Goodbye Barry - Welcome Home AMERICA!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Health Care Reform for Dummies - Part II

This is my very own improved plan for health care management in the United States of America...

Government regulation is probably needed in the following areas:
1. Medical Equipment Manufacturers - Regulation is needed to reduce the obscene profits on medical hardware. Profits in the $800,000+ range for one low-end Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI) have surpassed reasonable profit, and entered the realm of profiteering. R&D and associated production and marketing costs should be amortized over the estimated life of the equipment - let's call it 10 years. This would eliminate the temptation to attempt to recoup all expenses in the first 10 units sold. All expenses in R&D, production and marketing would be tax deductible for the corporation during that 10 year period - but the corporation would not be tax exempt.

2. Medical Supplies Manufacturers - This would include expendable single-use supplies such as bandages, tongue depressors, disposable hypodermic syringes, catheters, cast materials, etc., and would be regulated essentially the same as above.

3. Pharmaceutical Manufacturers - No more gouging the American people. If product "X" is only worth $3 in Bangladesh, Indonesia, India or Somalia, then it's only worth $3 on this planet. Regulation would be essentially the same as #1, above.

4. Hospitals - This is basically the retail part of the business of medicine. The hospitals are not only saddled with the expenses forced upon them by equipment, supplies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers, they have the additional overhead expenses of personnel to cook, clean to hospital standards, and provide security within the boundaries of the hospital campus. Then there are the professional costs and wages. The average MD in the USA makes $171,000 per year. That's good money. The average nursing school graduate is paid an average of $22 per hour during the first year, and by the fourth year can be earning $25 per hour, average. To offset their overhead expenses hospitals charge about $5 for a band aid and $8 for an aspirin, and about $1,000 a day for a room! Hospitals should be regulated insofar as charges for consumables (supplies and pharmaceuticals) goes. Cost + 40% is the generally considered the retail standard markup, and that should work for hospitals too - as long as the rest of the medical system is working as it should.

5. Doctors - Doctors should be permitted to practice medicine using their best judgment, and nobody other than their immediate supervisor or the medical licensing board should be allowed to interfere. Doctors should be protected against outrageous lawsuits by capping suits against medical professionals at $500,000. Having a ceiling on malpractice lawsuits should reduce a doctors cost for malpractice insurance, and allow them to charge substantially less than $10 per minute for their time. Many doctors are paying $150,000-$200,000 annually, and a few pay even more for insurance. However, the majority find themselves in the $60,00 per year category. Now we have a chicken-egg-chicken situation... are doctors paying exorbitantly high premiums for insurance because they charge a lot for their services? Do they charge a lot for their services because their insurance is so high? Do they pay a lot for insurance because they may be sued for ridiculous amounts of money? A doctor's malpractice premiums are probably outrageously high because they do get sued for ridiculous amounts of money - by US! We are the primary driving force behind the exorbitant cost of health care. Lawsuits, non-payment for services, equipment costs, student loans to cover outrageous medical school costs, etc. all figure into the equation used to determine what 10 minutes of MD time is worth.

6. Health/Medical Insurance Companies - Most insurance companies are publicly traded, which means they are listed on one of the several stock exchanges, and are available to individuals, consortiums or other corporations to purchase stock. The insurance companies, as do all publicly traded corporations, have an obligation to their stock holders to show quarterly profits and pay dividends to the investors based upon the amount of money they have invested. Adding known "risk" to the group comprising policy holders increases the possibility of payouts and reduces the probability of producing those dividends. The uninsurable were classified that way for a reason - RISK! Insurance companies like to take money, and hate to part with it. If the insurers were forced to accept previously uninsurable clients, one of two things would have to happen:
a. The risk presented by the uninsurable would have to be paid for with higher than normal premiums... so high they would undoubtedly be unaffordable to 90% of those desiring insurance coverage, or
b. The premium rates of all insureds would have to be increased to offset the potential for increased losses by the insurance company.
Health/Medical insurance companies must be allowed - better yet, make that required - to sell policies in all 50 states, thereby increasing competition, and through that competition for the available health insurance $$, lower the costs of health insurance. In order for this plan to be cost-effective all the elements must come into play. And, sadly, the uninsurable must remain the uninsurable. Let the doctors and hospitals do a little pro bono work now and then, and make it completely tax deductible.

The "bottom line" is:
It is human GREED that keeps our health care costs in the stratosphere.

(Oh, yeah... and I did this with about 2,200 pages fewer than Congress!)

