceded but it is still possible that he may win and Owens may lose. The election results are still not in and the winner isn't official. Owens may have been sworn in but he may find himself tossed out.

Democrat Bill Owens, who was sworn into Congress last week and immediately voted for controversial health care legislation, still hasn't been certified the winner by local elections officials. His lead over Conservative Doug Hoffman has narrowed to 3,026 votes with about 5,800 absentee ballots received so far that have yet to be counted, according to a routine recanvassing of the votes.

The final outcome rests on uncounted absentee ballots, and more than 10,000 were sent out.

"Well 20/20 hindsight, if I knew this information on election night, I would not have conceded," Hoffman told Fox News' Neil Cavuto. "On election night with a 6,000 deficit in the voting, the 10,000 absentee ballots did not look plausible with a three-way race."

The county Boards of Election in the 23rd District are still recanvassing votes and it could be the end of November before a final count is certified in the special election. If the count overturns the election, Owens could be removed from office.

Owens was sworn in Friday, in time to cast a vote on a historic health care overhaul bill, helping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reach the majority she needed to pass it. The House passed the legislation 220-215.

The state Board of Elections wrote to the House clerk last week explaining that the state hasn't certified the election because there wasn't an official winner yet.

Since he still leads by about 3,000 votes and the Hoffman campaign hasn't contested the race, Owens' swearing-in was legal.

But if recanvassing produces a different result, the Democratic-led House would have to determine how to proceed and whether Owens must be replaced by Hoffman.

Wouldn't it be a hoot if Owens is tossed. I'm looking forward to the end of the month to see how this turns out.

Article

This and That

2009-11-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

First, I would like to offer my sympathies to the families of those effected by the Fort Hood Shooting. There appears to be much blame to go around, so we will need to wait and see how it all comes out.

For those of you completely overwhelmed by the shootings, the house passed the Healthcare Reform bill 220-215. All Republicans except the freshman from New Orleans voted against it. It looks like it will be extremely tough in the senate. Start your emailing and phone calls.

The DC Sniper finally got what he deserved. Lethal injection may be far to easy for a murderer of this caliper. He tormented millions yet leaves in relative peace.

The White house tossed another under the bus, Anita Dunn. How many America Haters has Obama placed in his staff? We the people are having to vet the staff because BO wont.

Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., called Monday for an international coalition to block gasoline deliveries to Iran because of its rejection of a U.N. plan to curb its enriched uranium stockpile. Since a major portion of Iran's gas is refined outside the country, why not use this for leverage. None of the other sanctions seem to have any effect. Perhaps this will cause enough pain to get them to the negotiating table.

I have been working long and crazy hours. Things need to be repaired and schedules need to be kept up. Hopefully, with all the changes, we will find a way to make it all work.

Where's Mine?

2009-11-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for a while to point this out. It has been bothering me for a long time so I thought I would bother you some.

The Stimulus Bill that was passed by the Obama Administration is reported to cost us $787billion.

There are almost 308million people in the US.

Small Businesses produce about 85% of the Jobs in America.

There are almost 23million small businesses in the US.

The Stimulus bill cost us almost $2600 per person. This does not include future interest on this additional debt. If 47% of Americans don't pay any taxes then the actual cost per person is $5600 per person who pays taxes. (This is skewed farther by able bodied workers who pay taxes.)

If the Stinulus would have been distributed to small businesses, each business would have gotten $34,250. This money could have provided one job at a living wage for one year for every small business, adjusting for employer side taxes and expenses. That would have created 23million jobs. Notice that the employer and the employee are immediately contributing back in the form of payroll taxes minimizing the net cost of the stimulus package. Don't forget to imagine 23million significant wage earners as consumers in the system. Now we are talking real stimulus.

If the US is statisticly suffering from 10% unemployment then putting the money to work by giving it to small business for job creation would have cut unemployment by 7.4%. Mathematically we would be at 2.6% unemployment.

Does anyone still think those in Washington DC have a clue on how to get the most bang out of our buck. Don't allow them to take anything more from us.

Keep saying NO to Healthcare.

Continued Government Failure

2009-11-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

To President Obama and all 535 voting members of the Legislature,

It is now official you are ALL corrupt morons:

The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775 You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.
Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.
Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.
War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.
Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.
Freddie Mac was established in 1970. You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.
The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before.. You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.
You have FAILED in every "government service" you have shoved down our throats while overspending our tax dollars AND YOU WANT AMERICANS TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM??

