According to the Obama administration, the provision of oral contraceptives and the morning after pill are issues of women's health. So, we must assume that recreational sex is an important aspect of women's health.
And, since sexual discrimination is illegal, we must also assume that recreational sex is an important aspect of men's health. So, it is logical that we should take measures to insure this important health issue. It then follows that we should mandate "no cost" coverage for Viagra and Rogaine (baldness could be an impediment to recreational sex).
Wait a minute! Being fat and ugly is also an impediment to recreational sex. Liposuction and plastic surgery for all!
And, what about guys who can't afford a cool car? Are we somehow abrogating their right to recreational sex?
This could get expensive. But, we don't care, we'll just borrow some more money for our kids to pay back. In the meantime, we get plenty of recreational sex.
Jack Lew is the new Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama and on Sunday morning he entered the Spin Zone to defend Obama's decision to force the imposition of abortive and sterilization medicine on religious institutions against their deeply held religious beliefs. He boldly set forth that Obama has no intention of backing down from providing women's rights to preventive health care. Herein, he framed the two sides of the argument very clearly.
He also showed that the President has a tin ear when it comes to Christians and Jews since their objections while expressed in terms of the specific proposal, are in fact much deeper than that. Their objection is to the imposition by government of forced actions on religious organizations against their beliefs. This action by the Obama administration is a precedent that is extremely troubling and dangerous as Germans discovered many years ago when a popular leader slowly forced changes on to the Christian religions.
Lew's talking points were based on pitting women, a target voter base for Democrats against Christian Conservatives, but it is a flawed framing of the argument.
Our Constitution and Declaration of Independence assert that our rights come from our Creator and warnings against rights appointed by the government are abundant throughout history. Regardless of positions on the specific implementation on abortive and sterilization medicine, everyone should be concerned at the creeping power of the presidency as exercised under Barack Obama and as demonstrated by his use of Czars, Executive Orders, his behavior when he had a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress and his policies as promulgated through his department heads as this current issue is exemplary.
What does this say about Obama and a second term? In November of 2010, voting citizens of this country gave their feedback on how they felt about the performance of the Democratic President, House and Senate. They voted a massive change over in elected politicians from Democrats to Republicans. The new politicians elected in 2010 have tied Obama's hands to a degree and prevented his full out assault on our country's states, constitution and culture, but if he is given 4 more years, we will not recognize the United States of America and in fact I doubt it will be a united USA.
Obama made an Obamacare policy change to deal with the blow back he's gotten by forcing Catholic organizations to act against their core beliefs -- it dosen't pass the smell test. When non-profit religious organizations have objections, insurance companies will now be required to reach out to employees and offer the coverage directly. "Under the rule, women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive service no matter where they work," Obama said. "But if a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company -- not the hospital, not the charity -- will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge without co-pays, without hassle."
Once again Obama insults all of America by assuming we're so stupid we won't catch on to his double talk. Nothing really changes, only how it's described. Reminds me of Clinton redefining sexual relations so he could say he didn't have them "with that woman." To be honest "my dog ate my homework" is more believable. Who may I ask, pays for the employer health insurance that will provide employees of religious organizations "free" contraception? Do you really think when the insurance company negotiates a rate with a religious employer the cost of providing contraceptive and abortive drugs won't be figured in? We should all know better than to think that Obama waves his magic wand to make it free.
There is no compromise possible on religious freedom guaranteed by the US Constitution. Given this is yet another assault on our religious freedom I thought a quote from the Bible would be appropriate. Psalm 109:8 ~ "Let his days be few and brief; and let others step forward to replace him."
It's time for a little history lesson in American socialism. Normon Mattoon Thomas was a leading American Socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America that was born on 11/20/1884 and died 12/19/1968. In a 1944 speech he said, "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of Liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." A covert conquering of America akin to what Muslims call Silent Jihad. He went on to say, "I no longer need to run as a Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform." Talk about predicting the future more accurately than Nostradamus.
Wake up America and smell the stench of the Obama roses. Socialism has been sneaking up on us for years. From FDR's New Deal through GW Bush's Compassionate Conservatism to the Obama era of Social Justice. Don't let anyone fool you, Obamacare is designed to become full on socialized medicine. Half of America pays no taxes and we're on the tipping point of those dependent on government entitlements being the majority of voters. Amnesty for illegal aliens will insure a Democrat majority whose vote will be controlled by Acorn or whatever it's name of the week is. Government takeover and strict regulatory control of our personal and business lives are strangling our economy. One component after another of our economy is being nationalized from car companies to student loans. We're drowning in an unending spiral of debt. For the first time in history our credit rating has been downgraded and more downgrades are in our future. The federal government hasn't had a budget in over 1,000 days. Energy costs are being artificially raised past the pain and affordability level as a function of federal policy. Gasoline prices alone have come up 90% since Obama took office.