Friday, December 25, 2009

The Realities of Insuring The Uninsurable - THE HEALTH CARE CRISIS IN AMERICA!

The latest iteration of the Democrats health care bill includes wording that, in effect states: "Government approved health care insurers (and they must all be "government approved") must provide insurance to those with preexisting conditions at the same premium rate as other insureds of the same demographic."That sounds wonderful on the surface, especially if you are one of those people who are currently uninsurable... but, when you look at it strictly from a business standpoint it presents quite a challenge to the insurance industry. Take just a second here to think about how you would handle the challenge if you were the CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield, or one of the other big health insurance companies, keeping in mind that all insurance companies set their premiums based upon risk. They have people called "actuaries" (recently there has been a trend toward calling actuaries "risk managers") whose only job is to evaluate the risk factor (risk of potential payout) involved in issuing policies based upon gender, age, physical condition, alcohol or drug usage, smoking/non-smoking, occupational hazards, etc.. (I'll wait while you do that...).

Do you have a plan of action now? Well, we're proceeding regardless.

Most insurance companies are publicly traded, which means they are listed on one of the several stock exchanges, and are available to individuals, consortiums or other corporations to purchase stock. The insurance companies, as do all publicly traded corporations, have an obligation to their stock holders to show quarterly profits and pay dividends to the investors based upon the amount of money they have invested. Adding known "risk" to the group comprising policy holders increases the possibility of payouts and reduces the probability of producing those dividends. So, what are your options as CEO?

1. Maintain the status quo and do nothing. Continue to issue policies at the same premium rates even though you have been forced to accept 500,000 clients previously designated as uninsurable due to preexisting conditions. In about a year you can either ask the government for a bailout... or file for bankruptcy. Bad choice.

2. Work the technicalities of the government mandate to your favor. Government approved providers "must provide insurance to those with preexisting conditions at the same premium rate as other insureds of the same demographic." Increase everybody's premium costs to that which the previously uninsurable policy holder would have had to to pay prior to the government edict. This would probably make you oodles of profits, your stock holders would love you, and you would be "last seen" as you were forced into the back seat of a late-model black Chevrolet Suburban, with dark desert tint on the windows. Sadly, this may well be your best option.

3. Close your doors now and avoid the inevitability of financial collapse. This is the option the government would prefer you take... thus leaving a clear field for them to take over the health care industry in its entirety, and making the American people just that much more dependent upon "Nanny Government". Making it financially unfeasible - by way of draconian laws and unnecessary taxes - for publicly owned corporations to do business in the health care industry is precisely what the socialist government of Barack Obama plans to do. McDonald's is always hiring (or was... back when we had a few extra dollars to spend on a quick lunch or dinner).
Right now the insurance companies are in a lose-lose situation. They have been demonized by the government and the left-wing media since Obama began his "Change we can believe in" campaign. It's really more like...
or
Understand that I am not a big fan of giant corporations. Especially those selling health insurance. They've been bending us over for the last 3 or 4 decades! Most of the costs are nothing more than greed. Whose greed? The patient. Want to know why medical care is so expensive? Besides the 16 million illegal aliens that are getting it at no cost to them, because the rest of us are paying for it. Because there are no caps on malpractice lawsuits, and many doctors are paying over $200,000 a year in malpractice insurance premiums! Naturally, those costs are passed along to their patients. People are greedy... and they will sue at the drop of a hat! That's one thing that keeps our medical insurance costs high. Then there's the $800,000+ profit in one MRI machine. More corporate greed! How about those $5 hospital aspirins and the $8 band aids? Where do these hospital administrators shop for their supplies ... Neimann-Marcus? But, again, hospitals have to offset the losses from non-payment for services - and greedy vendors - somehow, so they just pass it along to the beneficiary of those goods and services.

The bottom line is that it all comes back upon those of us who act responsibly by having health insurance, or paying for our medical treatment ourselves. The bill falls in our lap either directly (paying our own medical costs) or indirectly (purchasing insurance at high premium costs or paying higher taxes). Like all businesses, the costs of doing business are passed along to the consumer. The hidden costs involved in thefts and loss prevention personnel are passed along. Any business-related expense that can be passed along is passed along (and the rest are written off their income tax)!

Probably the best approach to resolving the health insurance crisis in our country is to not just allow interstate insurance sales, but to require it. This should result in lower overall costs for health insurance due to increased competition for the available health care $$$.

The Fundamental Transformation of America...

