Suckers!

Are you a sucker? Take the test and find out: http://bit.ly/8mx2bg

How's that Hope and Change working for you?

Once Patients Pay, Health Costs Will Fall

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID.

When a third-party pays all the bills, cost rise. Since most Americans pay a $20 or $50 co-pay when they visit the doctor, no one is asking the doctor, "why do you charge $15 for an aspirin?" or "why do you charge $300 for a simple X-ray?". Because of that, costs rise.

Costs also rise because malpractice insurance for doctors is at an all-time high.

Cost also rise because of frivolous lawsuits.

Cost also rise because of over 2,000 state mandates on health insurance providers (i.e. if you want to sell health insurance in NC or GA or WV, you must offer acupuncture or chiropractic coverage even if the insurer does NOT want it). It's asinine!

How hard is it for the idiots in Washington to understand? The problem is they NOT want to understand; all they want is power and control.

Click on this link to read the article: http://bit.ly/5knqFc

What the Hell is Going On?

Update January 6, 2010: Great analyis by Dick Morris. http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/2010/01/06/dorgan-and-dodd-quit-sinking-ship/

For the 60%-70% of Americans who don't understand how/why Obama and his band of kamikaze law-makers can get away with shoving their radical, left-wing, big-spending agenda down our throats, here is a great article published earlier this week by Victor Davis Hansen where he provides, what is essentially a psychological profile of the radical liberal's mind. "[I]t is always about them—all the time." A great read!

http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/where-did-these-guys-come-from

Excerpts below:

"These true believers, then, don’t really care that the Blue Dogs (if such really exist) bite the dust in 2010, if Harry Reid goes up in smoke, or indeed, if Barack Obama is reelected. Instead, they will institutionalize an agenda that will affect America for generations, move it sharply to the left, and earn a spot in the academic pantheon of American heroes."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Without qualification (remember we are in a new age of transparency and ethical reform) votes are bought with hundred-million-dollar earmarks. . .

Such a strange scenario we have found ourselves in—a clear majority of Americans is opposed to almost everything Obama has to offer; congressional representatives know they are acting against the will of the people, but know too that they are offered all sorts of borrowed money for their districts to compensate for their unpopular actions. And a charismatic commander in chief believes that he can charm even the angriest of critics, and that anything he promises (Iran’s deadlines, closing of Guantanamo, new transparency, no more lobbyists, etc) means zilch and can be contextualized by another “let me be perfectly clear” speech spiced with a couple of the usual “it would have been impossible for someone as unlikely as me to have become President just (fill in the blanks) years ago

. . . . . So what drives his agenda? . . . .

Here are the three most prominent catalysts.

1. Equality of Result - "Give us all the same amount of money and perks at the end of the day, and then utopia reigns under the benevolent watch of Ivy-League professors and organizers. . . . Its more pernicious strains are socialist, in which the state ensures, through bureaucratic fiat and a labyrinth of laws that curb free expression, that redistribution is institutionalized. . . . . Remember, history’s greatest killers (Stalin and Mao) do it all 'for the people.'"
   
   
2. Multiculturalism - "It works like this: The ghetto resident, the denizen of the barrio, the abandoned and divorced waitress with three young children, can all chart their poverty and unhappiness not to accident, fate, bad luck, bad decisions, poor judgment, illegality or drug use, or simple tragedy, but rather exclusively to a system that is rigged to ensure oppression on the basis of race, class, and gender—often insidious and unfathomable except to the sensitive and gifted academic or community organizer.

   So Obama combines the age-old belief that the state is there to level the playing field (rather than protect the rights of the individual and secure the safety of the people from foreign threats), with the postmodern notion that government must re-compensate those by fiat on the basis on their race or class or gender. Remember all that, and everything from the Professor Gates incident, to the dutiful attendance at the foot of Rev. Wright to Van Jones become logical rather than aberrant. Michelle Obama could make $300,000 and she will always be more a victim than the Appalachian coal miner who earns $30,000, by virtue of her race and gender."

3. The Chicago Way - "Rahm Emanuel threatens recalcitrant congressmen with reminders of the long Obama memory. The Axelrod/Jarrett clique ensures that the government channels stimuli to blue-states, that key Congress people are bought off with tens of millions of government largess, that every campaign promise—from no lobbyists and airing on C-SPAN health care debates to posting impending legislation on the Internet for set durations and “reaching across the aisle”—is simply cynical fluff that no sane person would take seriously."

Asking why would Obama & Co. be so self-destructive to push through an array of proposals that have no more than 45% of the public’s support is like asking whether the well-off union boss is all that upset that membership has sunk to 30% of the workforce, or multimillion-dollar-earning Katie Couric-interviewing Sarah Palin is worried about her sinking ratings, or whether the New York Times columnists are upset that their mother paper is broke with subscription and readership down, and laying off thousands of blue-collar employees.

Instead, for the true believer, it is all about the self, and the sense of the self—and damn all other considerations. (We saw that with Jimmy Carter as well; that he destroyed liberal Democrat politics for a generation meant nothing; that he won prizes and jet-setted the world for thirty years meant everything. For these people, it is always about them—all the time. Let us eat cake as they end up liberal icons for the duration).

The most blatant cynicism in recent American political history—a man who ran as a bipartisan who is the most partisan we’ve seen, a healer whose even flippant comments are designed to offend, a statist who assumes that the sheared sheep cannot stampede somewhere else, a reformer who trusts his honey-laced rhetoric can disguise Daley style-corruption.

No Morals, No Ethics, No Accountability and No Transparency

What a mockery! Nothing but a bunch of whores and prostitutes!

http://tinyurl.com/yh3jk2c
http://bit.ly/8a3RaY
http://tinyurl.com/ydwunpe

It is truly sickening.

Guess What is on Page 1,020 of the Senate Health Care Bill?

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=516040

I defy anyone to make the argument that the Democrat Party, in their quest for power and control, are NOT destroying this country. Go ahead and continue to stick your head in the sand. Continue riding the apathy train!

I beg someone to step up to the plate and explain how the majority Party is NOT acting like a dictator. In EVERY SINGLE poll, the American people have rejected this bill. Harry Reid and Hussein Obama have not included a single Republican in the drafting of this legislation, they meet on Saturday nights on a regular basis to vote on this shit and they are playing all of us for fools.

Please go back in history and research how long certain historic pieces of legislation were debated. Please email me directly or post your findings in the Comments box on the blog. You will not find a single piece of legislation of this magnitude (one-sixth of the economy and the confiscation of your right to do what we want with our money!!!!) that was rammed through like this one.

How can anyone with a conscience vote for another Democrat? It's a crying shame that the Republican Party if full of civil, pleasant-sounding, "gentleman" like Mitch McConnell. GIVE ME A BREAK! He goes on the Senate floor today and calls Harry Reid "a gentleman" and "his good friend".

WHERE ARE THE LEADERS? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GONADS OF THE OPPOSITION PARTY?

What Would the World Be Like Without America?

Please post your response in the "Post a Comment" box below.

Be creative. Be critical. Be realistic. Think through the 233-year history. Pick a decade and think about how history may have been different had the U.S. not existed.

I look forward to your feedback.

Doomed to Repeat It

This is scary stuff!

Please check out the URL listed below, which chronicles the recent history of Argentina. If you do not see parallels with the current state of the United States then you need to be exiled to . . . Venezuela or San Fransisco. It demonstrates the incredible wisdom of our Founding Fathers and the absolute insanity of an ever-expanding federal government which continues to print money and raise the federal debt ceiling on a weekly basis.