Obama overrides the will of Congress with Executive Orders and Czars. The DOJ joins hands with other countries to sue states. Obama's NLRB helps the union dictate where Boeing is allowed to build new plants. The EPA regulates diligently to put fossil fuel companies out of business. Income redistribution is a tenant of all policy while billions are funneled to Obama's cronies. And now the Catholic Church is being told they can't follow their beliefs and values. Our once strong and united country has been divided and hyphenated by ethnicity -- divided and conquered. Racial and class warfare is being used to pit one group against another. Obama actually told the black community to vote for him because he's black. Imagine the uproar if a white politician ever asked white voters to vote for him because he's white. Government isn't representing us -- they're controlling us and representing their own interests. In 2012 we have our last chance to save America. Don't remain silent and complacent. Raise your voice, "I'm mad a hell and won't take this anymore!"
"We cannot expect Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism."
-- Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev -- 1959
The Obama administration has poured billions into green energy and more than a billion has been lost so far. President Barack Obama has argued that to expect some losses is not unreasonable. While this may be a reasonable sounding argument, like all Obama's illusions, the devil is in the detail. It's not the fact that there are bankruptcies of major loans just before they go bankrupt, which is unsettling to say the least, it is how the bankruptcy happens that is criminally corrupt or should be. The story of Solyndra is exemplary as facts are disclosed.
What we have learned so far is that the creditor-investors for Solyndra were backers of Obama's campaign for president. That the Obama administration changed the rules for the creditor-investors as it became apparent that Solyndra would go bankrupt to protect the creditor-investors by making the taxpayers provided loan through the Obama administration the last ones to be paid and the creditor-investors the first ones to be paid. This is the opposite to how federal loans are to be handled and the opposite to how the loan terms were in the beginning. This clearly was done to make sure the creditor-investor friends of Obama were protected from the bankruptcy, at the taxpayers expense.
Now we learn, according to the Washington Times Jim McElhatton, that Solyndra creditor-investors formed a company to restart Solyndra, by buying the bankrupt Solyndra at fire sale prices. So they make out quite nicely. They formed Solyndra Solar II which purchased Solyndra's inventory. A second company was formed, Solyndra Solar LLC and they purchased the accounts receivables from Solyndra. The inventory valued at $35 million when sold but valued at $58.1 million to create was a good deal for the creditor-investors. The accounts receivables valued at $59.1 was purchased for $46.4 million. Another good deal for the purchasers.
While there is nothing illegal that happened here, it should be illegal. What the Obama administration did was to provide a profit to the creditor-investors at the expense of the taxpayers and so this was not a loan of $535 million initially. Rather it was a subsidy to the creditor-investors who now have a viable company in Solyndra Solar II.
The Obama administration pulled a fast one in the GM bankruptcy as well putting the unions in front of the creditors and giving them ownership in the company by stealing it from the bond holders. I'm not sure why there has been no resulting lawsuit, but it clearly was a rip off to benefit Obama's friends.
There other examples of how it has paid to be friends of Obama such as the billion plus payoff to Black and American Indians Farmers through the USDA. To the victor belong the spoils. Unfortunately the spoils are the proceeds of taxpayers wages.
Obama's 2012 campaign has its roots in his successful 2008 campaign. He has established a cadre of reportedly 200 staffers steeped in hi tech and busy mining the information on the people who connect with his Facebook account just like retail electronic marketing does. He has also repackaged his Hope and Change mantra. Now it's I've gotten better (Hope) and I'll continue to pursue the improvements I started during my administration (Change). Hopefully, with improved knowledge based on his performance and his revelations about what kinds of changes he has brought about in our country, people will be terrified rather than turned on by his campaign.
His polls are up right now, but he has not been engaged in a one on one battle with a Republican candidate. I believe with all his baggage from his first term that he is extremely vulnerable from his victimology (It was Bush's fault, the Japanese Tsunami, the problems of Europe, the Arab Spring, the Republicans, the do nothing Congress and most lately, the Constitution because it puts in checks and balances). Of course he had a Democratic Congress for 2 of his 3 years so that last one is laughable.
His stimulus package that was a collection of Democrats dreams for years was ineffective as a job creator, was only passed after more pork was added as incentives to vote for it and these were to the Democrats. The same is true for the ugliest public display of corrupt practices in Congress when the Democrats passed the Health Care package, again with massive pork incentives to vote for it. The Financial Reform package was built by Chris Dodd (a really dumb Senator) and Barney Frank, the two most influential politicians in creating the mortgage meltdown. These same two politicians who decided not to run again have never acknowledged their role in pushing the wild mortgage lending practices on banks and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So there is no reason to trust them on the Financial Reform package.
With the several Green energy scandals, the takeover of the auto industry, the financial sector of our economy, the health care sector of our economy, the student loan mechanism, the takeover of our energy sector including the suppression of our domestic development capabilities and closing of electricity producing plants, the granting of unmitigated power to unions whose role in our unfunded benefits liabilities is central (he gave the unions ownership of General Motors and Chrysler by stealing it from investors) and populated the NLRB with union-centric appointments such that they can prevent expansion of businesses into right to work states... The list goes on...
And he has peppered his administration with Czars whose radical writings, published words and past actions show exactly what kind of change he intends for America. With and through these Czars as well as his appointed department heads and Executive Orders, Obama has introduced the closest structure of Democratic Dictatorship that this country has ever witnessed.
