In this Mercury News article, "White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said of Republican lawmakers, 'Only a handful seem interested in the type of comprehensive reform that so many people believe is necessary to ensure the principles and the goals that the president has laid out.'"
Two things: 1) In this Rasmussen Poll, 35% of American voters want the current health care bill that Congress is proposing while 54% of American voters DO NOT. 2) Republicans are not the Party of Obama, Democrats are. Democrats have a filibuster proof majority in the US Senate, and a 40 seat advantage in the US House of Representatives, in other words there is nothing stopping the Democrats from passing their Legislation other than themselves.
Ironic because the article goes on to state, "The party must still reconcile the views of moderate and conservative Democrats worried about the cost and scope of the legislation with those of more progressive lawmakers determined to win a government-run insurance option to compete with private insurers."
Which brings me to this Politico article, "Parties deal blame as White House goes solo on health reform." White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel stated, "The Republican leadership has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day."
Two things on Rahm's statement: 1) If it's detrimental for Republicans to not work with the White House on this health care proposal, then let Republicans suffer the consequences in the next Election Cycle, why worry Rahm? 2) If this health care proposal was such a treasure trove of political brownie points for Democrats, why haven't they passed this proposal already in order to claim 100% credit for solving America's Health Care ailments?
When tinkering with 17% of our GDP, I can't help but think that Democrats are afraid to own this issue and make it theirs because politically they need straw men to setup and knock down when their version of reform causes more problems than it solves or when costs exceed their glorious optimistic predictions. It just makes the following statement by a White House Official all the more hilarious, "We were forced into this by Republicans." Those damn Republicans, preventing you from bettering our lives, what jerks.
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In other Health Care News, the National Health Services (NHS) [Health Care Provider in the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales)] employs 1.4 million people out of a work force population of 41 million, or 3.4%. Over 45,000 staff call out sick every day, costing the NHS £1.7 billion per year.
For laughs, the United States has a work force of approximately 154 million, and if the same proportion of people one day worked for a single payer system, the US would have 168,000 employees calling out sick on a daily basis. In this CBS article, the average Federal employee will make $75,419 in 2010. Therefore it would cost approximately $48.7 million per day or $17.8 billion per year in sick time wages alone. The article goes on to state, "Annual NHS sickness levels are 10.7 days a year per employee - 67% higher than the private sector average of 6.4 days." Doing the math, we would spend $7.1 billion more per year for sick time wages with a single payer system. How's that for improved efficiency?
If it makes you feel any better, Bloomberg News reported that President Obama believes "UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems." Err... great example Mr. President of why we need National Health Insurance (NHI). Oh wait, do we want USPS and DMV type employees telling us to "Get a number and wait your turn" when we're at the hospital? So just when are Democrats going to finally come up with a fact that shows the NHI will be more efficient than say Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield, Blue Cross, etc.
Maybe it helps explain why Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was for National Health Insurance before she was against it after which Robbert Gibbs clarified her statement by blaming the media for misunderstanding and she chimed in to state, "All I can tell you is that Sunday must have been a very slow news day, because here's the bottom line: Absolutely nothing has changed." But let's not forget, that President Obama on Saturday stated, "The public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health-care reform."
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To sum it all up, it's the Republicans fault the Democrats are forced to solve our Nation's Health Care ailments alone while Democrats disagree on how involved the government should be (not whether it should or shouldn't) and the Obama Administration Joe Bidens itself with statements that later have to be clarified in order to reassure skittish supporters the Administration still intends to get involved in our Health Care System; nonetheless we're still waiting for evidence that shows government involving itself with 17% of our GDP will improve efficiency despite mathematical calculations that show otherwise and despite the plethora of evidence that exists regarding the inefficiency of existing bureaucracies like USPS and DMV; let's not even discuss Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Health Administration and other Federal boondoggles.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Stifled Debate
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/08/08/video-worlds-worst-tv-interview/
Lawrence O’Donnell filled in for Ed Schultz on The Ed Show and interviewed Peter Schiff, chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc. and author of 2007's Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse, which predicted the current economic crises and the failed solutions government would implement.
There's not much to say other than watch the video and see how O'Donnell repeatedly interrupts Schiff and essentially prevents him from answering any questions; let alone allow him to explain his position on the issues raised such as National Health Insurance.
From Herr Charles "Joseph Göbbels" Gibson's "Prescription for America" propaganda piece, to Chris Matthews' "shiver up my leg" to O'Donnell's squelching of Schiff, the Brown Shirts are back with vengeance. Though this time, I speculate the victims of the next Holocaust will be Conservatives, Libertarians, Christians, Jews and other newly named deviants.