I think this is important enough that I should post it here. The idea is that as many Americans as possible get to see the information. So, with the kind permission of the original author, Matt Bruce...
___________________________________________________________
The Fundamental Transformation of America...

By Matt Bruce | 1
1/19/09 | 06:32 PM EDT

When Obama wrote a book and said he was
mentored as a youth by Frank, (Frank Marshall Davis) an avowed Communist. People said it didn't matter...

When it was discovered that his grandparents, we
re strong socialists, sent Obama's mother to a socialist school, introduced Frank Marshall Davis to young Obama, People said it didn't matter...

When people fou
nd out that he was enrolled as a Muslim child in school and his father and step father were both Muslims, People said it didn't matter...

When he wrote in another book he authored “I wi
ll stand with them (Muslims) should the political winds shift in an ugly direction", People said it didn't matter...

When he admittedly, in his book, said he ch
ose Marxist friends and professors in college, People said it didn't matter...

When he traveled to Pakistan, after college on an unknown national passport, People said it didn't matter...

When he sought the endorsement of
the Marxist party in 1996 as he ran for the Illinois Senate, People said it doesn't matter...

When he sat in a Chicago Church for twenty years and listened to a preacher spew hatred for America and preach black liberation theology, People said it didn't matter...

When an independent Washington organization, that tracks senate voting records, gave him the distinctive title as the "most liberal senator", People said it didn't matter...

When the Palestinians in Gaza, set up a fund ra
ising telethon to raise money for his election campaign, People said it didn't matter...

When his voting record supported gun control, People said it didn't matter...

When he refused to disclose who donated money to his election campaign, as other candidates had done, People said it didn't matter...

When he receive
d endorsements from people like Louis Farrakhan and Mummar Kaddafi and Hugo Chavez, People said it didn't matter...

When it was pointed out that he was a total, new
comer and had absolutely no experience at anything except community organizing, People said it didn't matter...

When he chose friends and acquaintances su
ch as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn who were revolutionary radicals, People said it didn't matter...

When his voting record in the Illinois senate an
d in the U.S. Senate came into question, People said it didn't matter...

When he refused to wear a flag, lapel pin and did so only after a public outcry, People said it didn't matter...

When people started treating him as a Messi
ah and children in schools were taught to sing his praises, People said it didn't matter...

When he stood with his hands over his groin area for the playing of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, People said it didn't matter...

When he surrou
nded himself in the White house with advisors who were pro gun control, pro abortion, pro homosexual marriage, anti-capitalism, anti-free markets, pro government control over everything and wanting to curtail freedom of speech to silence the opposition, People said it didn't matter...

When he aired his views on abortion, homosexuality and a host of other iss
ues, People said it didn't matter...

When he said h
e favors sex education in Kindergarten, including homosexual indoctrination, People said it didn't matter...

When his background was either scrubbed
or hidden and nothing could be found about him, People said it didn't matter...

When his first act as President, literally within 5 minutes of taking office, he signed executive order #13489 that sealed his own records, People said it didn’t matter...

When the place of his birth was called into question, and he refused to produce a birth certificate, and continues to spend millions in court to keep the material sealed, People said it didn't matter...

When he had an association in Chicago with Tony Rezco, a man of question
able character, who is now in prison and had helped Obama to a sweet deal on the purchase of his home, People said it didn't matter...

When it became known that George Soros,
a multi-billionaire Marxist, spent a ton of money to get him elected, People said it didn't matter...

When he started appointing czars that were radicals, revolutionaries,
and even avowed Marxist/Communist, People said it didn't matter...

When he stood before the nation and told us that his intentions were to "fundamentally transform this nation" into something else, People said it didn't matter...

When it became known that he had trained ACORN workers in Chicago and served as an attorney for ACORN, People said it didn't matter...

When he appoin
ted a cabinet members and several advisors who were tax cheats and socialist, People said it didn't matter...

When he appointed a science czar, John Holdren, who believes in forced abortions, mass sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers, People said it didn't matter...

When he appointed Cass Sunstein as regulatory czar and he believes in "Explicit Consent", harvesting human organs without family consent, and to allow animals to be represented in court, while banning all hunting, People said it didn't matter...

When he appointed Kevin Jennings, an overt homosexual, and organizer of a group called gay, lesbian, straight, education network, as safe school czar and it became known that he had a history of bad advice to teenagers, People said it didn't matter...