Several months ago I wrote that if nobody did anything about the Iranian nuclear plan, then the Israelis would take care of it. Well, boys and girls it looks like that's about to happen. Israel will never allow Iran to build a nuke. These are sons and daughters of the holocaust. They know only too well what it means to stand and watch and they won't do it. This is a gun pointed at their heads and they won't put up with it.
And, once it happens, the libs and the Muslims will scream and shout about all the innocent people who were killed and wounded. All the Israelis who would have been killed or wounded don't count, they're Jews. All the Israelis who have been killed or wounded by terror attacks and rocket fire don't count either.
Meanwhile the west stands around with their hands in their pockets and refuse to cash Iranian checks. Big deal. They are building an atomic bomb! If we can't scare them into stopping (yes, I mean scare), the Israelis will handle it. Israel has atomic weapons and might just decide this is time to try one out.
So, we can be humanitarian about it and send Iran all those old duck and cover movies from the 50s that they showed us when we were kids. That'll help.
When Obama pushed for the extension of the payroll tax cut he asked "what does $40 a month mean to you?" What he didn't tell you was by putting less into the Social Security Fund it wouldn't go on the books as a loan from SS. But there was an even dirtier secret than that hidden in the bill for the 2 month extension that originated in the Senate. No doubt you remember how no one in Washington is given time to read bills before they're voted on. Pelosi's now infamous "we have to pass the bill to find out what's in it" comes to mind. Alan West was the only one to take the time to read the bill carefully, discover the fee and raise a red flag -- he was ignored in the House. Allen West is one of the good guys. If he ever runs for President, he'll have my vote and support.
The dirty secret is a .1% fee hidden in the interest rate of home mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The fee is hidden in the interest rate of all mortgages for the next ten years and is payable throughout the 30 year life of the loan. That means a $200,000 mortgage costs an additional $15 a month. For an $80 tax break, home buyers will have to pay between $5,000 and $16,000 depending on where they live. Home buyers are the middle class that Obama swore not to raise taxes on -- calling it a hidden fee is apparently OK. Liars, liars pants on fire.
Now this really makes me mad. The $35.7 billion collected in fees won't go into the Social Security fund to replace the lost payroll tax. It goes to the general treasury where Congress can spend it however they please. I can't imagine what the next 10 months of payroll tax cuts Obama promised will cost us. Obama gets another campaign sound bite and the middle class pays dearly. Obama and the Democrats lead the RINO sheeple into oblivion.
When I was young, I heard rumors about a secretive group called the Tri-Lateral Commission. I remember George H W Bush was supposed to be a member along with many other prominent members of the politically connected. Supposedly they were meeting at a place called Davos Switzerland or some other place in Switzerland that In knew nothing about. And it was rumored that they were trying to establish a one world government. Supposedly the United Nations was central to that premise. I rejected it as right wing paranoia, as I was an idealistic liberal minded young man and besides, the United nations was created to provide a debating place which would take the place of all future wars.
But now today, the notion of a push for one world order is not so foreign to my imagination and I fear it will destroy America without accomplishing anything other than making some other country like Russia or China or Iran the new dominant country in the world. The way we are going that may happen without a one world order anyway, but with a one world order I am certain it will happen.
So what has happened since my youth and caught my attention, is the role the Federal Reserve played in the 2008 meltdown of the European and American financial systems. Since we are so connected with other countries in Globalization, what happens to one happens to the connected. And in the wake of the meltdown we caused, we (The Federal Reserve) created $16 trillion in loans that were made to domestic and foreign governments and financial institutions. In other words, we became the world's federal reserve while the systems rocked back to some form of less threatening instability.
That got my attention and then I started looking around. I came across something called Agenda 21. I still don't have a good grasp on this issue as it is extensive and complex, but it appears that one threatening aspect of it is the eventual takeover of private property and ceding control to the United Nations, all in the name of sustainable development. Surprisingly, hundreds of American cities have already signed up for Agenda 21. This is just part of the framework for the one world order.
I also have read about the United Nations attempt to establish a precedent of taxing countries to raise money. They are doing it behind the concept of helping poor people, after all who can turn a hardhearted back on a poor and helpless, starving people. This would be an extremely alarming precedent to establish and would lead to more of the same. We already give substantial amounts of money to the International Monetary Fund to help poor countries, to the World Bank to help struggling countries and the United Nations itself to fund it's operations, but at least these are voluntary contributions.
I am mindful of the support for one world order by George Soros, the famous billionaire who specializes in destroying a vulnerable country's currency while making billions. I am also mindful of the global fund raising efforts by Bill Clinton who attempted to become the head of the United Nations.
Recently an American company that collects and redistributes all the election outcomes by precinct was sold to a foreign company in Europe. That's not comfortable. A foreign enterprise purchased an American icon, Anheuser Busch. In fact there are many giant businesses operating in America that are owned by foreign enterprises. In fact Saudi Arabia's The Kingdom Holding Fund owns countless stocks in countless American companies as an example. China owns shares in American companies through front entities that are owned by the government or the military. A group called CAIR, the Council on Islamic-American Relations, promotes the establishment of Islamic politicians I every political race in the country at all levels of government. This is not secret. It is on their website. One could say, they are only trying to protect their own, but there are a lot of forces at work within our country which is so open to freedom of activity and if we want to keep it that way, we are going to have to stay informed and pay attention to what is happening both domestically and in foreign capitals.