Those Robber Baron Insurance Companies

2009-10-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

I found the following article that confirmed my suspicions.

FACT CHECK: Health Insurers' Profits Not So Fat

WASHINGTON -- In the health care debate, Democrats and their allies have gone after insurance companies as rapacious profiteers making "immoral" and "obscene" returns while "the bodies pile up."

But in pillorying insurers over profits, the critics are on shaky ground. Ledgers tell a different reality.

Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two. That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones.

Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings of some of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans.

Insurers are an expedient target for leaders who want a government-run plan in the marketplace. Such a public option would force private insurers to trim profits and restrain premiums to compete, the argument goes. This would "keep insurance companies honest," says President Obama.

The debate is loaded with intimations that insurers are less than straight, when they are not flatly accused of malfeasance.

The insurers may not have helped their case by commissioning a report that looked primarily at the elements of health care legislation that might drive consumer costs up while ignoring elements aimed at bringing costs down. Few in the debate seem interested in a true balance sheet.

A look at some claims, and the numbers:

THE CLAIMS:

--"I'm very pleased that (Democratic leaders) will be talking, too, about the immoral profits being made by the insurance industry and how those profits have increased in the Bush years." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who also welcomed the attention being drawn to insurers' "obscene profits."

--"Keeping the status quo may be what the insurance industry wants. Their premiums have more than doubled in the last decade and their profits have skyrocketed." Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, member of the Democratic leadership.

--"Health insurance companies are willing to let the bodies pile up as long as their profits are safe." A MoveOn.org ad.

THE NUMBERS:

Health insurers posted a 2.2 percent profit margin last year, placing them 35th on the Fortune 500 list of top industries. As is typical, other health sectors did much better -- drugs and medical products and services were both in the top 10.

The railroads brought in a 12.6 percent profit margin. Leading the list: network and other communications equipment, at 20.4 percent.

HealthSpring, the best performer in the health insurance industry, posted 5.4 percent. That's a less profitable margin than was achieved by the makers of Tupperware, Clorox bleach and Molson and Coors beers.

The star among the health insurance companies did, however, nose out Jack in the Box restaurants, which only achieved a 4 percent margin.

UnitedHealth Group, reporting third quarter results last week, saw fortunes improve. It managed a 5 percent profit margin on an 8 percent growth in revenue.

Van Hollen is right that premiums have more than doubled in a decade, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study that found a 131 percent increase.

But were the Bush years golden ones for health insurers?

Not judging by profit margins, profit growth or returns to shareholders. The industry's overall profits grew only 8.8 percent from 2003 to 2008, and its margins year to year, from 2005 forward, never cracked 8 percent.

The latest annual profit margins of a selection of products, services and industries: Tupperware Brands, 7.5 percent; Yahoo, 5.9 percent; Hershey, 6.1 percent; Clorox, 8.7 percent; Molson Coors Brewing, 8.1 percent; construction and farm machinery, 5 percent; Yum Brands (think KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), 8.5 percent.

I am shocked the Democrats would lie about profits.

Why Keynes Theory Didn't Work

2009-10-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

Keynes was an economist who believed that the depression could have been reduced if not avoided if the government would step in and spend money to keep the economy stimulated while the public sector catches its breath and then re-engages the market. This would greatly reduce the fall in the market place and keep the unemployment level down and the economy moving forward.

What went wrong?

First, look at debt load. Our nation was vastly in debt and increasing spending only magnified the debt and the gloom and doom associated with excessive debt. Instead of embracing the spending, the debt and the future payments on it, out weighed the possible benefit.

Second, the government was late to the party. The economy started tanking in 2007 but nothing was done until 2008. To add insult to injury, the key issue that started the negative downturn was debt. Personal debt, corporate debt, state debt and federal debt all these debts and others weighed down our economy. The Bush administration racked up a great deal of debt and the weight and cost of terrorism made the debt more magnified.

Third, Keynes made no suggestion of public bailouts and take overs. These excesses further depressed the notion of the public sector becoming re-engaged in the market place. Companies that have been financial fortresses for decades were suddenly easy prey for an over anxious government system. Big debt was bought and controlled by bigger debt. The actions of our government are stained by the impression of communism and careful review of those who are in charge, furthers the assessment.