Striking parallels:

• Mandatory health care for all ("You plebeians don't need to read the bill. Trust us.")
• Support for low-income housing ("No down payment required" - Freddie and Fannie)
• Increasing flow of funds into entitlement and social programs (Social Security - bankrupt, Food stamps - all-time high number of recipients, Welfare - come one come all, Unemployment compensation - 50+ weeks of benefits with no documentation while the administration does absolutely nothing to stimulate private sector job creation, explosion in federal workforce via the non-stimulus bill)
• Taking over private industries (banking, cars, insurance)
• The growth of labor unions (SEIU)

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/11/21/dont-cry-for-me-america

"In 1902 Argentina was one of the world's richest countries. Little more than a hundred years later, it is poverty-stricken, struggling to meet its debt obligations amidst a drought.

We've seen this movie before. The Democrats' populist plans can't possibly work, because government bankrupts everything it touches. History teaches us that ObamaCare and unfunded entitlement programs will be complete and utter disasters.

Today's Democrats are guilty of more than stupidity; they are enslaving future generations to poverty and misery. And they will be long gone when it all implodes. They will be as cold and dead as Juan Peron when the piper must ultimately be paid. "

Glory Days for Federal Employees

Update 12/28/09: Government Workers More Bullish About Economy. I wonder why?

USA Today reported that the fastest growing segment of jobs in the country is in the federal government. They are adding 10K jobs per month during a recession.

The average public sector job earner makes $40,331 per year, while the average federal government employee makes $71,206. It is a rapidly growing area, and they are paying top dollar.

• The Department of Transportation had one employee making more than $170K before the stimulus package was passed; after the stimulus package was passed, there are 1,690 transportation department employees making more than $170K.

• The FAA chief got a $100K + raise thanks to the stimulus package. That money is not being used to create jobs; it is being used to pad the pockets of federal workers. When the FAA chief got 100K + raise, how many other federal government employees got such raises? 1,700.

In the middle of a recession when millions of people are losing their jobs, federal employees are not only getting more jobs, but they are getting massive pay raises. This should be bothering people. It certainly bothers me as a taxpayer.

The deeper question is why is this happening? It's very simple, power, control and socialism. Who are the federal employees, many of whom are members of unions, going to vote for in the upcoming elections? Democrats OF COURSE. You vote for your own self interest. What party do unions contribute to? Democrats OF COURSE. It's a beautiful political strategy by a political party with no shame, morals or ethics, led by a community organizer.

How's that Hope and Change working for you? That question is only directed at those of you not on the public dole.

Lies

“But what we will do is, we’ll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies.”

“I’m going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We’ll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they’ll get a seat at the table, they just won’t be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we’ll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process.” - - - Barack Obama

What’s the solution? Pass this type of analysis on to people who are drinking the Kool-Aid. Make the people around you think for themselves. Once the American people are informed, they will make the right decisions at the ballot box. But we, as a nation, can no longer afford to walk blindly into the polls anymore.

How's that Hope and Change working out for ya?

Mid-Term Exam - Part 3 of 3

This post has three parts and I want to feed it to you over the course of several days so you can give it some thought.

Please answer the questions as honestly and in as much detail as you can. I will be curious to hear your ultimate findings at the end of the exam.

Question #1 - Would you vote for Sarah Palin for President in 2012? If so, why? If not, why?

Question #2 - Did you vote for Barack Obama? If so, why? If not, why?

Compare and contrast your answers.

Those of you who did not vote for Obama will not get much out of this exercise. My hope for those of you who answered "NO" to #1 and "YES" to #2 is that you will do some soul-searching and truly compare and contrast your responses. Do it honestly and let me know what was revealed.

Global Warming is now Climate Change

I just read Eugene Robinson's excuse-for-an-op-ed piece about Climategate. He essentially argues that it doesn't matter that top scientists who have been pushing the global warming scam on us for the past 20 years have been caught lying.

Nope! He starts out the article by saying, "Stop hyperventilating, all you climate change deniers." He goes on to say that this scandal, "does not prove that global warming is a fraud." And he further argues,

"Most Americans are convinced that climate change is real — a necessary prerequisite for the kinds of huge economic and behavioral adjustments we would have to make to begin seriously limiting carbon emissions."

He ends the article with this gem,

"It would be great if this were all a big misunderstanding. But we know carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, and we know the planet is hotter than it was a century ago. The skeptics might have convinced each other, but so far they haven't gotten through to the vanishing polar ice."

Are you kidding me? This guy is one of the top op-ed writers in the country? What a joke!

In the interest of time, I have one thing to say to the esteemed Mr. Robinson. . . . PROVE IT!

The fact of the matter is man made global warming is a fluke; a lie; a hoax. The fact that the PC crowd has now renamed it "climate change" tells us everything we need to know. We do not need to talk about proof that humans cause warming because the earth is NOT warming, polar ice is NOT vanishing, polar bears are NOT becoming extinct . . . . the list of lies goes on and on (just watch Gore's movie and you will find 20+ lies according to a British court).

So why do Liberals push this agenda? Power and control. Power to tax us into oblivion and control over how we live our lives (the cars we drive, the light bulbs we use, how many miles we drive, the temperature of our homes, where we live and more).

Don't fall for this shit. Think for yourself, do some research and ask people who make irresponsible comments to prove what they say. So many of our fellow citizens are sound-bite junkies. Don't let them get away with it.

Still Believe in the Global Warming Lie?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/24/hiding-evidence-of-global-cooling/

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100017393/climategate-the-final-nail-in-the-coffin-of-anthropogenic-global-warming/

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=2188feb3-802a-23ad-4de4-3fbc0a92e126&Issue_id

What if . . . .?

What IF:

• A Republican-led Senate paid for votes to other prostitute, Republicans with tax-payers' money (i.e. Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson)?
• A "lone wolf" terrorist had shot and killed 13 people and injured 30 on a military base during the Bush Administration? What would the headlines been in the lamestream media?
• A Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill taking over one-sixth of the nation's economy on a Saturday night?
• President Bush won the Nobel Peace Prize?
• The Bush Administration did not allow a cost of living increase for Social Security recipients for the first time since 1975 while, at the same time, pushing through a potential 11% increase in Medicare premiums then proposed a $250 per senior one-time pay-off?
• What if President Bush promised that unemployment would not exceed 8% if Congress passed his stimulus bill and the rate promptly went to 10%?
• The Bush Administration proposed cutting Medicare spending? Do you remember what happened to Bush when he proposed privatizing a small part of Social Security?
• George W. Bush played golf more times in 8 months than Bill Clinton did in 8 years? Do you remember what the lamestream media said every time Bush went home to Crawford?
• George W. Bush has claimed to have "saved or created" 30,000 jobs at an average cost of $71,000 per job? What the hell is a "saved" job anyway????
• George W. Bush had passed out white lab coats to a crowd of doctors gathered to hear him speak about health care reform so the photo op looked good on TV?
• George W. Bush told George Stephanopolus that looking up the dictionary definition of 'taxes' is a "stretch"?
• George W. Bush tried to take over one-sixth of the U.S. economy?
• George W. Bush took over student loans?
• George W. Bush flew to Copenhagen to lobby for the Olympics while his wife decided to go over a couple days earlier? Not a peep out of the environmental wackos!
• George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year?
• George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years?
• George W. Bush had, in his first year in office, increase the national debt beyond the cumulative totals of all 43 preceding presidents?
• George W. Bush had nominated multiple people to high government posts who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes?
• George W. Bush went on the David Letterman Show and 5-6 other news shows in the same week?
• George W. Bush said he was going to campaign in all 57 states?
• George W. Bush said all bills will be available online before a vote and then proceeded to hide all major bills from the public?
• George W. Bush had said there will be no pork barrel projects in a bill and then proceeded to pack the very bill with over 8,000 of them?
• George W. Bush had surrounded himself with radicals and crazy preachers his entire adult life?
• George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia?
• George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift?
• George W. Bush went on a world tour apologizing for the country he is supposed to represent?
• George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches? Can you say embarrassing, narcissistic and tacky?
• George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language"?
• George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on “Earth Day”, would you have concluded he is a hypocrite?
• George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic? Would you have wondered whether they actually “get” what happened on 9-11?
• George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter to be installed to be able to get through a press conference? Would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
• George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so?
• George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM?
• George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in New York City?

IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE BLINDING HYPOCRISY THEN YOU DESERVE THE COUNTRY THAT WE ARE QUICKLY BECOMING - IMPOTENT, SOCIALISTIC AND MEDIOCRE. I, FOR ONE, PREFER POWERFUL, CAPITALISTIC AND EXCEPTIONAL JUST LIKE OUR FOUNDING FATHERS ENVISIONED THE COUNTRY.

More on the Healthcare Bill

Check this out!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574443472658898710.html

"Take a provision in the Baucus bill that would punish any physician whose "resource use" is considered too high. Beginning in 2015, Medicare would rank doctors against their peers based on how much they cost the program—and then automatically cut all payments by 5% to anyone who falls into the 90th percentile or above. In practice, this rule will only apply to specialists.

Since there will always be a missing chair when the music stops, every year one of 10 physicians will be punished if he orders too many tests, performs too many procedures or prescribes too many drugs—whether or not the treatments result in better patient outcomes. The 5% fine is substantial given that Medicare's price controls already pay only 83 cents on the private dollar."

Let Them Hang Themselves

Have you ever seen a hanging curve ball like the one the Republican Party is currently looking at?

I'm no political expert but the key to victory in 2010 and 2012 seems blatantly obvious yet the Republican Party remains quiet? Is it by design that Michael Steele and team are AWOL? Perhaps. Could it be the implementation of the "Let-Them-Hang-Themselves" strategy?

As a disgruntled Republican who just lived through eight years of "compassionate conservatism" (which left me categorized as a "hateful conservative") I am ready for some action.

Strategy for 2010

In order to win back the Congress in 2010, Republicans simply need to keep up the current "Let-Them-Hang-Themselves" strategy. When it is all said and done, Liberals in this country will set themselves back at least two election cycles as their child-like power grab goes dangerously awry. The stock market will take 10 years to recover, the unemployment rate will take 5 years (if we are lucky) to recover and small business/entrepreneurs will face an uphill battle to create jobs for the next 3 years at least. All of this will be laid at the feet of the Democrat Party despite the efforts of CNN, ABC, MSNBC, NBC and CBS.

Strategy for 2012

Winning back the White House in 2012 requires an even simpler strategy than the 2010 elections. The platform is two-fold:

#1 - Roll back everything Hussein did over the past four years. Presumably, the next President will have a majority in Congress who can pull this off.

#2 - Implement tax cuts across the board and watch the economy take off.

I hope Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney can hit curve balls!

Who Does This Sound Like?

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Romans 16:17-18

Perversion of Truth and Justice

The Only Cogent Person to Speak at the U.N.

If you have any interest in the truth of the world in which we currently live, spend 30 minutes watching Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the U.N. We are living in a dangerous and pivotal time and the leaders of the worlds' superpowers (for the most part) are spineless, rudderless and impotent. That is a recipe for disaster. WAKE UP!

Part 1 - click to watch

Part 2 - click to watch

Part 3 - click to watch

Part 4 - click to watch

"Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?"

"Peace, prosperity and dignity" but only with security.

Seems simple doesn't it? Why does the United Nations, Obama, China, Russia and the entire Middle East oppose immediate dismantling of Iran's nuclear facilities?

If you do nothing else, listen to the end of Part 4 with the quote from Winston Churchill and I defy you to make the argument that we are not at that exact point in history right now.

The Difference Between a Conservative and a Liberal

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, they don’t buy one. If a liberal doesn’t like guns, then no one should have one.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, they don’t eat meat. If a liberal is, they want to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, they quietly enjoy their life. If a liberal is homosexual, they loudly demand legislated respect .

If a black man or Hispanic is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful. Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church. A liberal wants all churches to be silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that his neighbors pay for his.

What are the Democrats Afraid Of? The Truth!!

Earlier this week, an amendment introduced by Senator Bunning (R-KY) that required the health care reform bill and estimates of its costs to be available to the public 72 hours before the final vote in the Finance Committee was rejected by a vote of 11-12. This amendment would have given Senators and the American people the opportunity to analyze and understand what is being voted on by the Committee. Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced a modified version of the amendment, which passed on a party-line vote, that requires that only "conceptual" language (essentially a summary) and cost analysis be available at some point before the Finance Committee votes.

The Democrat Party is run by the Left and they are going to do whatever the hell they want; the American public be damned.

Pathetic and short-sighted.

Economics 101

If you have any historical perspective of economics, you know that we always recover but the speed of the recovery is always in question depending on the policies deployed to deal with the downturn.

The rapid recoveries always come when we have investment incentives that encourage people and businesses to invest in the United States. You encourage entrepreneurs to take chances to come up with new companies and new technologies. The result is rapid advances that creates millions of new jobs.

The alternative is to do what we are doing now (spend a lot of money on digging holes, patching roads, making turtle paths and horse trails). The result is slow, sputtering recoveries that take 10-15 years to get us back to where we were before. See the Great Depression and the 1930's following it and how we stumbled along into World War II or, if you prefer, the 1970's where we spent 10 years fumbling around until we finally got the right kind of incentives that launched us into the technology revolution of the 80's and 1990's.

So given the empirical evidence, why do you believe that the Obama administration is taking us down the current path? Could it be that they are committed Socialists and borderline Communists? No, of course not! Pay no attention to our President's past or his czars that were appointed with no congressional approval.

Please tell me this is a bad dream!!!

How's that 'Hope and Change' working for you?

Analysis of the Liberals by a Self-Proclaimed Liberal

http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2009/09/09/healthcare/

This is delicious! Excerpts from a self-proclaimed liberal Democrat, Camille Paglia, on Salon.com.

Why has the Democratic Party become so arrogantly detached from ordinary Americans? Though they claim to speak for the poor and dispossessed, Democrats have increasingly become the party of an upper-middle-class professional elite, top-heavy with journalists, academics and lawyers (one reason for the hypocritical absence of tort reform in the healthcare bills). Weirdly, given their worship of highly individualistic, secularized self-actualization, such professionals are as a whole amazingly credulous these days about big-government solutions to every social problem. They see no danger in expanding government authority and intrusive, wasteful bureaucracy. This is, I submit, a stunning turn away from the anti-authority and anti-establishment principles of authentic 1960s leftism.

It was as if Democrats live in a utopian dream world, divorced from the daily demands and realities of organization and management.
(No shit! You think??)

She can't say all of that without taking the obligatory shot at Republicans, Dick Cheney, George Bush and, even, Newt Gingrich:

Having said all that about the failures of my own party, I am not about to let Republicans off the hook. What a backbiting mess the GOP is! It lacks even one credible voice of traditional moral values on the national stage and is addicted to sonorous pieties of pharisaical emptiness. Republican politicians sermonize about the sanctity of marriage while racking up divorces and sexual escapades by the truckload. They assail government overreach and yet support interference in women's control of their own bodies. Advanced whack-a-mole is clearly needed for that yammering smarty-pants Newt Gingrich, who is always so very, very pleased with himself but has yet to produce a single enduring thought. The still inexplicably revered George W. Bush ballooned our national deficits like a drunken sailor and clumsily exacerbated the illegal immigration debate. And bizarrely, the hallucinatory Dick Cheney, a fake-testosterone addict who spooked Bush into a pointless war, continues to be lauded as presidential material.

Is it even worth bringing up the obvious???? John Edwards, Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle, Charlie Rangel, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Van Jones . . . . . . ? I don't think it is necessary anymore. I believe the American people have finally woken up.