There's a lot I don't know and that is worrisome given what I have already been exposed to and I am doing my best to stay informed. I can't say the news media is a big help.
An anti-US article by Michael Winter on the Russian English language news web site rt.com cites the deals Iran is making with India, China, South Korea and Russia to trade in gold rather than the US dollar. Iran's foray into partnerships with Latin American countries and its investment in Spanish language TV channels shows just how threatening Iran is to our economy. Saudi Arabia and Iraq have recently made deals with China for oil exporting. China may insist on paying non-US Dollars for the oil.
We are threatened primarily because we are so dependent on foreign oil imports. So it is very hard to understand why the government does its best to impede the development of our oil resources, when we could free ourselves of this threat by producing all the oil we need. We should be on a crash program to ramp up domestic production as fast as is reasonably safe.
The push to get off the dollar has been going on for some time now and prior to the Iran deals Russia and China agreed to trade in their own currencies as opposed to dollars.
India has dumped its dollar reserves. China is trading them for pieces of America. As the world begins to be awash in dollars, its value will drop and probably significantly.
We are already seeing significant inflation if you look at the price of bread or coffee or meat or many other food products. The same is true of energy products such as gasoline. While the government tries to prevent people from focusing on these rising prices by excluding them form the core inflation measure, we still have to pay the dramatically increased prices in our day to day lives.
There are those who just hate oil, even the mention of it. They want to replace oil with alternative energy sources. But the practical truth is that isn't going to happen in our lifetimes because we use too much of it and there isn't enough capacity ion the alternatives to replace even a significant part of it. So it is time to face the music. We are our own worst enemy because we are an oil rich nation that refuse to take advantage of our riches. Thus we are vulnerable to the foreign import of oil and any instability in that flow, not to overlook all those dollars that could be going to American jobs and the American economy. The Keystone Pipeline is not our oil, but at least it comes from a neighbor and can buy us some time while we ramp up our own capacity to produce oil.
We need a President and a Congress that understands this and will do something about it right now. We get what we vote for and we deserve what we get.
After dividing the country for three years, President Barack Obama is finally uniting the country, only it is against him and his Progressive philosophy and policies. Yesterday, at every Catholic church in the country, a letter was read declaring the defiance of the Catholic church against mandated elements of Obamacare involving abortion inducing drugs. The church is drawing a line in the sand and saying they refuse to comply with the law requested by the president, passed by the Democrats and signed by the President. Obama and his administration are at war. Their treatment of the Black Panther incident at the Pennsylvania polling place, their attack against Arizona, Utah, South Carolina and Alabama as well as their attack against business and the successful well to do is mystifying, but he is uniting those he is attacking and it is time, because he has the backing of those who benefit from the welfare state as well as the ideological left and lobbyists who benefit from his massive legislation and regulations. It is good to see the Catholic church fight back and they are being joined by other Christians and even Jews who know what such treatment can lead to. It has been said that this election is the most important election in modern history and it is because our country is trying to decide who it is and whoever wins this presidential election will likely decide...
Over the last two decades SOTU TV viewership averaged 45 million -- Obama's 2011 SOTU was down to 38 million. There's a message there -- a message much more interesting and powerful than his same old rhetoric sprinkled with class warfare. While Obama ranted on about Warren Buffet's secretary and taxes, 36 0f his own White House staff owe $833,000 in back taxes. While he talks about jobs he neglects to mention his refusal to approve the Keystone pipeline and his buddies at Media Matters are saying the 20,000 jobs lost don't amount to much. Obama said, "We have created 3 million jobs over the last 22 months." The truth is 2.13 million which averages 96,000 a month while 163,000 a month is what's required to keep up with population growth let alone replace the 8 million jobs lost. When he talks about accomplishments he avoids any mention of his previously much heralded legislative accomplishment and now pariah Obamacare. All over inflated ideology spun with fuzzy numbers and empty promises. Promises he'll break just as surely as all those he's broken before. Does he really think we're that stupid?
I see his picture and I want to throw darts -- the mere sound of his voice makes me want to hurl. Based on the TV ratings, an ever increasing numbers of Americans are growing weary of his empty promises and lack of accomplishment. The more America sees of him the more they realize what a phenomenal mistake they made at the ballot box in 2008. Let's hope they keep that feeling and vote this arrogant incompetent elitist out of office in 2012.
When Obama was making his case for a fair shake for the middle class in his State of the Union message last night, it set me to wondering, "who is this middle class?"
According to Leonard Beeghley, Sociologist at the University of Florida, the population can be classed by income as follows:
Class is, however, a relative thing. Lower-income households in the U.S. tend to own more appliances and larger houses than many middle-income Western Europeans. Many experts don't believe poverty can be accurately measured. This is because the federal data reflect only income, not net worth, so a retired couple who own their own home and have a couple of million dollars in net worth but live off their social security could be classified as living in poverty.