Well we are now here and want out. We are seeing the governments lust for power starting to show in its recent encroachment on executive salaries and compensation. When will the government encroachment end and the people restore the confidence in the market. I have been saying that it will take the public at least six months to gain any confidence after the government stops playing around. That will include any hints of meddling. I believe recovery would have happened much quicker if the government would have allowed private business to fail and adaptive. If the strong or the new innovators could have moved in and stabilized the market all would be far better.
With the government constantly changing the business market and picking winners and losers at random, the economy will continue to suffer. No confidence can be created in the marketplace by fictitious propping of the government. Confidence just like respect is earned.

Killing The First Amendment

2009-10-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

The first amendment suffered a major blow last night. Perhaps you remember these words:

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.

They were ratified and adopted into the US Constitution on the 15th of December 1791. Last night these words took a direct hit from the senate as it voted 68-29 to adopt HR1913. It was attached to a military spending bill as a way to sneak it through. This bill attacks freedom of religion, freedom of speech and goes far enough to penalize an individual for their thoughts.
I tried to warn you of the dangers of this bill back in May, when I wrote HR 1913 Needs to be Stopped. We are now about to see this go before the president for his signature. Our only hope is that it is attached to a military spending bill he said he would veto. I can't imagine him not sighing the bill he has dreamed about signing just because of a pesky military spending attachment. His word and the value demonstrated by it in the past offers no hope at all.

Soon all sexual deviance will be allowable under the law with special protections. Your children and animals are no longer safe against these sexual predictors. We can expect a challenge taken to the supreme court but how many will suffer and how many will be silenced in the mean time.

article: Congress passes 'Pedophile Protection Act'

Choose Your Battle Wisely

2009-10-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

That expression has been an important part of my life. Some battles need to be won in a direct and open forum while others can be waged in subtle non confrontational methods. Great care needs to be taken when deciding what method best suits the issue. In many cases, agree to disagree and move on. Future facts and information may better win the issue at hand.

The White House doesn't seem to think the subtle method is the right option for FOX News. They have gotten out the heavy hitters. Apparently meeting the needs of your general in the theatre of operation in Afghanistan isn't as high a priority as battling FOX News. Our economy is in the tank and our unemployment is at near record levels, but which battle is the White House taking on with its full force?

Ironicly, the white house is trying to use FOX's competition as a tool in the battle. They obviously are oblivious of the fact that one day they too could be in the target scope. The second and perhaps even funnier note is the combined veiwership for all the other news networks don't match the outreach of FOX. With that level of reach, FOX is even promoting the White House message and disarming it with finesse.

Looks like another poor choice for our President and his advisors. Add this one to the list. Even liberal Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas on Monday advised the Obama administration to stand down and avoid further fighting with Fox News and its correspondents. Perhaps the Pide Piper of Politics is starting to loose its grasp.

Follow Up Reading:
Thomas to White House: Stay out of Fox News fight
Media Wars: White House Crosses the Line
White House Urges Other Networks to Disregard Fox News

NY Race To Watch

2009-10-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

It is a tight race and one that may change the future game. The race is between Democrat Bill Owens, Republican Dede Scozzafava and Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. The key point in this race is where the conservatives are placing their votes. That's right, the Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

The GOP thought that simply running someone with their tag line would cause the voters to flock to their side. It no longer is as simple as "R" or "D". The people are waking up and they are realizing that character matters. They are pointing to conservative principles. The GOP can't ignore the fact that the people are flocking to a conservative. Dede in no conservative. List a conservative point and you will likely find her on the opposing side.

We can no longer count on a party or group. We need to carefully pick our representatives. We need a moral and just group of leaders who are willing to sacrifice selfish ambitions for true America first values. I don't care who the party of affiliation is. Can they be independent thinkers with the love of America and the determination for her success? That needs to be the standard of measurement.

I think this election in NY could be the waking point of this nation. If Mr. Hoffman wins it will change the perspective of the parties. The question is whether they will turn into an angry two year old and throw a tantrum or accept the clear image of what the people want for their representative.

We could expect to see this same line up playing out across America. I hope we all get a chance to vote for a true conservative. Better yet, I hope we all get the chance to see conservatives with America first values go to Washington DC and change the nation back to what our founders dreamed of.