When he appointed Mark Lloyd as diversity czar and he believed in curtailing free speech, taking from one and giving to another to spread the wealth and admires Hugo Chavez, People said it didn't matter...

When Valerie Jarrett was selected as Obama's senior White House advisor and she is an avowed Socialist, People said it didn't matter...

When Anita Dunn, White House Communications director said Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher and the person she turned to most for inspiration, People said it didn't matter...

When he appointed Carol Browner as global warming czar, and she is a well known socialist working on Cap and trade as the nation’s largest tax hike in history, People said it doesn't matter...

When he appointed Van Jones, an ex-con and avowed Communist as green energy czar, who since had to resign when this was made known, People said it didn't matter...

When Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for health and human services secretary could not be confirmed, because he was a tax cheat, People said it didn't matter...

When as president of the United States, he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, People said it didn't matter...

When he traveled around the world criticizing America and never once talking of her greatness, People said it didn't matter...

When his actions concerning the middle-east seemed to support the Palestinians over Israel, our long time friend, People said it doesn't matter...

When he took American tax
dollars to resettle thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to the United States , People said it doesn't matter...

When he upset our European allies by removing plans for a missile defense system against the Russians, People said it doesn't matter...

When he played politics in Afghanistan by not sending troops the Field Commanders said we had to have to win, People said it didn't matter...

When he started spending us into a debt that was so big we could not pay it off, People said it didn't matter...

When he took a huge spending bill under the guise of stimulus and used it to pay off organizations, unions and individuals that got him elected, People said it didn't matter...

When he forced the takeover of insurance companies, car companies, banks, etc, People said it didn't matter...

When he took away student loans from the banks and put it through the government, People said it didn't matter...

When he designed plans to take over the health care system and put it under government control, People said it didn't matter...

When he set into motion a plan to take over the control of all energy resources in the United States through Cap and Trade, People said it didn't matter...

When he announced he was returning the masterminds of 9-11 to New York City to stand trial as ordinary criminals -- not war criminals -- and thus allow them the benefits from our system of jurisprudence, the mainstream media loved it and the people said it didn't matter...(Oh really? Go ask an FDNY FF, NYPD Cop, NY EMS, NY Port Authority Cop or Transit Worker, or a 9/11 Families member who was at the World Trade Center 9/11/2001 and see if it matters...)

When he finally completed his transformation of America into a Socialist State, people finally woke up, but it was too late...

Any one of these things, in and of themselves does not really matter. But when you add them up one by one you get a phenomenal score that points to the fact that our Obama is determined to make America over into a Marxist/Socialist society. All of the items in the preceding paragraphs have been put into place. All can be documented very easily.
Before you disavow this, do an internet search. The last paragraph alone is not yet cast in stone. You and I will write that paragraph. Will it read as above or will it be a more happy ending for most of America ? Personally, I like happy endings...

If you are an Obama Supporter, please recognize that you have elected a president who is a 'socialist'. There is simply no debate about these facts. But you need to seek the truth; you will be richer for it. Don't just belittle the opposition. Search for the truth. I did. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Constitutionalists, Libertarians and what have you, we all need to pull together. We all must pull together or watch the demise of a society that we all love and cherish. If you are a religious person, pray for our nation...

Never before in the history of America have we been confronted with problems so huge that the very existence of our country is in jeopardy.

Don't rely on most television news and what you read in the newspapers for the truth. Search the internet. Yes, there is a lot of bad information, lies and distortions there as well, but you are smart enough to spot the fallacies. Newspapers are a dying breed. They are currently seeking a bailout from the government. Do you really think they are about to print the truth? Obama praises all the television news networks except Fox who he is currently waging an open war against. There must be a reason. He does not call them down on any specifics, and he has failed to refute any facts presented – because it is all true. If they lie, he should call them out on it but he doesn't.
Please, find the truth, it will set you free...

Our biggest enemy is not China, Russia or Iran; no, our biggest enemy is the current contingent of politicians in Washington DC led by the Progressive Left Liberals who support the previously mentioned things...

Wake Up America! There's still time in 2010 to take back America and send a message LOUD and CLEAR to those who think 'it doesn't matter'...

I happen to think 'it does matter'...

God Bless America!

Matt Bruce
An American Independent Conservative Who Thinks 'It Matters'...

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks,
'Matt'
Matt Bruce
Host Of:
"The Captain's AMERICA Radio Show" - Weekday Mornings 6-9 AM ET On 1220
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"God Bless America & All Those Who Defend Us Keeping All of Us FREE & SAFE"
_________________________________________________________
WAKE UP AMERICA - STOP THE TYRANNY!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Senate Passes Health Care Bill - Ignoring Citizens Expressed Wishes

The AP lead-in reads - "WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history."