Delicious!

100% Failure Rate

I have documented much of this previously but, at this point, repetition is required to get the message across. The federal government has a 100% failure rate. Why do we, THE PEOPLE, continue to turn more and more of our lives over to them?

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 - they've had 234 years to get it right; it is broke and, even though heavily subsidized, it can't compete with private sector - Fed Ex and UPS services.

• U.S. Postal Service Earnings


• Postal Service Struggles to Stay Solvent

Social Security was established in 1935 - they've had 74 years to get it right, it is broken and bankrupt. 

• This program was doomed from the start. The first recipient, Ida Mae Fuller, contributed $25 and drew $23,000.
  

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - they've had 71 years to get it right; it is broken.

Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; it is broken.

The War on Poverty was started in 1964 - they've had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our hard-earned money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - they've had 44 years to get it right; they are both broken and bankrupt. And now our government dares to mention them as models for all US health care.

AMTRAK was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; last year they bailed it out as it continues to run at huge loss. Only the federal government would think transporting people via 100+ year old technology is a good business model.

This year, a trillion dollars was committed in the massive political payoff called the Stimulus Bill of 2009; it shows NO signs of working unless increasing the size of government was the goal . . . . Has it created a single new private sector job? Our national debt projections (approaching $10 trillion) have increased 400% in the last six months.

"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009 - - after a large percentage of the cars purchased turned out to be produced by foreign companies. And don't worry about the dealers nationwide who are buried under bureaucratic paperwork demanded by a government that is not yet paying them what was promised.

So, with a perfect 100% failure rate, we are now supposed to turn the best health care system in the world over to government? The majority of the problems that do exist with the current system can be laid at the feet of government (federal and states) by way of the 2,000+ mandates on insurance companies and the skyrocketing cost of malpractice insurance due to our lack of tort reform.

Sure Mr. Obama, take over 17% of our economy! Why not one more governmental boondoggle? Only this time you will not be playing with our money, you will be playing with our lives.

Hypocrisy Personified

Q: Who said, "So let's not question each others' patriotism when we have this very honest debate that this country expects and deserves . . ." and in describing FDR, said, "he was a disruptor and I'm a fan of disruptors, people who make change".
A: Nancy Pelosi (DEMOCRAT, CA) 2006 at a town hall with a bunch of anti-war protestors, many of whom were shouting at her and demonstrating.

Q: Who said, “I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you’re not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration.”
A: Hillary Clinton (DEMOCRAT, AK,NY,D.C.) , 2003

Q: Who called town-hall protesters of Obamacare “evil-mongers”
A: Harry Reid (DEMOCRAT, UT)

Hopefully I have made my point. There are many, many more examples that I could document - astroturf, tea party demonstrators, Code Pink, ACORN, anti-Bush demonstrator = good - anti-Obama demonstrator = bad, John Edwards vs. Mark Sanford, etc.

While I am not saying Republicans are perfect (far from it!!!). I am challenging you to find similar hypocrisy on the Right. I guarantee you CANNOT because the lapdog of the Left, the lamestream media, would put it on the front page of every paper and blog for 10 days.

The point is: pay attention, think for yourself, ask questions, be your own advocate, be curious, fight for your rights, fight for your country, call it like you see it and don't vote for people who insult your intelligence just because they have a "D" next to their name (or an "R").

Idiots do not deserve to represent us.

Idiocy Personified

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aitvFZTOrp4&feature=related

"Let me be the first to say I would be thrilled if America's healthcare system was anywhere near as functional as the Post Office" - - Bill Maher

He will get his wish only on steroids. Instead of bleeding billions of dollars a year and now having to close down hundreds of branches, the healthcare system will bleed hundreds of billions of dollars each year and turn the most advanced and innovative machine in the world into a rationing, socialistic nightmare.

Apathy and idiots now rule America! It is absolutely pathetic!

"What good is it to read the bill?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACbwND52rrw

There are many other examples of ignorant, omnipotent, arrogant Democrat "leaders" saying similar things.

Try this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac1oqUwzkNk&feature=PlayList&p=446EEDC0387C93DF&index=54&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL

"The American people really don't care"????????? Is that right Mr. Schumer?

Is that true? Do you really not give a shit about what happens to this country? The name of this blog is APATHY REINS because, it is my belief that, apathy "reigns" supreme in this country and the "reins" of apathy are steering this country. The majority of people in this country don't give a rat's ass what goes on in Washington, Raleigh, Columbia, Albany, Jackson, Charleston, Harrisburg, Tallahasee, Trenton, Austin, etc and the socialists who currently control the federal government and many of our state capitals play that ignorance and apathy for all it is worth because once power is seized it is rarely relinquished without a fight. Need proof??? Look at every single government program ever instituted . . . what percent of them have ever been eliminated????? Look at every single socialist society. What percent of them relinquished power without massive bloodshed????

What we are witnessing now is exactly what the Founders of this country tried to avoid! Unfortunately, apathy reigns and most of you don't care what The Constitution, The Bill of Rights or The Federalist Papers have to say.

Mark my words: APATHY ENDS IN TYRANNY!

Healthcare - The Forthcoming Debacle Part II

[Note from the editor: I would be honored if one of you would submit this blog to flag@whitehouse.gov as "fishy" anti-healthcare reform propaganda.]

Why pursue historically discredited policies? Read on for the answer.

How can you believe a political party that lied about:

• global warming?
• how bad the economy was during the Bush and Reagan years?
• how good the economy is now?
• paying their taxes (a la half of Obama's nominees)?
• allowing bills to be available for public consumption before voting?
• allowing no earmarks in the non-stimulus bill?
• senior citizens losing their social security benefits when Bush tried to partially privatize this ponzi-scheme?
• the war in Iraq?
• the credit crisis?
• cap-and-tax (I mean cap-and-trade)?
• 45 million people without health insurance?
• the healthcare system being broken?

Why is an overhaul necessary when (using the Dem's own numbers) almost 90% of the population currently has health insurance?

Why would you believe that the federal government can efficiently manage 1/5 of our economy when they can't even deliver the mail or manage Amtrak without accumulating billions upon billions of losses year after year?

What proof do we have that the federal government can handle something this massive? How about Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security? In the 40-year span from 1968 through 2007 Social Security spending went up 25 times, Medicare 85.5 and Medicaid 105.9.

• The omnipotent federal government's 25-year projection for Medicare spending in the mid-1960s was $10 billion. Actual: $107 billion. Off just slightly.
• Medicaid outlays in 1968 were $1.8 billion. In 2007, we were up to $190.6 billion.
• Social Security outlays in 1968 were $23.3 billion. In 2007, $581.4 billion. Apparently no one in the federal government ever heard of the "baby boom". They were taken by surprise.

The answer is POWER & CONTROL.

Just say it and get it out in the open and stop pretending that the America public is stupid. Stop the deception and disingenuousness . Just tell us what the end game is . . . socialism, centralized power in the hands of a few people in Washington, D.C. The EXACT OPPOSITE of what the Founders of this country planned. JUST SAY IT!!!

The truth is they are nothing more than a bunch of power hungry school yard bullies. The other visual I get is the fox guarding the sheep or the chicken coop. Washington is the fox and we are the sheep/chickens (lame, helpless and stupid).

WAKE UP AMERICA!

Straight Out of 1984

What country do we live in? You have got to check this out: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/

Can you imagine the conniption fit that the lamestream media would have had if the Bush administration used WhiteHouse.gov in such a manner? The hypocrisy and balls of this administration is absolutely astounding.

If you don't hear from me in a few weeks, you will know that the Healthcare/Obama/Socialist gestapo has taken me into custody for free speech violations. While many members of my family receive my blog, 90% of them disagree with me politically; so don't count on them to report me missing. I'm counting on you!