Update 10/22/09: Sarah Palin bucks the Republican party and throws her support to Doug Hoffman. Keep watching this race, the future of America is riding on this.

It Isn't Over Yet

2009-10-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

The healthcare debate rages on. Plan after plan have been discussed and morphed into crazy schemes. I know I have spent way too many hours reading and sifting through everything I can find on the subject. Let's see if we can break this down to some basics.

Less then 1/3 of doctors like the plan (I am never told which plan.)

The Unions are for the plan because it sets up well for them to unionize the whole group. (They forgot how little control this really gives them to negotiate. Remember when all the flight controllers were fired?)

Drug companies hate the plan. (It will cut research and growth in the industry by 70%. All those future cures that we have been waiting so desperately for, you can kiss good-bye.)

Anyone with a research dependent disease should be against this plan. (New Treatments and medical advancements will be deemed experimental and wont be covered.)

Creating a completely new system and the bureaucracy to run it will exceed all cost estimates. (When has a government program not cost more then originally proposed?)

45% Of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul. (I have already posted the fact that there are more lawyers per capita then doctors. How will things get better with far fewer?)

Cuts in Medicare will help pay for this. (The program that is becoming the most liked is about to be axed causing many to have to change their entire health care system.)

Cutting waste, fraud and abuse from Medicare will pay a substantial portion of the cost. (If the government knew how to do this why didn't they do it up till now? If waste, fraud, and abuse was cut from all areas of government we would probably see a net drop in government spending by 20%. Read the White House Plan to get a good laugh.)

_________________________

We could go on and on here. The size of the bills and the number of changes they are trying to make at one time is out of control. There is little to no considerations made for what these changes cause and effect will be and what plan if any will be put in place to contain changes that are detrimental to the programs. Very few of the changes are revenue neutral and many will come with increase costs after initial action is taken.

Let's stop fooling ourselves that these ideas have even the vaguest of chance at improving our healthcare system and focus on the known and fixable problems. Go back and read Understanding the Healthcare Debate, and think through the issues. Do we want a whole new system with entirely new problems to fix along with a government program that will be slow and burdensome on the people?

Advanced Reading:
Where in the constitution does the government have the authority to run healthcare?
The Trouble With Health Care Is Paying for It

A Government-Run “Public” Health Insurance Plan: Why Doctors, Hospitals, and Patients Will Lose

Exercise Can Be Fun

2009-10-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

What a great idea. I just had to post it.

CO2 Produces -- What?

2009-10-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

For years we have been told that all our excessive CO2 emissions were creating Global Warming. We have had regulation after regulation, law after law, all around the world attempting to curb the production of CO2 in order to stop global warming. But Wait.....

White House science czar John Holdren has predicted 1 billion people will die in "carbon-dioxide induced famines" in a coming new ice age by 2020.

Did you get that? CO2 isn't the cause of global warming. It causes global cooling. Ironically, the science does show that CO2 causes cooling. Scientists who have been fighting the Global Warming loons for years have been trying to point this out. All of a sudden, we are right they are wrong, on this one issue only of course, and the world is in extreme jeopardy again. Now everyone is screaming again and running the other way.

If they are wrong, why are we still listening? They run from crisis to crisis with no reality check. They have no basis to build their catastrophic scenarios on but the emotional hype draws everyone in. I predicted this in February when I wrote, Global Cooling is Back. Now here they come and once again their is big money to be had even in a make believe crisis.

Let me set the population question to rest. If we have about 7 billion people on the planet, and science has already proved that it only takes one acre of land with proper gardening to sustain a family of four, then we only need about 1.75 billion acres of farm land to feed all the people on the planet. This acre of land could be managed and maintained by the family of four. According to the CIA Fact Book, there are 3.98 billion acres of arable land in the world. This includes all land that has been used for farm/agricultural purposes for five or more years. Now if we throw in cooperate farming practices and yield increases due to mechanization we can come to a very quick conclusion that we have plenty of food. It has been estimated that the available arable land could produce enough food to feed 33 billion people. The problem is delivery.

Due to poor government management, corruption and political contrivances, millions of tons of food go to waste every year. Most of us can recall stories of food rotting on the docks of nations with death by starvation rampant. The wrong country or person gave them the food and they are either too foolish or cruel to feed their people.

