By William L. Garvin
“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…I no longer need to run as a Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform.”
Norman M. Thomas, 6-time Socialist candidate for the U.S. Presidency
It has been said that a mistake is when a politician tells the truth. Such was the case when Representative John Dingell, (D, Michigan) stated “The harsh fact of the matter is when you're going to pass legislation that will cover 300 [million] American people in different ways it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people.” (emphasis added) With apologies to T.S. Eliot, that’s how freedom ends, not with a bang but with a strangling gaggle of regulations and thousands of new pages of bureaucratic gobbledygook in the continually and rapidly expanding government lexicon.
Just as Antonio Gramsci recognized that a true workers’ revolution would never occur in the United States, so have modern progressive/socialists recognized that outright ownership/takeover of all private means of production will not be permitted by the American people. Recognizing this evolution, the American Heritage dictionary defines socialism as “an economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise, and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity. There are many varieties of socialism. Some socialists tolerate capitalism, as long as the government maintains the dominant influence over the economy; others insist on an abolition of private enterprise.” This has resulted in a Socialist split between revolutionaries and reformists. The reformists or neo-socialists are smarter than their predecessors and are achieving many of their goals by rigid regulation and micro-management of increasingly large sections of the private sector.
This exponential expansion of the current Administration is very much like uncontrolled ivy. The tentacles continue to reach out, grow, and spread until they choke out all other living matter. We see on a minor scale that the EPA now is training and registering every private contractor who installs windows and doors in the dangers of lead paint. Without the mandated time, training, and cost, contractors will no longer be able to change your door or window even in the name of energy efficiency. That’s the small scale. This is of course the same EPA that is offering a $2,500 prize of your tax money for the best YouTube video of “why regulation is good”! Then there’s the large scale of ObamaCare which will add 17% of the private economy to the 15% the federal government already controls. The overwhelming bureaucratic nightmare that Dingell refers to will eventually dictate and control huge chunks of the health care and health insurance industry simply by making compliance virtually impossible for private providers. The devil is always in the details, especially when there will be over 100 new federal boards and commissions created by the recently enacted legislation.
Now that the Pelosi “fog of controversy” has passed, maybe she will explain why premiums went up in Massachusetts and Tennessee with their mandated coverage and why the premiums in Massachusetts are the highest in the land. Maybe she will explain why the number of people going to emergency rooms in those states actually increased rather than decreasing as promised. Maybe she will explain why the actual costs were astronomically higher than what was initially projected. How many government projects ever come in under budget? What about the nationalization of student loans? Is it a far reach to suggest there is a significant potential for control and subsequent abuse of who gets aid and subsequently admitted to colleges and universities under the guise of “social justice,” “fairness,” and “redistributing the wealth”?
If you don’t think that’s enough, how about the latest crisis and financial reform bill. Maybe Senator Dodd can explain why we are setting up a $50 billion permanent bailout for banks too big to fail? If they do, taxpayers are on the hook again and government will assume control. These government regulators are the same ones who were asleep at the wheel (or at the porn site) during the last meltdown. And exactly why is it that the new financial reforms do not address Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, two of the biggest financial institutions, and the prime catalysts for the housing meltdown? It is probably for the same reasons that the health care bill did not have any tort reform of significance.
To the neo-socialist, all they have to do is chip away, bit by bit, freedom by freedom. Eventually, through rule and regulation all the little dogs will be driven off by the big dogs. When the big dogs get too big to fail, our elitist government will step in, dismantle them and assume operational responsibility. We see the trial runs with Government Motors and ObamaCare. Next is manufacturing and industry with cap and trade. It’s beginning to look like we shouldn’t even bother to control our borders. After all, there’s always a need for new voter/soldiers in the neo-socialist revolution.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
“Who’s Afraid to Listen?”
By William L. Garvin
One of the most precious freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution is freedom of speech. Unfortunately for our Country, there are increasing numbers of people who believe that you only have freedom of speech when it agrees with them. They will not listen to opposing viewpoints. Even worse, they will not allow others to listen to dissenting viewpoints!