Let's dissect that sentence:

"Landmark health care bill" - Yes it is. Only because the people never wanted it in the past, and the Congress actually listened to them back then.

"Climactic Christmas Eve vote" - More of an anti-climactic and cowardly vote. With a Democratic majority it was a foregone conclusion that the bill would get the necessary 60 votes. The real question was how much those last few votes would cost the American people in terms of political PORK! How much were the holdout political whores selling their votes for on Christmas Eve? And that idiot Harry Reid's adding the pressure of a Christmas Eve vote - knowing that such timing would undermine any thought of prolonging the process throughout the day - pretty much insured rapid passage by those 60 who lack any hint of integrity. They now have their 30 pieces of silver.

"Define President Barack Obama's legacy" - That's the real reason for the passage of this very expensive, very destructive bill by the Senate... to give Obama a victory of some kind, even at the expense of the citizenry. His legacy is already "defined" as one of appalling incompetence in all areas other than destroying the American economy for decades to come... Obama has done a fine job of that!

"Near-universal medical coverage" - One more step toward destroying our economy and making the once-free American people increasingly dependent upon the government. You don't add millions of people to any program without incurring additional costs, and Obama's voodoo math says we will save money! The only way we will "save money" is by increasing taxes for four years prior to providing any health care benefits. How does that "save" us any money?

Congratulations are in order for all those fine Senators who cast their votes to assist Obama in ruining the United States of America, against the wishes of "We the People". Enjoy it while you can, for on November 20th of 2010 we shall remember! Of course I am assuming that we will still have free elections in 2010, and that could prove to be a faulty assumption...

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Anatomy of a Failed Presidency!

Just in case you missed it, the following is an interesting article from "American Thinker". This article is 5 months old, and things have only gotten worse...
________________________________________________


Another Failed Presidency

An article from American Thinker by Geoffrey P. Hunt

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out.

Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China.

But, Barack Obama is failing. Failing big. Faili
ng fast. And failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message, and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.

But, there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president riding in on a wave of precedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his tenure and become a lame duck in six months? His poll ratings are in free fall. In generic balloting, the Republicans have now seized a five point advantage. This truly is unbelievable. What's going on?

No narrative. Obama doesn't have a narrative. No, not a narrative about himself. He has a self-narrative, much of it fabricated, cleverly disguised or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align exactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and Reagan.

But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task--all contributory of course. It's that he's not one of us. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content, like a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper. Moreover, he doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong are repugnant and how things work just don't add up. They are not existential. His descriptions of the world we live in don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.

In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of this man, he's dissed just about every one of us--financiers, energy producers, banks, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job. Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012:
"For those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not offende
d, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second term, I could have offended you too."
Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a u
seful remedy for such a desperate state--staggered terms for both houses of the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable Congress can get voted out next year. With a new Congress, there's always hope of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after that.
Yes, small presid
ents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes howl but the wagon train keeps rolling along.

Margaret Thatcher: "The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later you run out of other people's money."
"When you subs
idize poverty and failure, you get more of both." - James Dale Davidson, National Taxpayers Union
"The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates." - Tacitus

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own." - Unknown

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Ben Nelson Buckles Under Pressure And Bribe - WIll Now Vote FOR Healthcare Bill

I don't know that "buckles" is exactly the word I'm looking for... perhaps the short phrase "Ben Nelson Sells Out" would be more accurate. There was some rewording in the bill to satisfy his concerns about taxpayer paid abortions, true. And he did ostensibly save Offutt AFB from going on the military base closure list, which would unemploy 10,000 of his constituents. But the real deal maker was probably when he was promised that Nebraska would never again have to contribute to the states Medicaid program as the rest of the states must. Now there's a sweetheart deal for ya! The liberal left-wing socialist-progressive Dems are so desperate to give Obama a victory of any knid that they will shove this bill down our throats (or somewhere else) - AGAINST THE EXPRESSED DESIRES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!

I should have known better than to have any faith in a politician who appeared to be demonstrating character. Ben should change his last name to America... and his middle name to Dover. Then it would reflect his true attitude... Ben Dover America!

I'm disgusted with all of them!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Arrogance of Our Elected Officials - It Must Be Contagious!