Here are a few of the responses that I and others have submitted to the White House:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: flag@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Flag on healthcare
Flags from the Healthcare Bill that I have received from others passed around on the Internet. None of this is true but they keep spreading lies!

* Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
* Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
* Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
* Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
* Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
* Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
* Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
* Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)

Please stop the lies from continuing to be spread. I want a government bureaucrat making decisions about my healthcare. It works so well in Europe, Australia and Canada.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To: 'flag@whitehouse.gov'
Subject: Healthcare flags

Here are some lies being distributed on the Internet about the healthcare bill:

* Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
* Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
* Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
* Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
* Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
* Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
* Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
* Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
* Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.

It’s not fair that people are actually reading the bill. It doesn’t allow the President and the Congress to do what they know is best for us. Please shut down the Internet.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: 'flag@whitehouse.gov'
Subject: Lies about healthcare bill

I keep getting emails with lies like the following:
* Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll
* Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
* Page 167: Any individual who does not have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
* Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
* Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
* Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.
* Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected." * Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)

Why are people allowed to spread such lies?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To: 'flag@whitehouse.gov'
Subject: Healthcare Bill Misinformation

Here are some lies being disseminated on the internet.

* Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.
* Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.
* Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
* Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
* Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
* Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
* Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
* Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
* Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.
* Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
* Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
* Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
* Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).
* Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
* Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.

This type of stuff keeps coming to my Inbox. Isn't there something you can do to stop this misinformation from being distributed?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THOSE OF YOU WHO CARE ABOUT THIS COUNTRY SHOULD HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS . . . . DO IT WHILE FUN IS STILL LEGAL!

This is America? I'm beginning to have my doubts

Could you imagine the media uproar if a conservative landlord had done something similar during the Bush years? This happened at Concord Mills in Concord, North Carolina just north of Charlotte.

http://www.freemarketwarrior.com/blog/7-message-of-the-week/24-my-hardest-decision

The hypocrisy is deafening!

Four Reasons the Federal Government CANNOT be Trusted

1. The U.S. Constitution told us not to.

2. Medicare was passed in 1965 and projected a $9B price tag for the year 1990. The cost in 1990 was, in 1965 dollars, $67B.

3. Medicaid was passed in 1987 with an estimated cost of $100M per year. By 1993 the cost for that year was $11B!

4. In 2006 Massachusetts passed its own universal plan that covers 97% of its citizens. Estimated cost per year was $725M. Just three years later in 2009 the cost is $1B.

Be afraid, be very afraid of the putrid incompetence spewed by Washington regardless of which Party holds the White House.

Need more?

5. The income tax in 1916 was supposed to be 1% for the average guy, and for the rich would be 7%. Four years later, it was 77% top bracket on the rich.

6. Social Security was originally supposed to be 1% on all of us, to be collected if you lived to be 65. At that time the life expectancy was 63, so no one was never supposed to collect. It now costs 6 times what it was originally estimated to cost. It is a Ponzi scheme!

Ignoring Science

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=483260

I bet you don't see this news reported in the lamestream media, yet we MUST pass cap-and-trade and Al Gore must continue to receive accolades from liberals.

". . . internal global climate-system variability accounts for at least 80% of the observed global climate variation over the past half-century. It may even be more if the period of influence of major volcanoes can be more clearly identified and the corresponding data excluded from the analysis."

Ask yourself why this global warming agenda continues to be pushed by liberals? When you arrive at the answer, next ask yourself why anyone would support politicians who push deceitful, fraudulent agendas? It's sad!

Don't let the facts get in the way of an agenda!

Mistakes of the 1970's, 1930's and Today

Excerpts from the July 22, 2009 issue of the Technical Trader Report
Author: Jon L. Johnson

I have talked plenty about how the US is repeating its sins of the past at least in terms of hamstringing the economy and American ingenuity and thus insuring a prolonged recession versus a quick recovery based on investment here in the US, spurred by incentives to spend and invest when there is no reason to do so. What has always made the US great, what has always made us the most vibrant and robust economy in the world, is our adherence to free enterprise principals and our steadfast belief in letting the private sector contract and conduct business without excessive government interference or regulation. When we stray from those principals we suffer, e.g. the 1970's and 1930's.

The US has always been the champion of those wanting to succeed and be a part of the country. We have always taken the best from everyone and rewarded them in return. The US went astray when it started turning to government to solve all of the problems or perceived problems in our country. You can trace most of the major governmental encroachments to crises, e.g. the Great Depression, the war on drugs, 9-11, the latest economic meltdown. There is absolutely nothing wrong with foreigners coming to the US, but the problem is that now we try to provide anyone and everyone, even to the exclusion of native citizens, free services gratis federal dollars that of course come from taxpayers.

We have fallen out of balance with the risk/reward equation. You don't have to risk anything to be rewarded. You can collect welfare, social security, Medicare (all of these programs are rife with fraud) without doing anything. When 55% of the people pay no income taxes and yet receive well in excess of half the federal benefits you have a definite problem with incentives. President Bush crowd how his tax plan would take more people off the tax rolls. That is EXACTLY THE WRONG THING TO DO. We ALL need a stake in the game, we all need to put some chips in the pot in order to take some chips. Now we have a large group of voters that pay no income taxes yet can swing elections and vote for more benefits from those that do pay the taxes.

Unfortunately that is going to get even more out of whack now with the new Administration and its policies that continue reducing those that pay taxes and putting more burden on those that produce the innovation and thus our economic expansion. If you want less of something, tax it more. We are giving more away without requiring toil to earn it and failing to reward those that foot the bill. In history that is a recipe for disaster, and we are brewing it.
-------------------------------------------
Amen bro!

The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson

John F. Kennedy once said to an assembled group of scholars in the White House, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

The quotes below could prove his point.

*** Thomas Jefferson ***

• "When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe"
• "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
• "It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."
• "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
• "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
• "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
• "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
• "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

In light of the present financial crisis, it is interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: "Banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. "

Doesn't this sound eerily familiar to what is happening in America today?

Healthcare - The Forthcoming Debacle

Just a few observations:

• If this "universal" coverage is so wonderful, why did Congress exempt themselves from participating in it? That's right! In the legislation, our omnipotent Democrat members of Congress excluded themselves. Instills confidence doesn't it? Where do I sign up?
  
  
• Do you remember how the Democrat Party cried foul when President Bush suggested that we privatize part of the Social Security program so the younger generations would actually get something out of this ponzi-scheme? Think long and hard. How did the Democrat's oppose the legislation? ? ? ? ? LIES AND SCARE TACTICS! They told seniors that their benefits would be cut or taken away.

Fast-forward to today where proof abounds that nationalized healthcare leads to poorer quality and rationing of care and all we hear from the Democrats is "WE MUST PASS THIS LEGISLATION IS TWO WEEKS!"

Need proof? Do some research on the nationalized care in Canada, Europe and Australia. Find out what the waiting period is for basic procedures and preventive care. Find out what drugs and procedures are NOT available in these utopian environments that are available in the United States. Find out how they ration care. Guess where it starts?

It starts with SENIOR CITIZENS! Do you hear the Democrats screaming from the mountain tops how this universal program will kill senior citizens if it is passed? Hell no! The sad part is, while the Republicans have the truth on their side, they can't do anything to stop this freight train now that Stuart Smalley is a United States Senator. WHAT A #$%@#*& JOKE WASHINGTON HAS BECOME!

Need more proof? Do you remember tax-cheat Tom Daschle? He was nominated to be the healthcare czar but, like most Obama nominees, he didn't pay his taxes and withdrew his nomination unlike our esteemed Treasury Secretary. Read Daschle's calm explanation of how care will be doled out by government officials based on a cost benefit analysis. Guess where the cost generally outweighs the benefit??? SENIOR CITIZENS!