Obama proposes to give the middle class a fair deal by taxing the rich. How does that help the middle class except by removing some of the incentive to become rich? The biggest threat to the welfare of the middle class is a poor job market. After all, the path to the middle class has always been to get an education and then find a good job and advance in your career. In this regard, Obama's proposals don't seem to make a lot of sense.
If, however, you realize that what Obama is talking about when he refers to the middle class are union jobs, things become clearer. The middle class he wants to protect are not the professionals and business people, but the public and other union members whose jobs are largely dependent upon tax revenue. This despite the clear trend to move businesses to places free of the constraints of union labor. The great growth industries of our time, the computer industry, for example, have been largely union-free.
If you can make a sufficient number of people believe that there is a vast conspiracy of "rich folks" which is bent upon suppressing the "middle class" you might be able to make a case which is based on "us versus them". Funny, isn't it, that Obama and his cronies (like Warren Buffet) are all rich. What's even funnier is that Obama got that way without ever holding a real job. That's why his message is so foolish and we see through it.
The simple fact is that Obama doesn't have a clue. His solution to everything is a new set of platitudes and the same old social engineering progressive babble. People are hurting because they need jobs. They don't need more government. If you want to raise the tax rate, go ahead, but it won't solve the debt problem. To do that you need to drastically cut spending. The folks who are looking for work would be happy to be able to complain about their taxes as an alternative to having no income. I know a number of people who have started successful businesses. Right now, most of them are sitting on their hands (and their money) because the regulatory environment and the health care situation make it too risky to open a new venture.
It's time to stop forming into opposing camps. It's time to simply throw the bums out and work together to rebuild our economy based on the proven principles of individual liberty and self-reliance. It's time for Obama and his buddies to feel what unemployment is like.
The Obama who presented himself last night is not the Obama who has been president for 3 years and had a Democratic Congress for 2 of those three years. Read the AP fact check article and you will recognize that like many politicians, Obama will say anything to get re-elected, but if re-elected will continue his extreme left wing policies and dictator-like behavior. He made some pretty attractive offers such as opening up federal land for exploitation but this flies in the face of his behavior over the past three years. He has no credibility beyond what he has demonstrated to date and that means he will have to run on his record not on his re-invented persona.
Many news articles describe the fate of Christians and Christianity in the Middle East as it is more rapidly being eliminated by emerging governments there. Whether it is Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan or Egypt, the plight of Christians is dire. This has led to Christians fleeing their countries as the Middle East religiously cleanses their population. This is the dictate of the Koran, so it should not surprise people. It is true that in history there have been benevolent regimes where Muslims tolerated other religions but taxed them and treated them like second class citizens. It is also true that extreme violence against non-Muslims is replete in history as well. Christians have tended to turn the other cheek except for the era of the Crusades but that is working against their survival.
Here closer to home, Christianity has been under attack for decades. I can remember in the 50's when retail establishments began their elimination of Christ from Christmas by introducing the word Xmas as a substitute for Christmas. The attempt to make Christmas a secular holiday instead of a celebration of the birth of Christ has been largely successful and now we find that the envelope is being pushed even further by banning Christmas decorations or Nativity scenes.
I find it interesting that Tim Tebow's unabashed expression of his feelings about God make him very popular with Republicans and relatively unpopular with Democrats. Is this a natural sorting out of demographics? I'm not sure what to make of it. But I do feel that Tebow is a model that Christians need to follow. They need to fight back against the forces that would squeeze them out of public visibility and squash their influence on our culture.
The Christian beliefs are not the only beliefs that benefit our nation, but they are a significant benefit that was inherent in the forming of this nation and we should proudly wear our Christianity which is not the same thing as putting down any other beliefs and perhaps that would help our country return to a previous era when things were much more civil.
Joining the SOPA PIPA blackout for Internet freedom was just something I felt obligated to do for the good of all Internet users. Clearly our blackout didn't have the influence of a site like Wikipedia but a vote is a vote and we all must stand together to maintain an Internet free of censorship. Here's hoping that those that came to 3 Joes during the blackout took the opportunity to add their voice for support of our common cause. My personal thanks to all for your continued support of our work.
I'm pleased to say that our united voices were heard by Washington. Obama and members of both Houses have announced agreement with our concerns. The horrible SOPA and PIPA bills have been held for further work in order to accommodate the Internet's concerns. They may or may not ever see the light of day again. We'll be ever vigilant to protect the freedom and potential of the Internet. The Internet is the people's megaphone which can at last drown out the K St. lobbyists. We can't be ignored anymore.
Even before Sarah Palin's "Drill baby drill" sound bite Republicans have been pushing for more energy production. Every recommendation and attempt to to use energy production as an answer to our failing economy has been ignored by Obama and the Democrats. And now even President Obama's own Council on Jobs and Competitiveness has released their "Road Map to Renewal" report on ideas for job creation. And what would you know but it included a number of "all-in" energy policy recommendations to create American jobs. Sounds very much like the "all-of-the-above" American Energy Initiative promoted by House Republicans. Specific proposals from the Council include increased oil, natural gas and coal production on federal lands, additional uranium mining, streamlining permitting and leasing processes for renewable energy production, and the development of pipelines, transmission and distribution for electricity and fuel.