In all probability the epidemic of arrogance begins in the White House and trickles down from there, infecting Congressional and the Senatorial "representatives" of the Democratic Party. Our most recent exposure to this virus was recently presented by Senator Charles E. "UpChuck" Schumer, D-NY, who made an ass of himself on a recent airline flight. Little Chucky decided he didn't need to follow the rules against using cell phones on aircraft prior to reaching altitude, and argued with the flight attendant who asked him to end his conversation and turn his cell phone off. After being told the flight would not leave the ground until he complied, he did so, telling his seat-mate (another Senator from NY) that the flight attendant was a "bitch". YOU'RE A REAL CLASS ACT, UPCHUCK!

Then we have yesterday's incident where twenty senators are demanding an investigation into reports the Obama administration threatened to close Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska if that state's Democratic senator, Ben Nelson, didn't join other Democrats in voting for health-care reform. How's THAT for political leverage? For those of you who may not understand the importance of Offutt AFB to our national security, Offutt is the home of the Strategic Air Command (now just the "Strategic Command"), the headquarters for ALL our heavy bombers! Well, as of this afternoon, it appears that Sen. Nelson still has a pair.
According to Newsmax.com, "Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson — the moderate Democrat whose opposition is holding up the Senate's health care bill — says new language on abortion doesn't satisfy his concerns.

Nelson told KLIN radio in Lincoln, Nebraska, Thursday that an attempt at compromise doesn't get to the fundamental issue of barring federal funding for abortions.

Nelson says without further changes the compromise isn't sufficient.

Catholic and anti-abortion groups have also weighed in against the new language, which attempts to separate public from private funding of abortion.

Democrats are wooing Nelson in order to get the 60 votes needed to pass a sweeping health care bill by Christmas.

But Nelson said abortion wasn't his only concern and he didn't see how the Christmas deadline could be met."

GOOD ON YA, BEN!! It's nice to know that somebody on the left side of the aisle isn't a knee-jerk reactionary in support of just any crap that his President and party throw at the people of this country. Obama must really be getting desperate to threaten our National security - not to mention the immediate unemployment of 10,000 Nebraskans if Offutt were to be closed.

Next there's the U.N. "Small Arms Control Treaty". In fact, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just announced in mid-November the Obama Administration would be working hand in glove with the UN to pass a new “Small Arms Treaty.”

Disguised as legislation to help in the fight against “terrorism,” “insurgency” and “international crime syndicates,” the UN Small Arms Treaty is nothing more than a massive, GLOBAL gun control scheme. Of course, we all know that "terrorists, insurgents, and international crime syndicates" are law-abiding folks who legally buy and register their weapons... don't we?
Ultimately, the UN’s Small Arms Treaty is designed to register, ban and CONFISCATE firearms owned by private citizens like YOU. And by so doing, the left hopes to circumvent our 2nd Amendment rights under the guise of an "international treaty". Does al Qaeda pay attention to UN mandates? Does Iran? Does North Korea? Does ANYBODY? NO!

So far, the gun-g
rabbers have successfully kept the exact wording of their new scheme under wraps.

As for Obama's "transparent administration", it's about as transparent as Mount McKinley. Closed door meetings - some totally closed door, others just closed to Republicans - with bans on the press and other media show us exactly how "transparent" the current administration isn't.

Now Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are petitioning the government purse string holders (Congress) for a budget boost of $400,000,000,000 each by year end. That's a total of $800 BILLION that we're supposed to get from WHERE? Well, we'll just borrow it from our good buddies in Communist China. We are bleeding GREEN folks! What little money "Joe Average" may have in the bank won't be worth a tinker's dam by the time the current administration is done mortgaging our country to the rest of the world!The reason for the year-end panic is that Fannie and Freddie don't want to take the chance that the upcoming election year will change the makeup of the Congress to the point that fiscal conservatives may - once again - take control of our nation's checking account.

Oh, and while we're on the subject... the FDIC is also asking for billions of dollars. They apparently expect that there will be many more bank failures during the coming election year, but nobody is telling us that! More "transparency"...

So far the only "jobs" (to speak of) that have been created by Obama's minions are government jobs and government training for government jobs. Obama's "jobs" plan is one of increasing the size of the government Behemoth, thereby increasing citizen dependence upon the government for their livelihood and all things related thereto! There's less resistance to his socialist agenda that way.