One of the more bizarre examples occurred with our northern neighbors at the University of Ottawa. The University had contracted with conservative commentator Ann Coulter for an evening speech. This was not a mandated requirement for students; it was a purely voluntary function. The first indicator of liberal resistance was when the University president sent a letter to Ms. Coulter “reminding” her of Canada’s strict laws against hate speech. This blatant attempt at intimidation was leaked to the press which quickly began fomenting leftist students to protest. Eventually, Ms. Coulter was forced to cancel her speaking engagement after local law enforcement expressed concerns about her personal safety. It would of course be interesting to know whether or not the University president had ever sent similar missives to liberal speakers and whether or not a conservative student uprising had ever cancelled a liberal speaker’s right to free speech.
We need not venture north of the border to see similar examples of intolerance. In fact, we need not venture out of our own state. Governor Sarah Palin recently contracted to deliver a fund raising speech for the California State University Stanislaus Foundation. The Foundation is independent of the University and is a non-profit corporation. Since the new President was appointed, donations to the Foundation have declined and the Foundation estimated that Governor Palin’s speech would raise between $100,000-$200,000 for the cash strapped University. This drew the attention and the ire of State Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco.
Senator Yee approached the Foundation and demanded to know the fees and details of Governor Palin’s speaking engagement. When he was informed by the Foundation that the details of the contract were a private matter between them and the agency that handles Governor Palin’s engagements, Senator Yee went full metal jacket ballistic. Not only did he mount a fevered public campaign excoriating the Foundation for their “secrecy” but he also introduced legislation to allow greater senatorial access and oversight of Foundations. Maybe if the legislature had done a better job of funding the University of California and the California State University systems, there would not be a need for Foundations and their additional funding!
Nonetheless, egged on by the aforementioned Senator Yee, leftist students are now protesting Governor Palin’s appearance because they do not “feel” she is appropriate for the fiftieth anniversary of the campus. Once again, the intolerance of the left for conservative viewpoints and speakers is readily apparent. Remember, they do NOT have to attend the speech; they do NOT have to purchase a ticket; they do NOT have to make a donation. The Foundation is NOT using any University or student funds, but that is not enough. They want to prevent others who want to participate in those aforementioned activities from both freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
The question remains: when has Senator Yee ever demanded the terms and contracts of liberal speakers? When has the States Attorney General ever investigated a private contract with a liberal speaker? When have students ever demanded the terms and contracts of liberal speakers? How many times have they gone “dumpster diving” to ferret out details? Horror of horrors, Governor Palin wants “two bottles of water with flexible straws.” Shudder, shudder, shudder, she even wants first class plane tickets or private jet transportation because of her busy schedule. Nancy Pelosi should explain this necessity for Senator Yee’s benefit. As for room accommodations, it’s not like there are a lot of Four Season penthouse suites in Turlock!
These examples of academic intolerance are merely reflective of the reality that liberal professors outnumber conservative professors on America’s campuses on the order of twelve or fifteen to one. Despite their overwhelming numerical superiority, they still fear any competition from alternative viewpoints. That’s why dissent must be stifled. They fear that in free and open competition, they will lose. They know that the highly touted liberal Air America radio was an unmitigated disaster and the ratings for conservative talk radio are much higher. The same is true for the cable news stations where Fox dominates MSNBC. Nobody is forced to watch; nobody is forced to listen. The market forces have decided.
Leftist dogma cannot stand up to rational analysis and discussion in a free and open market. That’s why conservative viewpoints must not be allowed. Expect leftists and some liberals to continue to attempt to stifle rational debate. Expect them to continue to vilify and demean any contrarian view. It will be personal name calling and insults; it will not be a discussion of ideas. When it comes to freedom of speech, they are the “party of no” and they will practice the “politics of destruction.” They are unable to kill the message so now they will do everything they can to kill the messengers!