Our so called bipartisan President won't have any of it -- sounds all to Republican for him. "The President's Jobs Council today confirmed what House Republicans have known all along, that American energy production will spur job creation and strengthen our national security," said Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings. The Obama Administration has a long track record of moving in the exact opposite direction of the Council's recommendations -- blocking new uranium mining in Arizona, slow walking offshore energy production, canceling natural gas lease sales, regulating Coal out of existence, largely ignoring renewable energy development on federal lands and punting on the Keystone XL Pipeline.
The House has passed bipartisan legislation to expand U.S. energy production and the Democrat controlled Senate has refused to take action on it. What the hell is wrong with Obama and the Senate? Can't they see their blind adherence to ideology is destroying America and it's economy? When someone is so dedicated to lunacy is it insanity or is it deliberate?
Anyone who's been on the wrong end of a layoff can relate to the emotions expressed in anti-Romney ads by people laid off by Bain Capital. But let's stop and think for a minute. Bain's history is fixing failed businesses and when the patient was in death throws from waiting to long to ask for help, the orderly closing of those businesses. Whether fixing or closing a business, layoffs to get expenses under control are an unfortunate but necessary act. Layoffs occur when a business can't sustain enough revenue to meet expenses, particularly payroll. If this kind of drastic action isn't taken before things go beyond the point of no return, you come to work one morning with chains on the doors, no job and no severance package -- everyone looses their job. Which is better, Some loose their jobs with a severance package or everyone looses their job without warning or severance?
Those whose jobs were saved should thank Bain. The companies that became successful again after Bain's help are certainly thankful, as should be the employees. My long work history has frequently included start ups and yes I've been caught in a layoff more than once. And yes I've has to let people go to downsize a business to the available market -- not something I found any joy in. One learns to get off a horse before it dies because it's painful when you don't. No job is a guaranteed source of income for life -- not even a government job. All employees contribute to the success of a company in some way and as a rule don't bear any responsibility for a companies failure. As an employee you're not a family member and business must do what's necessary to sustain the business. Letting someone go can save the jobs of others -- no business -- no jobs.
Now let's consider our federal government which produces no product and borrows over 40% of what they spend. Isn't this the kind of organization that should be screaming out for Bain's help. Shouldn't the owners of this dysfunctional business, the taxpayer, be demanding that spending be reduced and management be replaced? As an investor or employee I've learned to pay attention to the financial performance of any concern I've been involved with. Poor investments were sold before they tanked completely and I looked for a new job when the company I worked for showed signs of failing or perhaps just stagnant growth. Government isn't like a private business but it does have to manage it's money and resources like one. As a taxpayer, stockholder, we don't really have the option to change citizenship nor would we want to. The only choice is to elect new leadership with the skills and knowledge that Bain Capitol has. The skill and will to make cuts where appropriate and to redirect resources to live within their means while still doing the business of government is what's required. Rather than badmouthing Romney about his time at Bain, we should be asking for his help.
As a conservative I find Romney is more moderate than I'd like on some issues. However, if I look at what's drastically wrong with our government, fixing it clearly falls within Romney's expertise. There will be no solution unless Obama is defeated in 2012 along with many of his minions in Congress. Like many I've been undecided about who to support from an ideology perspective but, I can now see that the best path available for our country may be Mitt Romney. As conservatives we now have two tasks. One is to make sure that all candidates know we expect them to start fixing the problem starting day one. The other is to make sure Romney or who ever else wins the primary gets elected. No going home to lick our wounds because our favorite lost the primary. Accept the primary winner and work for his election. They are one and all an improvement over Obama.
It's foolish not to see the value in compromise. It's even more foolish to compromise with the devil. To much of almost anything can be be bad for you, including compromise. In the Munich Agreement, Neville Chamberlin appeased the Nazis with Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland -- clearly a compromise with the devil. I'd hardly call World War II a positive outcome of compromise. This was aptly put by Churchill as, "feeding the alligator hoping he will eat you last." In Afghanistan the Obama administration is in the process of compromising with the Taliban as a means to help Obama win a second term. The end result will no doubt lead to Taliban control of Afghanistan and a total waste of our blood and capitol. Some would argue that announcing a departure date has already seeded control of Afghanistan back to the Taliban. Bipartisanship is yet another incarnation of compromise. Still there's the potential of great value as well as great disaster.
When Reid asks Republicans to abandon the Tea Party in the name of bipartisanship, he's asking them to morph back into the RINOs that over the years fed the progressive alligator -- hoping to be eaten last. This is the same Reid that has prevented 30 job creating bills passed by the House to come to the Senate floor for a vote -- how's that for bipartisanship? To forsake the goals espoused by the Tea Party is to compromise with the devil. The devil of socialism that has been destroying the very foundation of the American dream. The Tea Party is the first to have seen the alligator of socialism for what it really is. They are the conscious of America. That little voice from within that reminds us to slam on the brakes before we crash and burn. We have already compromised far to much with this devil and have to stop. Democrats call this unwillingness to compromise, I call this recognizing that the pendulum has swung so far to the left that it's approaching the point of no return. There's no room for more compromise when the alligator has consumed everything else and has started to eat you alive.