The reality is that we are being duped again by hyped up extremists. We need to gather the facts, look at the validity of what is being suggested and draw real conclusions. We don't need Hollywood over embellished movies to stretch the truth.

Let's take a simple look at the weather. If you were to get out a calendar and mark down every time the weather man was right, one day, one week or two weeks in advance, I think you would come to the conclusion that they can't predict successfully out more then three days. Yet we have all these groups who are giving us doom and gloom tales of weather 10-20 years into the future. If we can't believe a 15 day forecast what makes you believe even a one year one? Tell the nuts to sit down and shut up.

Article that got me started.

Links of Interest:
Overpopulation: Is There Such A Thing?
A Profile of the World
The CIA World Fact Book - Farmed land per country

I Found A Need For Regulation

2009-10-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

According to the American Bar Association, there were 1,128,729 resident and active attorneys in the United States in 2006 and 1,143,358 in 2007. In 2007 the population of the USA was 302.2 million people. That would be 264.3 people per attorney in the US. If we look at physicians we would find 370.4 people per doctor in the US. Now which would you say needed to be regulated. Seems we never have enough doctors but we have a severe over supply of attorneys.
When was the last time you saw an ad for a doctors office. You know, they just don't have enough patients so they are running ads trying to drum up business. On the other hand, I see ads for attorneys all the time.
So the question is, How many attorneys would be enough? The courts are currently back logged with cases. If attorneys weren't so accessible, perhaps fewer cases would go to court. Perhaps more deals would be worked out among the individuals involved. Perhaps, people's word would have value again.

Attorneys create no product that adds value to society. They simply take something from someone else and then give you part of it. Sometimes they inject others into the system adding to the cost of the event, but reducing the value of the out come.
Now I don't want you to think that we don't need attorneys, because they do help create a channel of communication and restitution when real harm or personal advocacy is necessary. In heated discussions a third party can often bring a resolution to the forefront.
So how many should it take to do that? Do you think one per thousand people would be enough?

To My Congress Critters and Acting President:
Let me make a suggestion here. Push those huge piles of Health Reform Bills aside and create a bill that regulates attorneys. You may be surprised at how fast this could actually fix both problems.

Oops!

2009-10-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

This brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, the largest passenger airplane ever built, sits just outside its hangar in Toulouse, France without a single hour of airtime.

Enter the Arab flight crew of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies ( ADAT) to conduct pre-delivery tests on the ground, such as engine run-ups prior to delivery to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi . The ADAT crew taxied the A340-600 to the run-up area.Then they took all Four engines to takeoff power with a virtually empty aircraft. Not having Read the run-up manuals, they had no clue just how light an empty A340-600 Really is. The takeoff warning horn was blaring away in the cockpit because they had All 4 engines at full power. The aircraft computers thought they were trying to take off, configured properly (flaps/slats, etc..) Then one of the ADAT crew decided to pull the circuit breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm. The computers automatically released all the Brakes and set the aircraft rocketing forward. The ADAT crew had no idea that this is a safety feature so that pilots can't land with the brakes on.

Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was smart enoughto throttle back the engines from their max power setting, so the$200 million brand-new Aircraft crashed into a blast barrier, totaling it!
The extent of injuries to the crew is unknown due to the
news blackout in the major media in France and elsewhere.Coverage of the story was deemed insulting to Muslim Arabs.
Finally, the photos are starting to leak out.

A French Airbus. $200 million dollars

Under trained Arab Flight Crew $300,000 Yearly SalaryUnread Operating Manual $300

AIRCRAFT MEETS RETAINING WALL

-- WALL WINS

PRICELESS!

Fact or Fiction we don't know. The information of what really happened and how has yet to be fully released. The above story may or may not be true.

It sure makes a great read though.

Snopes

Me, Me, ME, It's All About Me.

2009-10-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

BO is starting to on everyones nerves. Even our closest allies are starting to worry. I just read an article that brings this into perfect clarity.

The World Wearies of the Narcissist-in-Chief
By Joy Tiz

“The beauty of being a narcissist is that even when disaster stares you in the face, you feel neither doubt nor remorse.” —Carl Vogel, A Field Guide to Narcissism

Politicians on both sides of the aisle are becoming perturbed about the president’s “I - ME” fixation - the manifest hubris of Obama. His opening line at the UN speech was “The world has great expectations of ME…” as though the force of his charisma is enough to tame maniacal despots - that his words are all we need – never mind that they are pure perfidy.