One of the most precious freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution is freedom of speech. Unfortunately for our Country, there are increasing numbers of people who believe that you only have freedom of speech when it agrees with them. They will not listen to opposing viewpoints. Even worse, they will not allow others to listen to dissenting viewpoints!
One of the more bizarre examples occurred with our northern neighbors at the University of Ottawa. The University had contracted with conservative commentator Ann Coulter for an evening speech. This was not a mandated requirement for students; it was a purely voluntary function. The first indicator of liberal resistance was when the University president sent a letter to Ms. Coulter “reminding” her of Canada’s strict laws against hate speech. This blatant attempt at intimidation was leaked to the press which quickly began fomenting leftist students to protest. Eventually, Ms. Coulter was forced to cancel her speaking engagement after local law enforcement expressed concerns about her personal safety. It would of course be interesting to know whether or not the University president had ever sent similar missives to liberal speakers and whether or not a conservative student uprising had ever cancelled a liberal speaker’s right to free speech.
We need not venture north of the border to see similar examples of intolerance. In fact, we need not venture out of our own state. Governor Sarah Palin recently contracted to deliver a fund raising speech for the California State University Stanislaus Foundation. The Foundation is independent of the University and is a non-profit corporation. Since the new President was appointed, donations to the Foundation have declined and the Foundation estimated that Governor Palin’s speech would raise between $100,000-$200,000 for the cash strapped University. This drew the attention and the ire of State Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco.
Senator Yee approached the Foundation and demanded to know the fees and details of Governor Palin’s speaking engagement. When he was informed by the Foundation that the details of the contract were a private matter between them and the agency that handles Governor Palin’s engagements, Senator Yee went full metal jacket ballistic. Not only did he mount a fevered public campaign excoriating the Foundation for their “secrecy” but he also introduced legislation to allow greater senatorial access and oversight of Foundations. Maybe if the legislature had done a better job of funding the University of California and the California State University systems, there would not be a need for Foundations and their additional funding!
Nonetheless, egged on by the aforementioned Senator Yee, leftist students are now protesting Governor Palin’s appearance because they do not “feel” she is appropriate for the fiftieth anniversary of the campus. Once again, the intolerance of the left for conservative viewpoints and speakers is readily apparent. Remember, they do NOT have to attend the speech; they do NOT have to purchase a ticket; they do NOT have to make a donation. The Foundation is NOT using any University or student funds, but that is not enough. They want to prevent others who want to participate in those aforementioned activities from both freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
The question remains: when has Senator Yee ever demanded the terms and contracts of liberal speakers? When has the States Attorney General ever investigated a private contract with a liberal speaker? When have students ever demanded the terms and contracts of liberal speakers? How many times have they gone “dumpster diving” to ferret out details? Horror of horrors, Governor Palin wants “two bottles of water with flexible straws.” Shudder, shudder, shudder, she even wants first class plane tickets or private jet transportation because of her busy schedule. Nancy Pelosi should explain this necessity for Senator Yee’s benefit. As for room accommodations, it’s not like there are a lot of Four Season penthouse suites in Turlock!
These examples of academic intolerance are merely reflective of the reality that liberal professors outnumber conservative professors on America’s campuses on the order of twelve or fifteen to one. Despite their overwhelming numerical superiority, they still fear any competition from alternative viewpoints. That’s why dissent must be stifled. They fear that in free and open competition, they will lose. They know that the highly touted liberal Air America radio was an unmitigated disaster and the ratings for conservative talk radio are much higher. The same is true for the cable news stations where Fox dominates MSNBC. Nobody is forced to watch; nobody is forced to listen. The market forces have decided.
Leftist dogma cannot stand up to rational analysis and discussion in a free and open market. That’s why conservative viewpoints must not be allowed. Expect leftists and some liberals to continue to attempt to stifle rational debate. Expect them to continue to vilify and demean any contrarian view. It will be personal name calling and insults; it will not be a discussion of ideas. When it comes to freedom of speech, they are the “party of no” and they will practice the “politics of destruction.” They are unable to kill the message so now they will do everything they can to kill the messengers!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
“Quit Making Things Up!”