Lawrence O’Donnell filled in for Ed Schultz on The Ed Show and interviewed Peter Schiff, chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc. and author of 2007's Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse, which predicted the current economic crises and the failed solutions government would implement.
There's not much to say other than watch the video and see how O'Donnell repeatedly interrupts Schiff and essentially prevents him from answering any questions; let alone allow him to explain his position on the issues raised such as National Health Insurance.
From Herr Charles "Joseph Göbbels" Gibson's "Prescription for America" propaganda piece, to Chris Matthews' "shiver up my leg" to O'Donnell's squelching of Schiff, the Brown Shirts are back with vengeance. Though this time, I speculate the victims of the next Holocaust will be Conservatives, Libertarians, Christians, Jews and other newly named deviants.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Über Ridiculous News Articles
In this NY Post article, details come to light about the return of Bill Clinton and DPRK's former hostages, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Entertainment mogul Steve Bing, notable for 'Get Carter,' 'The Polar Express' and 'Beowulf,' lent his Boeing 737 for the journey, costing him $200,000 in fuel alone; he also enlisted the help of his Hollywood PR firm, Rogers & Cowan, to setup "Hangar 25 at Bob Hope International Airport in Burbank" with "three press risers to accommodate more than 100 media and TV crews, and contracted an in-house photographer to capture the event."
Now, the event itself, the return of two captured American hostages, was remarkable and noteworthy, however something is rotten in the State of Denmark. I can't help but think that the Democrats need some sort of grand distraction from their failing foreign and domestic policies, and this "Wag the Dog" sort of Hollywood PR / Hollywood Entertainment Mogul orchestrating the grandiose return, complete with weeping family members and former President Clinton and Vice President Gore hugging each other, is just the sort of thing that distracts most Americans. It was completely an orchestrated Kodak moment.
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In this video, courtesy of Real Clear Politics, one can hear Nancy Pelosi talking about Protesters "carrying Swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care." Now, if it were true that these Protesters were carrying Swastikas and the like, does she have any corroborative witnesses? Otherwise, I believe this is another bold faced lie, an outright farcical assertion meant to detract from legitimate debate about an issue that will affect every American. Let's not forget that 5/6 of America has health insurance, and if we're worried that this Obamacare is going to screw up our health insurance, you better be sure we're going to voice our concerns; and when taken in light with previous comments from Obama about Universal / Single Payer Health Care, we have a legitimate grievance that this road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Nancy Pelosi is a twit, and when this National Health Insurance boondoggle collapses, so should her speakership. Americans are finally speaking loud and clear, we don't like Socialism! Will the Democrats listen??
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In this Washington Post article, author Philip Kennicott discusses the recent poster found in Los Angeles depicting Obama in a Joker-esque comparison to the recent Joker portrayed by Heath Ledger, with the word "socialism" beneath its depiction. Now, most people would understand this to be a mockery of the "Hope" poster that permeated any and all coverage of Obama during the Presidential Primary. Unfortunately for douche bag author Philip Kennicott, the only thing he's able to see is his self-projected racist ideals.
He actually stated, "By using the 'urban' makeup of the Heath Ledger Joker, instead of the urbane makeup of the Jack Nicholson character, the poster connects Obama to something many of his detractors fear but can't openly discuss. He is black and he is identified with the inner city, a source of political instability in the 1960s and '70s, and a lingering bogeyman in political consciousness despite falling crime rates." In addition to being a racist, this douche bag author has a short term memory problem too. In case he didn't recall, Obama is half-white. Obama was partly raised in Indonesia. Obama was afterwards raised by both his white grandparents in Hawaii. [enter sarcasm] Of course when Americans think of ghetto urban black men, we think of Honolulu... not. This country won't recover from Slavery, Jim Crow, etc. until people stop finding racism in everything; and we most definitely will not recover as long as others are projecting outward their inner racist ideals.
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In this Dallas News article, "Texas Sen. John Cornyn, accusing the White House of compiling an 'enemies list,' has asked President Barack Obama to stop an effort to collect 'fishy' information Americans see about a health care overhaul." This was in response to the White House official website http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/ which asked that "There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."
In the former DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), aka East Germany, the most effective means of gathering information via the Stasi, was the use of 2.5% of its civilian population. Does anyone see any parallels here? The informants in the DDR were used to root out the 'class enemy.' Those who didn't agree with the benevolent State were arrested, falsely accused of crimes they didn't commit, imprisoned, re-educated, etc. President Obama is on the record advocating a Civilian Force equal to or greater than our military. The path we're walking down is a dangerous one. Fascism, or as defined by Mussolini who wrote Facismo Manifesto, corporatism, is already alive in this country. Think about red light cameras, speed cameras, etc. Any time a corporation merges with the State to enforce State Law, it's part of a fascist regime. I'm not saying that Obama is a Fascist, but...