Even if you are a staunch Democrat, aren't you the least bit curious why the impotent Republican Party has not cast a single vote for either of Obama's ramrod pieces of legislation? Could there be some validity to the "no" votes? Could it possibly be that these are piece-of-shit, power-grabs that need to be killed?

WAKE UP!

Congress Needs a Read-the-Bill Bill

After reading the above-titled opinion piece in IBD this weekend, I couldn't help but feel my blood pressure go up. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=481959

Did You Know?

• Lawmakers voted on the stimulus and global warming bills without having read either.
• They will eventually vote on health care legislation in the same manner.
• The Waxman-Markey, the global warming bill, passed the House last month after Democrats added a 309-page amendment at 3 a.m. the morning before the vote, bringing that package of nonsense up to 1,200 or so pages.
• The health care bill contains provisions for funding walking paths, bike paths, streetlights, gym equipment and farmers' markets.
• The health care bill exempts members of Congress from participating in the universal plan.

The op-ed's call to action is a simple, a "humble bill" that would "simply require each member of Congress to sign a document saying he or she had read the legislation in full before they could vote for it."

CAN YOU BELIEVE SUCH A THING IS NECESSARY? Washington, D.C. and many of the state capitals around our once great nation are full of people who are perpetually running for reelection by giving handouts to the undeserving. And while that is obvious to all that care to pay attention, they are never held accountable.

If you really want to fix this country in a hurry, you do three things:

#1 - Income Tax Holiday

#2 - Term Limits

#3 - Balanced Budget Amendment

That's it!

#1 should help us recover from the recession. #2 gets these buffoons out of our nation's and state capitals after a few terms so they can focus their attention on doing good rather than running for re-election and #3 will get rid of all the bullshit shenanigans that the Democrat Congress is currently perpetuating by pushing through gut-retching budget deficits, taking over entire industries and placating to their narrow constituents.

WAKE UP!

Where's the Stimulus?

First of all, can we all agree that the $780B boondoggle bill is NOT stimulus? Even the most ardent Democrat supporter must see it for what it is, a power-grab by a socialist to centralize everything in Washington. After all, they are omnipotent and smarter-than-the-rest-of-us.

When you add it all up - non-stimulus spending PLUS a new proposed non-stimulus spending bill PLUS taking over the banks PLUS taking over the car companies PLUS taking over healthcare what other conclusion can you arrive at? Seriously, this is not a rhetorical question!!!!!

When you promise to allow all bills to be posted online for five days "so the public has a chance to read it" and then blow it through the legislative process with ZERO VOTES from the opposition Party, you've got to acknowledge it for what it is. Right?

With that said, I want to point out a solution to the current economic crisis as floated by Art Laffer yesterday. Mr. Laffer made the following point: instead of spending $780B on projects and funding state deficits, why not just give every person and business a year long tax-free holiday? The money would hit the economy immediately. Investment would surge. The economy would boom. Tax revenues the following year would explode. We avoid the protracted recoveries of the 1930's and 1970's that the government is pursuing now. Sure we miss out on a year's worth of tax revenue (e.g. $1.4T in 2007) but who cares? D.C. can tighten the belt as well, cut spending, let the economy boom, then the entire difference would be more than made up by the subsequent boom. And let's face it, revenues will be NOWHERE NEAR the 2007 levels; the CBO is telling the feds that revenues are down over 30% already. That puts it in the ballpark of the spending package cost.

Why not cancel the non-stimulus spending, shift it to a tax-holiday for a year, and let the economic growth explode - we lose NOTHING and can gain everything????

THE REASON this will never happen with the current regime is POWER and SOCIALISM. If our so-called leaders were working in our best interest, they would employ some kind of outside-the-box solution like a tax-free holiday. Instead we get higher spending, higher taxes and printing money. It has FAILED every single time it has been tried.

WHY THE HELL DO WE PUT UP WITH THIS?

This Recession is NOT Different! It is Depressingly Familiar.

Excerpts from the July 3, 2009 issue of the Technical Trader Report
Author: Jon L. Johnson

Over the past week people are stating "This is not your father's recession." Today one fellow said that this is a different recession, of a kind we are not used to. I would posit that that is EXACTLY our father's recession. The reason I say that is because I was a kid in the 70's and I lived through that recession but my father was a worker during that time. This recession that we are having is very much the same kind that we had in the 1970's. We had the oil shock, regulation, money printing that debased our currency and ignited inflation pressures. This recession has the same catalysts and responses. There was the oil shock at $140 a barrel last year. The same monetization of the oil shock and response to economic slowing has sewn the seeds of inflation. Regulation is again exploding and we have adopted a lot of governmental policies that are bent on spending versus actually encouraging economic growth.

Those are the same mistakes that made in the 1970's. From Nixon, to Ford, to Carter, it was one boondoggle after another. During the 70's the blue chip stocks - really all stocks - were losing most of their value, the economy was slack (that is the best you can say for it right now), there was high inflation, and there was high unemployment. That's what we have now and it is getting worse, heading toward the 1970's levels. On top of that, the government in the 1970's did nothing substantive, at least in terms of positive impact, to help the situation. The government was regulating and the government was spending. Regulation and spending do not - I repeat - DO NOT result in economic recovery. The result was that we had 10 hideous years until Reagan took office. Then we had a tough recession - the end of the 10-year recession - as President Reagan and Fed chairman Paul Volcker broke inflation's back. What they did was put forth the right kind of fiscal stimulus, coupled with tough monetary policy that actually raised interest rates. People thought that was crazy with the inflation and high unemployment, but Volcker raised interest rates, and combined with the Reagan stimulus helped quell inflation. It also spurred massive investment in the United States and we rode the resulting boom for the next 20-odd years until we managed to kill it off with this profligate spending once again, under Republican and Democrat administrations.

Sadly, as noted, we are doing the same thing once more. When you look at the stimulus bill, there are a lot of things that they call stimulus, such as the healthcare records and the green initiatives. However, of the $800B+ in stimulus, only a paltry $50B has actually hit the economy at this point. I believe you can go to a place called www.stimulus.gov and see the results of that spending. None of that is stimulating small business or really any business to invest in themselves or in the United States. I have talked to many small businesses, and NONE of them have received any stimulus or are in any way induced to spend or invest regarding their businesses as a result of this stimulus package.

What we are getting from the stimulus are companies such as GE and its CEO Jeff Immelt coming out and buddying up with all of the administration officials about the green initiative. Wal-Mart Wednesday came out and said it really liked the proposed healthcare plan even though details are fuzzy. Why? Because it will benefit WMT. Beware when the government shows up and says "I am here to help," and you should also beware when mega corporations come out in support of massive government spending programs. They are basically governments themselves and they see this as a benefit to their bottom lines. You might think that is fine, but what benefits a few mega-corporations is not usually good for all of America. Immelt and GE see their savior as this green initiative. They feel they can take their light bulbs and other aspects of the company and use the green initiative as a massive profit center, using our tax dollars to pay for it before trying to sell the stuff back to us. Beware. Wal-Mart sees profit potential because it has its in-store clinics and it wants to latch onto the government and use that money to funnel profit into its coffers, again using our tax dollars to make money for itself.

My wife saved me money one day. She went out and bought a bunch of stuff that was 30-40% off. She spent several hundred dollars and came back telling me what a great job she had done saving me money. That is exactly what GE and Wal-Mart are promising when they stump for these massive government spending programs that do not add anything to the economy - all they do is take money from taxpayers, whether they be individuals or businesses, and allow a few big enterprises to retool their businesses.