By William L. Garvin
In the topsy turvy world of Washington, D.C., it is increasingly difficult to tell which end is up. That is particularly true in the case of Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, who worried that the deployment of 8,000 Marines might cause the island to “tip over and capsize.” If he was under the influence of some substance, he should not have been conducting the People’s business; if he was not under the influence of some substance, then he is frighteningly uninformed and should not be conducting the People’s business!
We also saw Representative Maxine Waters from Los Angeles lecturing on civility. This is akin to Representative Barney Frank lecturing on the soundness of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which of course both he and Ms. Waters did. In any event, Ms. Waters, the “Queen of Shrill” and a leading contender for Leona Helmsley’s “Queen of Mean” title, chose to continue using the sexually derogatory term “tea baggers” on the House floor in describing the health care protesters. Maybe her ill temper is because she’s married to one of those mean, nasty bankers whose two banks have prospered handsomely under this administration.
She was joined on the House floor in her uncivil choice of language by Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio, who referred to the “tea bagger protesters” and in the next breath denounced “derogatory language.” He also alleged that he heard the aforementioned Representative Frank called a homosexual slur as he walked with him to the Capitol. Unfortunately, according to San Francisco Examiner.com, at least three videos of the event show that Rep. Ryan was nowhere in the vicinity! Not quite finished, Ryan then condemned the racial slurs directed at Congressman John Lewis. The only problem is CNN videoed his entire walk and it didn’t happen! Neither did the chanting of “the n-word at least 10-15 times.” Why don’t you quit making things up?
Let’s not forget “Spitgate” and the allegation that Representative Emmanuel Cleaver was spit upon. The video clearly shows a protestor with his hands closely cupped around his mouth, a rather unusual spitting posture, at the time the crowd was chanting “kill the bill.” According to the Washington Post, "The congressman was walking into the Capitol to vote, when one protester spat on him. The congressman would like to thank the U.S. Capitol Police officer who quickly escorted the other Members and him into the Capitol, and defused the tense situation with professionalism and care," said Danny Rotert, a spokesman for Cleaver. Videos clearly show a uniformed police officer walking by his side at the time of the incident and she took no action, detained no one, made no arrest, and filed no report.
It looks more like a “say it don’t spray it” moment than anything else. In fact, Congressman Cleaver has not commented publicly to the media other than to backtrack on his office’s statement. However, in a televised interview with his home city television station, he afforded the incident may have been “an honest mistake.” This interview and admission has not been widely reported. To those who continue to spout unproven allegations as fact, why don’t you quit making things up?
What isn’t made up are the photos of a sign at an Obama campaign rally in Denver on 10/26/08 showing President Bush being beheaded by a guillotine. No one protested when Sarah Palin was hung in effigy. As for the anti-war protests, how about the”Bush is the only dope worth shooting” and “Bush is the disease, death is the cure” signs on March 25, 2008. Earlier protest signs in San Francisco included “Death to extremist Christian terrorists, Pig Bush” and “Death to #1 Terrorist Bush and his sheep.”
What about the thirty-odd demonstrators from SEIU in Searchlight, Nevada who deliberately misdirected traffic to the Tea Party assembly. They then threw eggs at a Tea Party bus and reported to the police that a conservative had thrown the eggs. Unfortunately for them, the conservative was Andrew Breitbart who films everything. When the police approached him, it was very easy to show them the film and proof of who the real culprit was. Breitbart has also offered a $10,000 reward for any video proof that the incidents involving Lewis, Cleaver, or Frank actually occurred. Despite all the media cameras, the ubiquitous cell phone cameras, and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. filming the entire procession, the reward remains unclaimed. Quit making things up!