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In this Columbus Dispatch article, ambivalence of the law has run amok again, in this case, involving a police officer. A "Gahanna police officer pleaded guilty this morning to speeding charges after he was ticketed last month for traveling almost 150 miles per hour on a motorcycle." Not only was he caught eight days previously, he was also warned via phone call to his superiors. Granted there are good cops, but there are bad cops too.
This brings up this morning when I was on the train. Now most people probably won't agree with my conclusion regarding this story, but nonetheless, I was taking the Metrolink Gold Line from Union Station to Pasadena for work. The LA County Sheriffs routinely get on the train and ask for proof of fare. This morning the cop got on, did his routine, then talked to a nearby passenger. The man asked why the cops were on, and the cop said to check proof of fare but also to provide safety. Fair enough, however he elaborated and stated that they're responsible for making the trains safe. Now, I don't disagree that police presence provides safety, but the police aren't around 100% of the time. No person is going to commit a crime either if they know the police are on board. The reason crime is committed is because a person believes chance is on their side and they therefore won't get caught.
Robert A. Heinlein is famous for the phrase, "An armed society is a polite society." If we stopped to think about our Constitution, it was written to "secure the Blessings of Liberty." Liberty is really freedom, and the freedom we fought the British for was the fact that we were "endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." When we read the Bill of Rights, the first talks about Speech, Assembly, Petition, Religion, Press, etc. The Second talks about the Right to keep and bear Arms, and that Right shall not be infringed.
We fought the British because of the transgressions of King George against our Life, Liberty and Happiness. We were not afforded the right to have a standing Army for protection, therefore we hand no means to secure our Life. We paid taxes, and taxes are a confiscation of our wealth by a government body for some other purpose. Our wealth is an accumulation of our blood, sweat and tears; we earned it and therefore have the freedom to spend it. We were not afforded representation in his Legislature, therefore we had no input regarding how our taxes were spent which was an usurpation of our Happiness.
Now back to the cop in the train. This man's job is paid for by our tax dollars. This man believes it's his job to make us safe. Who I ask, secures our Right to Life in this instance? The cop does. Who should secure our Right to Life period? We the People should. The quickest deterrent to a crime in progress is the brandishing of a weapon, in this day and age, it's the gun. Would criminals rob if 90% of society were armed? They would have better odds in Vegas than robbing an unarmed Citizen if true. Ask yourself the next time a crime occurs if it could have been prevented by an involved party had they exercised their 2nd Amendment Right. Ask yourself how necessary is it to pay cops six figures a year (with overtime and 100% pension at 50) to secure any of our Rights. Or does it make more sense that they change the focus of police to solving crimes. If a criminal's two thoughts are they can get away with the crime and they won't be caught, making either one more difficult eliminates the possibility of crime taking place.
Now back to the first cop, just think of him next time you get a speeding ticket. Then think about the rest of these paragraphs when you think about whether his job is that necessary when he's encroaching on your Life, Liberty and Happiness.
Now, the event itself, the return of two captured American hostages, was remarkable and noteworthy, however something is rotten in the State of Denmark. I can't help but think that the Democrats need some sort of grand distraction from their failing foreign and domestic policies, and this "Wag the Dog" sort of Hollywood PR / Hollywood Entertainment Mogul orchestrating the grandiose return, complete with weeping family members and former President Clinton and Vice President Gore hugging each other, is just the sort of thing that distracts most Americans. It was completely an orchestrated Kodak moment.
-----
In this video, courtesy of Real Clear Politics, one can hear Nancy Pelosi talking about Protesters "carrying Swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care." Now, if it were true that these Protesters were carrying Swastikas and the like, does she have any corroborative witnesses? Otherwise, I believe this is another bold faced lie, an outright farcical assertion meant to detract from legitimate debate about an issue that will affect every American. Let's not forget that 5/6 of America has health insurance, and if we're worried that this Obamacare is going to screw up our health insurance, you better be sure we're going to voice our concerns; and when taken in light with previous comments from Obama about Universal / Single Payer Health Care, we have a legitimate grievance that this road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Nancy Pelosi is a twit, and when this National Health Insurance boondoggle collapses, so should her speakership. Americans are finally speaking loud and clear, we don't like Socialism! Will the Democrats listen??
-----
In this Washington Post article, author Philip Kennicott discusses the recent poster found in Los Angeles depicting Obama in a Joker-esque comparison to the recent Joker portrayed by Heath Ledger, with the word "socialism" beneath its depiction. Now, most people would understand this to be a mockery of the "Hope" poster that permeated any and all coverage of Obama during the Presidential Primary. Unfortunately for douche bag author Philip Kennicott, the only thing he's able to see is his self-projected racist ideals.