Cap and Trade - We have all heard the term, but we may not all understand the practical aspects of it. If "cap and trade" is passed, the end result - admitted to by Obama - is skyrocketing energy costs! Now that's something we really need, when many of us who are retired can barely afford heating costs in the winter already. Doubling our energy costs would certainly be one way to reduce the population - the elderly would be freezing to death during the winters. Why do we need "cap and trade" anyway... when we can reduce our energy costs by tapping into existing resources on U.S. soil? The "Bakken Formation" in North Dakota is estimated to contain BILLIONS of barrels of sweet crude oil! The following is an excerpt from a paper entitled "Bakken Formation Reserve Estimates", by Julie LeFever and Lynn Helms (emphases added):

"A landmark paper by Dow and a companion paper by Williams (1974) recognized the Bakken as
a tremendous source for the oil produced in the Williston Basin. These papers suggested that the Bakken was capable of generating 10 billion barrels of oil (BBbls). Webster (1982, 1984) as part of a Master’s Thesis at the University of North Dakota further sampled and analyzed the Bakken and calculated hydrocarbon generation capacities to be about 92 BBbls. This data was updated by Schmoker and Hester (1983) who estimated that the Bakken was capable of generating 132 BBbls of oil in North Dakota and Montana. Price (unpublished) used a more complete database and estimated that the Bakken was capable of generating between 271 and 503 BBbls of oil with an average of 413 BBbls."

Why have we not heard about this from the "lamestream media"? Another claim is that we have more untapped oil resources in the northwestern United States than exists in ALL of the OPEC nations combined! WHY ARE WE NOT DRILLING?? Apparently somebody wants us to be dependent upon high-priced foreign oil imports... I wonder who that could be?
It's our government, that's who it is!

And why were no Republicans, or even moderate Democrats, invited to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference? Nazi Pelosi took herself and 20 other hardcore, party-line quoting Dems on that so-called "working/job creating" trip.

So much for the "transparent Obama administration".
You can't see into it for all the smoke and mirrors!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The GOOD NEWS IS: Dems Doing Everything They Can To Give Away The House and Senate in 2010!

Well, the Obama governmental fiasco continues. It's just one thing after another: government bailouts, government controlled healthcare, government controlled industry, government controlled lending, government caps on executive salaries (I agree with the concept of executive caps, but not by government mandate), government directed climate control, government Czars (doing exactly what that isn't already under some official government directorate?), more taxes, amnesty for illegal aliens, government subsidies for ACORN and similar criminal activities, and on, and on - ad nauseum. To give you an idea...



Someone once said (this saying - one with which we are all familiar - has been attributed to many different people, including Samuel Johnson), "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." And, I suppose, there are many instances in which that has been true... but NOT in the case of the Obama administration! Obama and his minions in the White House staff, Cabinet and Congress are intentionally leading our country into socialist/Marxist ruination. There were no "good intentions" in Obama's being rude to the Queen of England during his first State visit to the UK. There were no "good intentions" in borrowing money from communist China to attempt to stop our economy from bleeding green! There were no "good intentions" in Obama's World Apology Tour! There were no "good intentions" in Obama's deference to Arabic leaders, and his submissive bow to Emperor Hirohito of Japan! And there are no "good intentions" in the Democrats plans for universal, government controlled health care! There are no "good intentions" in mass amnesty for as many as twenty million illegal aliens, who will further drain our welfare, social security and Medicare coffers by increasing the already unsustainable strain upon them! These are all well-planned moves to increase our dependency upon the government. Nobody wants these things except those who will profit from them! Our government has left "the road to hell", and now has us on the fast track to hell.

"Redistribution of wealth" is not an American concept. In our Democratic Republic, your "fare share" is the end result of what you have contributed your talents, labors and expertise to earn. You union lovers who think redistribution of wealth is a good idea, apparently believe you will be exempt from contributing to that redistribution. The on-going greed of the labor unions, and your excessive wages have greatly assisted in the creation of the unsatisfactory financial condition our country is now in! (Perhaps Obama has promised the SEIU special dispensation from increased taxes to support his liberal give away programs. These mandated taxes will be dumped into expanded social[ist] programs and increased benefits and pay raises for our worthless Congress.) Anybody who believes that you can expand social programs in an already financially and morally bankrupt government without increasing taxes is a fool. Where would you think the money comes from? The government doesn't have a paper route, or retail kiosks in the local Malls. The government has no income producing job other than collecting money from We the People - those of us who actually perform physical or intellectual labor for our hard-earned money. We are rapidly becoming a...