It is clear that liberals and leftists have lost the battle for America’s support of this administration’s radical agenda. The tactic of demonizing the resistance, telling the big lie, and repeating it over and over is straight out of the Alinsky Rules for Radicals playbook. Also watch for leftists and radicals trying to infiltrate the Tea Party and health care protest movement. They will engage in unseemly behavior and try to disappear. If you can’t get away with making things up, you can always manufacture them!
In the topsy turvy world of Washington, D.C., it is increasingly difficult to tell which end is up. That is particularly true in the case of Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, who worried that the deployment of 8,000 Marines might cause the island to “tip over and capsize.” If he was under the influence of some substance, he should not have been conducting the People’s business; if he was not under the influence of some substance, then he is frighteningly uninformed and should not be conducting the People’s business!
We also saw Representative Maxine Waters from Los Angeles lecturing on civility. This is akin to Representative Barney Frank lecturing on the soundness of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which of course both he and Ms. Waters did. In any event, Ms. Waters, the “Queen of Shrill” and a leading contender for Leona Helmsley’s “Queen of Mean” title, chose to continue using the sexually derogatory term “tea baggers” on the House floor in describing the health care protesters. Maybe her ill temper is because she’s married to one of those mean, nasty bankers whose two banks have prospered handsomely under this administration.
She was joined on the House floor in her uncivil choice of language by Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio, who referred to the “tea bagger protesters” and in the next breath denounced “derogatory language.” He also alleged that he heard the aforementioned Representative Frank called a homosexual slur as he walked with him to the Capitol. Unfortunately, according to San Francisco Examiner.com, at least three videos of the event show that Rep. Ryan was nowhere in the vicinity! Not quite finished, Ryan then condemned the racial slurs directed at Congressman John Lewis. The only problem is CNN videoed his entire walk and it didn’t happen! Neither did the chanting of “the n-word at least 10-15 times.” Why don’t you quit making things up?
Let’s not forget “Spitgate” and the allegation that Representative Emmanuel Cleaver was spit upon. The video clearly shows a protestor with his hands closely cupped around his mouth, a rather unusual spitting posture, at the time the crowd was chanting “kill the bill.” According to the Washington Post, "The congressman was walking into the Capitol to vote, when one protester spat on him. The congressman would like to thank the U.S. Capitol Police officer who quickly escorted the other Members and him into the Capitol, and defused the tense situation with professionalism and care," said Danny Rotert, a spokesman for Cleaver. Videos clearly show a uniformed police officer walking by his side at the time of the incident and she took no action, detained no one, made no arrest, and filed no report.
It looks more like a “say it don’t spray it” moment than anything else. In fact, Congressman Cleaver has not commented publicly to the media other than to backtrack on his office’s statement. However, in a televised interview with his home city television station, he afforded the incident may have been “an honest mistake.” This interview and admission has not been widely reported. To those who continue to spout unproven allegations as fact, why don’t you quit making things up?
What isn’t made up are the photos of a sign at an Obama campaign rally in Denver on 10/26/08 showing President Bush being beheaded by a guillotine. No one protested when Sarah Palin was hung in effigy. As for the anti-war protests, how about the”Bush is the only dope worth shooting” and “Bush is the disease, death is the cure” signs on March 25, 2008. Earlier protest signs in San Francisco included “Death to extremist Christian terrorists, Pig Bush” and “Death to #1 Terrorist Bush and his sheep.”
What about the thirty-odd demonstrators from SEIU in Searchlight, Nevada who deliberately misdirected traffic to the Tea Party assembly. They then threw eggs at a Tea Party bus and reported to the police that a conservative had thrown the eggs. Unfortunately for them, the conservative was Andrew Breitbart who films everything. When the police approached him, it was very easy to show them the film and proof of who the real culprit was. Breitbart has also offered a $10,000 reward for any video proof that the incidents involving Lewis, Cleaver, or Frank actually occurred. Despite all the media cameras, the ubiquitous cell phone cameras, and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. filming the entire procession, the reward remains unclaimed. Quit making things up!