He actually stated, "By using the 'urban' makeup of the Heath Ledger Joker, instead of the urbane makeup of the Jack Nicholson character, the poster connects Obama to something many of his detractors fear but can't openly discuss. He is black and he is identified with the inner city, a source of political instability in the 1960s and '70s, and a lingering bogeyman in political consciousness despite falling crime rates." In addition to being a racist, this douche bag author has a short term memory problem too. In case he didn't recall, Obama is half-white. Obama was partly raised in Indonesia. Obama was afterwards raised by both his white grandparents in Hawaii. [enter sarcasm] Of course when Americans think of ghetto urban black men, we think of Honolulu... not. This country won't recover from Slavery, Jim Crow, etc. until people stop finding racism in everything; and we most definitely will not recover as long as others are projecting outward their inner racist ideals.
-----
In this Dallas News article, "Texas Sen. John Cornyn, accusing the White House of compiling an 'enemies list,' has asked President Barack Obama to stop an effort to collect 'fishy' information Americans see about a health care overhaul." This was in response to the White House official website http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/ which asked that "There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."
In the former DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), aka East Germany, the most effective means of gathering information via the Stasi, was the use of 2.5% of its civilian population. Does anyone see any parallels here? The informants in the DDR were used to root out the 'class enemy.' Those who didn't agree with the benevolent State were arrested, falsely accused of crimes they didn't commit, imprisoned, re-educated, etc. President Obama is on the record advocating a Civilian Force equal to or greater than our military. The path we're walking down is a dangerous one. Fascism, or as defined by Mussolini who wrote Facismo Manifesto, corporatism, is already alive in this country. Think about red light cameras, speed cameras, etc. Any time a corporation merges with the State to enforce State Law, it's part of a fascist regime. I'm not saying that Obama is a Fascist, but...
-----
In this Columbus Dispatch article, ambivalence of the law has run amok again, in this case, involving a police officer. A "Gahanna police officer pleaded guilty this morning to speeding charges after he was ticketed last month for traveling almost 150 miles per hour on a motorcycle." Not only was he caught eight days previously, he was also warned via phone call to his superiors. Granted there are good cops, but there are bad cops too.
This brings up this morning when I was on the train. Now most people probably won't agree with my conclusion regarding this story, but nonetheless, I was taking the Metrolink Gold Line from Union Station to Pasadena for work. The LA County Sheriffs routinely get on the train and ask for proof of fare. This morning the cop got on, did his routine, then talked to a nearby passenger. The man asked why the cops were on, and the cop said to check proof of fare but also to provide safety. Fair enough, however he elaborated and stated that they're responsible for making the trains safe. Now, I don't disagree that police presence provides safety, but the police aren't around 100% of the time. No person is going to commit a crime either if they know the police are on board. The reason crime is committed is because a person believes chance is on their side and they therefore won't get caught.
Robert A. Heinlein is famous for the phrase, "An armed society is a polite society." If we stopped to think about our Constitution, it was written to "secure the Blessings of Liberty." Liberty is really freedom, and the freedom we fought the British for was the fact that we were "endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." When we read the Bill of Rights, the first talks about Speech, Assembly, Petition, Religion, Press, etc. The Second talks about the Right to keep and bear Arms, and that Right shall not be infringed.
We fought the British because of the transgressions of King George against our Life, Liberty and Happiness. We were not afforded the right to have a standing Army for protection, therefore we hand no means to secure our Life. We paid taxes, and taxes are a confiscation of our wealth by a government body for some other purpose. Our wealth is an accumulation of our blood, sweat and tears; we earned it and therefore have the freedom to spend it. We were not afforded representation in his Legislature, therefore we had no input regarding how our taxes were spent which was an usurpation of our Happiness.
Now back to the cop in the train. This man's job is paid for by our tax dollars. This man believes it's his job to make us safe. Who I ask, secures our Right to Life in this instance? The cop does. Who should secure our Right to Life period? We the People should. The quickest deterrent to a crime in progress is the brandishing of a weapon, in this day and age, it's the gun. Would criminals rob if 90% of society were armed? They would have better odds in Vegas than robbing an unarmed Citizen if true. Ask yourself the next time a crime occurs if it could have been prevented by an involved party had they exercised their 2nd Amendment Right. Ask yourself how necessary is it to pay cops six figures a year (with overtime and 100% pension at 50) to secure any of our Rights. Or does it make more sense that they change the focus of police to solving crimes. If a criminal's two thoughts are they can get away with the crime and they won't be caught, making either one more difficult eliminates the possibility of crime taking place.
Now back to the first cop, just think of him next time you get a speeding ticket. Then think about the rest of these paragraphs when you think about whether his job is that necessary when he's encroaching on your Life, Liberty and Happiness.
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