It is a fact that large corporations are not the job creators in the United States. I have researched the issue on several different occasions, and even the Small Business Administration figures bear out, that small business creates the lion's share of jobs. It is well accepted that small businesses create 70% or more of the jobs in the country. Look where all of the jobs in technology came from in the 80's: companies like Apple, Microsoft, Cisco - those start ups that had the new and better ideas. They are the ones that created the massive job growth - the start ups, the new ideas that catch the next wave of technology or the next wave of invention. Conversely, initiating programs that tax American citizens to for initiatives that only big companies can take advantage of and use as profit centers is not going to create more jobs. It will only rescue these companies that need some form of their own government bailout. That is why they are out there so vigorously promoting these programs. Again, beware. Let your Congressmen know that that is not what you want because it is not good for the country and it is not good for you.

Open Letter to Our Leaders - A Novel Approach to Running the Government

Dear Distinguished Members of the State Legislature and Federal Government,

Instead of raising taxes in the middle of a recession, have you considered cutting your spending? It is a novel, reality-based approach that millions of households across the country must do on a regular basis. How it works for us plebeians is we have to go out and earn the money that flows through our checkbook. You, on the other hand, do not generate anything of value. You add nothing to the economy. You are simply an elected vacuum cleaner (do you hear that sucking sound? that's my wallet!). I would bet my house that over half of the jobs held by "civil servants" (or better categorized as Democrat voters) can be eliminated with no impact on the so called services they provide to us lay-people.

My challenge to all legislators, both federal and state, is to do the right thing. Stop running for re-election and start representing the people and your re-election will be a foregone conclusion. Talk to us in our language. Expose government largess for what it is. Propose cutting bullshit programs and projects. Be bold! Be different! Go against the grain! The amount of waste of taxpayer money in this country is astronomical. STOP IT!

If you think raising taxes is the way out rather than cutting your own drunken spending habits, you clearly slept through Economics 101. I defy any of you to take your average Economics book and read it into the legislative record. Read the chapter on tax cuts. I DARE YOU!

If you think tax increases and further regulations are the way out of this recession, then, in addition to the Economics 101 book, I recommend a copy of a history book detailing the economic policies of the 1970's.

Class dismissed.

P.S. Do the right thing!

Governor Sanford vs. Presidents Clinton and Kennedy

Watch how the lamestream media treats Governor Sanford over the coming months. The reason I do not say "over the coming days" is because it will be the story that never dies. I can guarantee that MSNBC runs over 20 hours of Sanford-related stories over the next week alone.

While you are watching his treatment, I want you to compare it to how the lamestream media has treated and continues to treat Bill "Blow Job" Clinton and John F. "Marilyn Monroe" Kennedy.

You draw your own conclusions from the disparity.

Is it Time for a Third Party?

I am an American first, a conservative second and a Republican third.

I believe the Republican Party has been MIA ever since the words "compassionate conservative" were uttered. This phrase insinuates that conservatives are not compassionate. With the liberal media and their relentless, continuous bashing of conservative values, many Americans believe that “conservative” is synonymous with words like bigot, intolerance and oppression. The opposite is true and I would argue that the current crop of “leaders” (and I use that term loosely) have displayed more bigotry, intolerance and oppression than your average skinhead could ever hope to achieve. Just think about the body of work from the likes of: Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Hilary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, Chris Dodd, Henry Waxman, Charlie Rangel, Barack Obama, John Kerry, Al Gore, George Soros, Michael Moore, Moveon.org, TheDailyKos, Barbara Boxer, Barney Frank, The Huffington Post, Maxine Waters, Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer.

While I respect President George W. Bush for his steadfastness in protecting the country from terrorists and his faith in God, he did not do any favors for the Republican Party or the country by growing the federal government during his tenure and, more importantly, by not standing up for himself against the drumbeat Bush-bashing media.

With that said, I wonder if the time is right for a “Conservative Party”. Conventional wisdom says it will only hurt Republicans as the Democrats will galvanize around The Messiah but how often is convention wisdom correct? While I do not have any empirical evidence, no think-tank studies or surveys, my gut tells me that the coalition formed by conservative Democrats and conservative Republicans (throw in a few Independents) would dwarf both the current Republican or Democrat Party. Think back to the Reagan landslide victories. Who voted for him? If conventional wisdom is right, what is the worst thing that could happen? Liberal Democrats keep control of the country and run it into the ground? At least half of the electorate would not have to hold their nose when the go into the voting booth.

Given the limp-wristed nature of the Republican Party and the socialistic agenda driven by arrogant, power-hungry, ego-maniacs in the Democrat Party, I can't think of a better time to launch a third-party based on conservative principles, can you?

Smackdown from Pravda

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-0/

If you are like me, you already feel like you living in an alternative universe given the direction this country is headed but when I heard Glenn Beck reading from this op-ed piece from Pravda, of all places, I fell out of my chair.

I implore you to read this!

Here are some highlights:

". . . . the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people."

Reasons the U.S. is in a downward spiral according to this op-ed:

#1 - ". . . the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives."

#2 - "Then their faith in God was destroyed . . ."

#3 - "The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. . . His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Weimar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe."

In reference to the federal government's new regulation of salary caps on private sector executives, they said this, "Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort." OMG! Talk about fall-out-of-your-chair funny!

On a serious note, what does it say about our society when we must heed the warnings from Russia?

40 Miles Per Gallon

I just watched Laura Ingraham and Bill O'Reilley discussing the new miles per gallon standard dictated by our fearless, socialist leader. While I respect both Ingraham and O'Reilley they both missed the point. O'Reilley argued that he likes the higher standards because he wants to stick it to OPEC. Ingraham argued against it citing a Heritage Foundation study indicating there will be 800 more automobile deaths each year due to driving smaller cars and that the cars will be driven more thus wiping out the benefit of the increased standards.

Both of them missed the point (actually there are two points).

#1 - The federal government does NOT have the right to dictate what cars are to be built. IT IS NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION!!!! The Founders of our country did not mention the regulation of horse shit in the streets of America nor the type of horse you must use to pull your carriage! This type of overreaching is just one small example of the excessive power of the federal government.

#2 - WE HAVE UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNTS OF OIL AND NATURAL GAS RESERVES IN THE GROUND THROUGHOUT THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES. Our omnipotent federal government refuses to "allow" these reserves to be drilled. Again, where in the Constitution does it grant the federal government the right to regulate to a state what they can do on their own lands? Please, I am begging someone out there to point me in the right direction on this.

One final rant: if I hear one more pointy-headed liberal say, "the United States is only 5% of the world's population but consumes 25% of the world's resources", I will put out my right eye.

This is the most asinine argument I have ever heard. What do these ivory tower liberals want us to do, reduce our standard of living to that of Afghanistan or Africa? We lead the world in agricultural production and medical advances (at least until Obama-Care starts). We used to be a manufacturing powerhouse until the unions drove the jobs to foreign countries. America symbolizes what is good in humankind. We give more foreign aid than all other countries combined (you might need to fact check that one but you get my point). Why do you think the rest of the world wants to be like America?

All I ask from you is to think for yourself. Ask questions. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid!

Miss California and Sarah Palin

Question: What do Miss California and Sarah Palin have in common?

Answer: They dared to cross the line.

The line as defined by the liberal media that forbids public figures to state opinions that conflict with the left-wing agenda. The result is character assassination in the form of wall-to-wall coverage on the "news" channels, the dispatching of hoards of attorneys to uncover smut, endless ethics violation charges and an unprecedented level of slander even by so called feminist groups.

In the meantime, their president just spent his first 100 days sentencing the next generation to over $100,000 each to pay the interest on his $10 trillion federal budget deficit. Their congressional leaders lie about their involvement in the housing bubble and their knowledge of water boarding among other things. See my blog on Obama's first hundred days for a complete list. The appalling behavior of the left-wing in this country goes unnoticed by the same media that feels compelled to crucify Miss California and Sarah Palin.

As I've said before, they hypocrisy is deafening. Click here or here for two previous blogs chronicling the hypocrisy of the media and left-wing politicians.