Whether you call the alligator socialism, the 99%, social engineering, nanny statism or uncontrolled spending with crushing debt. It's the alligator which must be stopped. There isn't any room for compromise in that.
A recent Pew Research survey found that 66% of respondents feel that there is a strong or very strong conflict between the rich and poor. This is up from less than half in 2009. So President Barack Obama's strategy of promoting class warfare, a strategy that appeals to the basest instincts in a human, greed and envy, shows how ethically challenged he is. In fact this is not a new behavior for him. He has lied about so many things that the list becomes boring to read. Of course, being diplomatic, his lies have not been called lies but apparent disconnect or being misled or mis-spoken. In class warfare the idea is to take from the rich and give to the poor. That way everyone ends up poor, but it doesn't solve any problems. History has proven that.
And like a magician, whose mastery of illusion is the fundamental basis for success, Obama continues to distract and redirect attention away from his failures. While he has expanded government roles by 134,000 during his first three years, expanded government control over the economy and businesses, and blown our deficit through the roof, now that we are in an election year, he seeks to change his image to that of a cost cutter. He proposes to make the government more efficient by streamlining 6 agencies, consolidating them under Commerce. He is asking for more power to do this.
Even though he clearly is making a political decision to change his image and confuse the public about who he is and what he is up to, we should take advantage of his ploy because everything we do to reduce the size of government will help the deficit which is killing us. However, Congress should look very carefully art what he proposes and give him no more extra power than what he needs to accomplish the consolidation and sunset that power as soon as he accomplishes the consolidation.
With Obama, you have to be very careful and pay close attention to detail. For example, in his jobs act, he has a provision that would allow a candidate for a job, who is not chosen to fill that position, to sue the prospective employer for up to $300,000. This is madness as it would make prospective employers unwilling to interview many candidates for a job.
Barack Obama promised that current recipients of Medicare would not be affected by Obamacare and yet he cut $500 million from the budget without a plan to make this not impact the current recipients and now we are paying that price. Those not affected blow this off, but it doesn't change the fact that he "mis-spoke".
Barack Obama is criticizing Mitt Romney, his likely opposition for the presidency, for buying weak and failing companies and reducing their work force so that instead of all employees ending up laid off, only some employees end up laid off and the rest survive while the company gets its feet back on the ground and grows to add new jobs. Sometimes this didn't work out as planned and the company fails anyway. But Obama has done the same thing. He reduced the work force and the dealerships in GM and Chrysler to save the companies from failing. He also spent billions on loans to failing companies that failed anyway or are about to fail. Hypocrisy is not constrained in the White House.
It is my opinion that Occupy Wall Street demonstrates that there will be violence in the streets in our near future either because our failure to constrain spending leads to unavoidable inflation, making it difficult to exist as we are accustomed on current incomes or violence because responsible politicians are elected and enact the austerity measures needed to ensure the future of our country. In either case, I believe Occupy Wall Street will happen again in response to whatever. The fact that liberals embraced this movement is disgusting and we will all suffer as a result.
Barack Obama came to the presidency with absolutely no management experience in the private sector or the public sector and the condition of the country reflects that lack of experience. He brought with him a background in Chicago politics and that has been reflected in his practice of politics. To the victor belong the spoils is an old saying. But half the people of this country apparently do not think the country is self destructing under his leadership or lack thereof and that is totally befuddling. We are doomed under 4 more years of a president Barack Obama as we already know what that entails. Our only chance to reverse this trend is to elect a Republican Congress and President and hold them accountable to fix this mess.
Don't be fooled that the Obama organizational shuffling will save anything significant because with those changes is the creation of a new cabinet level department for the SBA. Just how is playing musical chairs and creating a new cabinet level bureaucracy not going to grow government? Where are the cuts? All I see is slight of hand.
Change is a part of life. Those like IBM that accommodate it succeed by embracing market place and technology change -- remain both profitable and in demand. At their inception, computers were huge and expensive. They were only affordable by large business and governments that never worry about cost. Technology moved forward and smaller more affordable computers were the result. Digital Equipment Corporation, DEC, became the major competitor with the mini-computer which almost any business could afford. From a business perspective a totally different business model. Eventually the desktop computer came on the stage and computers became the purview of the individual. DEC didn't adapt well and disappeared. IBM established the desktop standard with the PC and continued to thrive. Computers are now moving into our pockets and into every device we use. PC makers like Compac born in the desktop era went by the wayside but IBM refocused their business model for success in this new mobile computing world. IBM sold their PC business to Lenovo whose cost structure could still maintain profitability. IBM a shining example of how the free market works for a company that adapts.