The Obama administration has created a multitude of distractions in an attempt to keep Americans from discovering what the subterfuge is actually hiding. The more balls he can keep in the air for us to watch, the easier it will be for him - and his masters - to destroy our intended form of government. Who is "The Great and Powerful Oz" anyway? Who is the puppet master behind the scenes? Is Obama himself truly the mastermind of our destruction? There are any number of individuals, organizations and governments who desire to see the United States of America implode. Surprisingly, even those who have become extremely wealthy under our existing system, such as the ultra-left George Soros, and the majority of the Screen Actors Guild. Then there's the United Nations, and any country that is envious or resentful of our previously unheard of success in slightly over 200 years (like Cuba, most of the countries below our southern border, and the Arab nations). This administration is selling us out at every opportunity.


If you can judge a man's character by the company he keeps, simply open your eyes and look at what Obama has chosen to surround himself with - Communists, Marxists, socialists, and assorted revolutionaries and terrorists! Where are the "checks and balances" to keep the government from running roughshod over the desires and needs of the citizenry?

BUT... Obama is not doing all this by himself. He has the full cooperation of the Democratically-controlled House and Senate, so let's get rid of them all! Eleven months from now the majority of the House and 35 Senators will be up for re-election. That will be the time for them to experience the quiet wrath of the American people... in the voting booth!


Sunday, December 13, 2009

Four BILLION Dollars in Legislated PORK!

Would that it were possible, we should impeach the entire National Legislature and the Obama Administration from the "Czar" level and the Cabinet, to the occupant of the Oval Office itself! Our government blatantly continues to try to dig its way out of this financial crisis, by spending our tax dollars on Congressional and Senatorial pet projects in their home states! ATTENTION WASHINGTON - IT IS A WELL-KNOWN FACT THAT WHEN YOU CONTINUE TO DIG A HOLE IT JUST GETS DEEPER AND DEEPER!

The outrageous $1.1 TRILLION ($1,100,000,000,000) budget the Democratically-controlled Congress passed today contains over $4 BILLION in pork projects! These can't be the same types of pork projects that Obama said he would never sign a bill containing during his campaign, can they? Apparently, Washington D.C. has an African lion in the National Zoo, and a lyin' African in the White House!

As if that's not bad enough... Congress must soon raise the debt ceiling, now at $12.1 trillion, so the Treasury can continue to borrow! Democratic leaders are eyeing a new figure close to $14 trillion, pushing the issue past next November's election. Right now, at $12,115,000,000,000 every U.S. taxpayer is on the hook for over $111,000 in tax burden! And do you understand this: THAT FIGURE IS NOT STATIC - IT IS INCREASING BY THE SECOND! When our elected "representatives" fail to heed our cries of dismay, frustration and anger, are we truly represented? "Taxation without representation is tyranny!"

This ever-deepening, man-made financial crisis requires that the government borrow money from communist China, and the more we borrow the deeper that hole becomes, making the dollars you may have in your bank account worth less each day. This erosion of personal "wealth" makes the argument for a "global currency" much more attractive to Joe Average. The government has essentially nationalized the automobile industry, the financial markets, and is pushing for control of health care. The essential function of any government IS CONTROL! How better to gain that control than by increasing the dependence of the citizens upon it for most needs? (Although I agree that most corporate CEO's are overcompensated [especially those that have ridden the corporation into the jaws of bankruptcy] in the extreme, I do not think that government should be involved in setting the limits of their compensation. Only those executives that have built their company from the ground up should be entitled to obscene amounts of compensation - they EARNED it! All the others are nothing more than overpaid managers... hirelings... employees brought in to perform a specific function, and whose true value is nothing more than a small percentage of the profits they bring to the corporation. If they put the company in the dumper, then they get nothing. If when they leave, the corporation is failing, they get nothing. No golden parachutes, no stock options, no multi-million dollar separation compensation, nothing - NADA, ZERO, ZIP, ZED, GOOSE EGG, NOTHING!)

This coming November the majority of Congressional "representatives", and about 35 Senators, stand for re-election. If we do not make our displeasure known then, in the only terms they will understand, then we deserve exactly what they will continue to exert upon us - GOVERNMENT CONTROL. We will have proven ourselves unworthy of our Constitution's guarantees, and we discredit our founders and the hundreds of thousands who have died to establish and maintain freedom. We will get those...
Throw the bums out!
Refresh the "tree of liberty"... and use plenty of water to restore the roots. They've been badly burned by decades of pure manure without any real nourishment!