Obama is also causing angst among our allies. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is especially irked with him. On Greta van Susteren, Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that at the UN general assembly, Obama’s advisors told him not to interfere with his “fantasy about global disarmament” by bringing up the incontrovertible fact that the Iranians were cheating. Kelly’s sources, close to Sarkozy, says Sarkozy thinks Obama is “incredibly naive and grossly egotistical - so egotistical that no one can dent his naiveté” which is making everyone jittery about what that means for the West. “The President of the U.S. is the leader of the free world; and if the President isn’t going to lead the free world, it isn’t going to be led.”

Former Senator Rick Santorum added, “The international community now is beginning to become aware that not only is [Obama] naive in his pursuit of a whole bunch of things including complete nuclear disarmament, but that his ego gets in the way of him learning anything about why he’s wrong on these things. That’s a very dangerous combination - to not know anything and to think you know everything.”

This is all seen by our allies as just a president who is incredibly naïve

He went on to describe “the fantasy of Obama foreign policy” in Iran: “Obama, we now know, knew about this other nuclear facility, which in all likelihood is developing a nuclear weapon, and stood on the sidelines and allowed that movement which would have taken away potentially a regime that was going to develop nuclear weapons that can reach Israel and parts of Europe… at the same time they’re doing that, he’s pulling out anti-missile defense shields… inciting further anger among our European allies. This is all seen by our allies as just a president who is incredibly naïve, that somehow his persona, his aura will convince people to do things that are not in their interest or not in their history of doing. This is scaring our allies away and at the same time making our enemies look at us as feeble and weak.”

“I think the ‘narcissist in chief’ is in over his head and is detrimental to our national security.
Former CIA official Michael Scheuer called Obama a perpetual adolescent and a dishonest man. Foreign policy expert Lawrence Eagleburger said he has no faith in Obama as a leader. Lt. Col. Jeff Addicott said Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing, that they need strategic clarity from him in Afghanistan. Another expert on FNC said he wishes Obama would make a decision about Afghanistan, saying, “I think the ‘narcissist in chief’ is in over his head and is detrimental to our national security.

A less qualified presidential candidate would have been hard to find. Yet Obama was not only a serious candidate and ultimate victor, but during his campaign, he pranced around, acting as if he already was president and the election was merely a ceremony to formalize his taking of the crown… even displaying his own seal which looked remarkably like the president’s official seal.

For the narcissist, nothing matters more than maintaining his narcissistic supply. From Obama’s perspective, being chided by a cable news commentator really is a more pressing exigency than the reality of Iran amassing nuclear weapons. Obama is already showing the truculence typical of narcissists when they sense a threat to narcissistic supply.

The current leader of the free world is not in touch with reality. The toady press gleefully accepts his fabrications and denials. And mental health professionals have shown a remarkable lack of curiosity about the mental health of the president of the United States.

***********

This came out of Canada. Few in America are willing to criticize the president. The world has a clear perspective on our leader and nearly half of America seem to be under his spell. No wonder why so many Democrats think the American people are dumb.

Thanks Heavy Handed for Pointing this out to me.

Play to Win - Talking About Iran

2009-10-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

Perhaps not understanding what is really going on is part of the "problem". This isn't some low impact casual event that we can walk away and disagree, knowing that everything will be okay tomorrow. This is a world altering seismic proportion event that could change the lives of millions. It is a life or death action that needs to be dealt with before it goes that far.

Some serious action needs to come to bare on this issue and a "victory" is indeed in order. It would be nice if they would stop their actions and return to peaceful activity but the words that come out of Iran say that isn't a possibility. The actions both in and out of their country say this isn't a possibility. Perhaps having to sit through repeated conversations and lectures from BO may indeed help.

"Please, if you just stop talking to us we will stop making nuclear bombs. We can't take another speech from you. We'll give up anything."

I know that sounds pretty realistic given the number of speeches we have had to endure here in America, but I don't think it is going to turn out that way.

We need real results. And yes, we need a Victory.

Humor and History

2009-10-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

For those that don't know about history . Here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

1. Liberals, and
2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can was invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth.... the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food is standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Bud. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police offi cers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:

I had to share this. It was to funny not to put here.