Kodak was the IBM of the photography world but they failed to adapt to change in a timely manner -- their profitability is gone and their end game is bankruptcy. The profit in the Kodak era was in film and processing -- not really in cameras although the cheap easy to use Kodak Brownie camera established the demand. Camera companies like Canon and Nikon made the digital transition adapting to the needs of the marketplace by following the demand created by new technology. Kodak dabbled in digital but still clung to the film and processing that digital media eliminated. Sadly after all these years, Kodak is filing for bankruptcy. Family snapshots will no longer be known as "Kodak moments." Like Kodachrome, Kodak will become a memory. Kodak will be studied in our universities as an example of colossal failure and not as the company that brought photography to the masses. Any endeavor that no longer serves a useful purpose fades away. No amount of marketing or government mandate can create demand for that which serves no useful purpose. The beauty of the free market is that it self corrects without government intervention -- consumers pick the winners.
Then there is the US Post Office, which became a quasi private corporation so it could pay it's own way. They sought to solidify their position through government regulation and never adapted to change. They've not been profitable for quite some time but the taxpayers still picked up the tab. By law others can't put anything in the mail box you bought and own but that government mandated monopoly doesn't make the Post Office profitable, it only avoids competition. Package delivery companies like Fed-Ex and UPS came into being and have thrived as private companies in the free marketplace. The price of delivered paper mail is set the same for all regardless of the cost of delivery. It reeks of the same social engineering as government spreading the wealth and works as poorly. Like a poorly run business that doesn't adapt to the market, socialism of any flavor is the road to failure. The same union mentality that contributed to the failure of the auto industry is also at play in the post office. The first class letter like Kodak's film and processing is being made electronically superfluous. The Post Office didn't adapt. It's time to privatize the US mail completely. It's time to let the free market do it's magic with the mail boxes we planted in front of our homes. Once governed by the consumer and not the politician, mail delivery, what ever that should mean, will work itself out for the betterment of the consumer and taxpayer, not the Postal Worker's union. The US Post Office, poster child of why government and business don't mix. Government can't pick or invent winners.
Our federal government never met a rule it didn't like. Unfortunately these rules are all to often made by bureaucrats rather people with a full understanding of consequences. They make rules that destroy the economy, kill jobs and yes even kill or harm people. You may have read lately about shortages of generic medications. You might assume the 25% increase in prescription shortages over 2011 is a supply and demand glitch the free market will correct but, you'd be wrong. The shortages come when government price controls make the manufacturing of these medication unprofitable and perhaps even more insane and evil are DEA regulations. I'm not talking about marijuana or crack cocain -- I'm talking about necessary medications. The DEA makes rules that limit the availability of key compounds necessary for manufacture.
One such case is the DEA's manipulation of the Adderall market. Here's another unintended consequences disaster. The DEA mandates quotas on how much of Adderall's active ingredient the drug companies can have each year limiting production in order to prevent collecting and selling the drugs on the black market. According to the New York Times this shortage is "devastating" and thousands of children are now unable to get their medication. There's no doubt in my mind that ADHD is over diagnosed but children with ADHD are being put at a disadvantage compared to their classmates.
What's key here isn't just Adderall. It's that government is screwing up the medication supply chain. Thanks to Obamacare the same and more government idiots will have complete control over all of healthcare. With Obamacare the unintended consequences are a lousy quality of life for the ill and in some cases death. As well as creating death panels that decide people over a certain age aren't worth providing health care to, they'll be shortening and making more miserable all our lives. When I was 66 I experienced bleeding on the brain which required neurosurgery to save my life. Under Obamacare, as I close in on 70, if the same thing happens again there will be no life saving surgery -- just medication while I wait to die. Do you wish to be sentenced to early death by the government? I didn't think so.
A fair number of the "Occupy" crowd are angry because they have large student debts but can't find a job -- others just angry. One could say they feel cheated. Students at Michigan's Lake Superior State University released their annual list of words deemed so misused, overused and cliched they should be banished. And at the top of that list is occupy -- yet another bummer for the OWS crowd. Should the Occupiers be heartened by Columbia University's inclusion of an Occupy Wall Street class that will send students into the field to commune with and be influenced by the OWS crowd? It will be taught by Dr. Hannah Appel, a veteran of the Occupy movement. I say, let's buy her a one way ticket to Cuba.
Imagine, at Ivy League school rates, the experience of being cold, unwashed and well versed in using police cars for toilet facilities -- bring your own TP. You may even get extra credit for being arrested. I'm sure student parents and potential employers will be impressed. Never in my lifetime have I seen education decline to this level. Hell this is more ludicrous than the classes in basket weaving we joked about years ago -- unless anarchy has become the latest in demand job skill. One has to ask how does this lunacy prepare one for a more productive life and higher paying careers?
It appears to me that the OWS crowd complaining about their burdensome debt should be angry with the schools that cheated them rather than Wall Street. If they had actually learned anything for all that money they'd be storming Washington for causing the the crash of the economy in the first place. A crash caused by government coercing banks to loan mortgage money to people that had no hope of paying it back in the first place. Actually I see a lot of parallel between government's failed attempt at social engineering and educational institutions that failed to deliver meaningful education and steered students into programs where there would be few jobs opportunities. Both legislators and faculty advisers have failed their responsibilities to constituents while becoming rich themselves. Wrong in so many ways.
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