Watch the nightly news with a grain of salt (better make that a spoon full).

Chrysler

You gotta love the balls that Barack Obama has displayed in his first 100 days. This Chrysler fiasco is icing on the cake!

In one move, he has demonstrated his willingness to throw out the rule of law, change the bankruptcy laws, demonize capitalism via the hedge funds and give 55% of a company to a labor union. It is a brilliant move by a socialist. GM you are next!

• Rule of law - Bondholders be damned. These types of subversive moves will dampen future investment in the United States. The only reason America affords investors better opportunities than other places in the world is the enforcement of contract law.
  
• Bankruptcy laws - "We are going to fast-track the bankruptcy proceedings". Why do you think this needs to be fast-tracked? Could it be that it needs to get done before the American people figure out how royally the Obama Administration screwed this up?
  
• Demonize the hedge funds - This was classic! Obama will never miss an opportunity to bash capitalism. How many times have you heard the Obama Administration and liberal talking heads use the word "greedy" to describe bondholders who would not "do what was in the best interest of the country". This is Socialism 101. Bondholders are not in the business of doing what is in the best interest of the country. They have a fiduciary duty to do what is in the best interest of their investors. Just like the unions have a duty to represent their members. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration is not an advocate of the free market system.
  
• 55% of the company given to labor unions - This is pay back for the unions' support of Democrat candidates; pure and simple. Within the next six months, GM will be "given" to the unions as well.

So let's recap: we give majority ownership to the party who is most responsible for the company's demise. So while the Japanese build cars in South Carolina and Alabama for a fraction of the labor costs, Detroit and the entire state of Michigan will continue over the cliff to bankruptcy and depression encouraged by a healthy dose of denial and socialism.

Just watch the billions of dollars that Obama will shovel to the automakers during the course of his administration; $8 billion more just committed on top of $3 or $4 billion already thrown down the hole. Since the goal is to preserve the unions and not to improve the business, tax-payer funds will be limitless. Just another perpetual federal subsidy and constituency that needs to be placated. Can anyone say "farm subsidies"?

Barack's successor will be forced to deal with a repeat bankruptcy of Chrysler in 5-10 years after taxpayers rebel over the billions upon billions used to prop up the unions. Wake up America!

Update May 5, 2009:

May 4, 2009 Op-Ed from IBD - Don't Demonize Chrysler's Debt Holders For Standing Up For Their Shareholders

Arlen Specter

As a conservative, Arlen Specter's departure from the Republican Party is a non-event. Take Olympia Snowe and a few others with you.

However, from a humanistic perspective, I am concerned. Does anyone else find it sad that a 79-year old man clings to his J-O-B as if he has three kids to get through college and two ex-wives in which to pay alimony? Why doesn't he just ride off into the sunset, write a book and enjoy life! Can you say Robert Byrd?

We have all heard the quote, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". When I look at the political landscape through the Specter-Byrd lens, a better quote may be "It is said that power corrupts . . . The sane are usually attracted by other things than power." - - David Brin, Ph.D.

What the hell happens to people when they go to Washington?

Obama - The First 100 Days

If he can accomplish all of this in less than 100 days, just imagine what the next 1,365 days have in store for us.

In less than 100 days, Barack Obama has:

• Nominated five tax cheats to his cabinet, including the man who oversees the IRS.

• Pushed through a "stimulus" bill that not one Congressman read before voting for it.

• Promised to put all bills on the Internet for public consumption five days before any votes. That promise was broken with the non-Stimulus bill.

• Banned lobbyists from his administration, while appointing many.

• Pledged to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

• Told us the economy was the worst since the Great Depression.

• Told us the economy was better and advised us to buy stocks because “What you’re now seeing is a profit and earnings ratios get to the point that buying stocks is a good thing if you have a long-term perspective on it”. Just imagine if Bush had said this!

• Will produce a larger national debt over the next decade than the first 43 Presidents combined WHILE PROMISING FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY!

• Prompted the creation of a new term, "generational theft".

• Bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia while allowing further restrictions on domestic drilling for oil and natural gas .

• Returned a gift from one of our staunchest allies, Great Britain, that was displayed in the White House (a bust of Sir Winston Churchill given to President Bush after 9/11).

• Insulted the prime minister of England and the queen of England with thoughtless gifts.

• Was ridiculed by French president Sarkozy who invited Obama to walk on water at Normandy beach.

• Openly lied that Caterpillar would hire back previously laid off workers if his non-stimulus bill was passed.

• Proved himself to be incapable of communicating without a teleprompter while the press continues to declare him "The Great Communicator". This is the same press who called Bush and idiot and made fun of his speech patterns. I hear more "uh's" uttered during a Obama non-teleprompter-press-conference than from a 10-minute Stuttering John segment on The Howard Stern Show.

• Refused to allow some banks to pay back the TARP money while, at the same time, requiring that government-held preferred shares of stock be converted to common shares thus giving the federal government a large stake in and control of these banks. But don't you worry, he and Geithner say they are not nationalizing the banks!

• Sparked hundreds of protests involving hundreds of thousands of Americans at tea parties regarding irresponsible government spending while Obama's Homeland Security Secretary labels peacefully demonstrating Americans and returning veterans as security risks.

• Has proven that in his world, words speak louder than actions. It's easy to do when the mainstream media has become no more than a dictation service for the administration.

• His Homeland Security Secretary states that illegal immigration is not necessarily "illegal".

• Making enemies out of people in the private sector and ginning up protests by ACORN and labor unions at the homes of AIG executives further fomenting more class warfare.

• Saw no problem with an attainder law passed by Congress to tax AIG executives 90% of their bonuses in direct violation of Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution. Then again, as a good liberal, Obama believes The Constitution is a living, breathing, pliable document composed of negative rights, "it doesn't say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf." That's right it doesn't! That's the whole point! He's a law professor and President of the United States for crying out loud!

• Has become a laughing stock around the globe - Putin and Ahmadinejad think he is a joke, Castro thinks he is superficial and the Europeans keep asking, "what the hell are you doing?"

• Commenced the "America is Sorry" world tour. In the words of Karl Rove, "he has apologized on three continents for what he views as the sins of America and his predecessors".

• Was shamed by Iran who took an American journalist hostage while Obama promises better relations.

• Was humiliated by North Korea with their missile launch while he called for the reduction in our missile and nuclear arms capabilities.

• Listened patiently while Daniel Ortega falsely charged the United States for every evil in the world without a single word objection. "I'm grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old". That's leadership!

• Threatened to prosecute former Bush legal advisers and, in typical Obama fashion, never looks at the unintended consequences of such.

• Offered up laughable budget cuts ($100 million) while pushing through a multi-TRILLION dollar budget.

• Hung Israel out to dry with an enemy that has, on multiple occasions, threatened to wipe them off the map and is months away from developing a nuclear weapon. Another stellar example of outstanding leadership!

• Released cherry-picked secret documents for the world to see our interrogation tactics while leaving out what was garnered from those tactics.

• Repeatedly demonstrated his belief that the world was a mess prior to his arrival on the scene. There might be something to this "messianic complex" accusation.

Clearly no one in this administration has ever played chess where you must think two or three moves ahead; otherwise known in the real world as the law of unintended consequences. Every move this administration makes is done with, what appears to be, reckless disregard for the consequences of their actions.

Ask yourself one question: if any ONE of the occurrences highlighted above had happened between 2000-2008, what do you think the reaction of the mainstream media would have been? Not a regurgitation of White House talking points I can assure you of that.

Most of you probably recognize one of the core problems in America right now is APATHY. It is fed by a mainstream media which has the same agenda as the Democrat Party. The media is not supposed to have an agenda regardless of who occupies the White House. Instead of reporting the news, they are cheerleading and cherry-picking their coverage.

1,365 days and counting!