It is clear that liberals and leftists have lost the battle for America’s support of this administration’s radical agenda. The tactic of demonizing the resistance, telling the big lie, and repeating it over and over is straight out of the Alinsky Rules for Radicals playbook. Also watch for leftists and radicals trying to infiltrate the Tea Party and health care protest movement. They will engage in unseemly behavior and try to disappear. If you can’t get away with making things up, you can always manufacture them!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Letter to the Editor of the Rio Vista Beacon, printed April 7, 2010
Dear Editor:
A recent letter to your paper started off "Liars...make outrageous statements and then repeat those statements without ever providing a shred of documentation or proof." The author then goes on to make numerous outrageous statements without ever providing a shred of documentation or proof. Never let facts get in the way of good smear.
Contemporary American culture will tolerate anything but intolerance or dissent from liberal world views. There is probably no more serious charges that can be lodged today than that someone or some organization is a racist, homophobic, or violent. The author maliciously charges, tries, and convicts Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement without a shred of documentation or proof.
He warmed up by accusing Palin of highlighting specific Democrat member of Congress "...using the cross-hairs of a rifle-scope." A common surveyor symbol found on maps is a cross superimposed over a circle with the lines extending beyond the circle. This is what is found on Palin's map and numerous Democrat maps. Cross hairs in rifle scopes, by comparison do not extend beyond the circle and have gradients for both windage and elevation. Governor Palin has repeatedly denounced violence despite having eggs and tomatoes thrown at her and having had her church in Wasilla set on fire with women and children inside.
He really goes over the top and loses all credibility when he proclaims the "...Tea Party movement has also been marked by racially inflammatory rhetoric and violent outbursts since its inception last year." Nothing could be farther from the truth, but that is the leftist talking point. He then cites allegations of the use of "...the 'N-word', gay slurs, and in one case, a lawmaker was spat upon" as absolute fact. There is no innocent until proven guilty process to this invective.
There were numerous media film crews, the ubiquitous cell phone cameras, and Jesse Jackson, Jr. filming throughout the alleged incidents. Not a single one of them recorded any of the above charges nor were there any arrests! Had there been any documented evidence of a single one of these charges, it would have been looped endlessly on MSNBC. Instead, they must resort to repeating the allegations as fact. There has been a reward of $10,000 offered to anyone who has documentation of any of these incidents. The reward is still unclaimed.
Tea Party patriots are everyday citizens exercising their Constitutional right to disagree with the path this country is following. Despite your constant repetition, they are not racist, homophobic, or violent. This irresponsible and infantile name calling is a blatant example of the lack of civility the author decries and disingenuously says he desires. I would say this is a classic case of "the pot calling the kettle black" but you know how that would be distorted!
William L. Garvin
A recent letter to your paper started off "Liars...make outrageous statements and then repeat those statements without ever providing a shred of documentation or proof." The author then goes on to make numerous outrageous statements without ever providing a shred of documentation or proof. Never let facts get in the way of good smear.
Contemporary American culture will tolerate anything but intolerance or dissent from liberal world views. There is probably no more serious charges that can be lodged today than that someone or some organization is a racist, homophobic, or violent. The author maliciously charges, tries, and convicts Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement without a shred of documentation or proof.
He warmed up by accusing Palin of highlighting specific Democrat member of Congress "...using the cross-hairs of a rifle-scope." A common surveyor symbol found on maps is a cross superimposed over a circle with the lines extending beyond the circle. This is what is found on Palin's map and numerous Democrat maps. Cross hairs in rifle scopes, by comparison do not extend beyond the circle and have gradients for both windage and elevation. Governor Palin has repeatedly denounced violence despite having eggs and tomatoes thrown at her and having had her church in Wasilla set on fire with women and children inside.
He really goes over the top and loses all credibility when he proclaims the "...Tea Party movement has also been marked by racially inflammatory rhetoric and violent outbursts since its inception last year." Nothing could be farther from the truth, but that is the leftist talking point. He then cites allegations of the use of "...the 'N-word', gay slurs, and in one case, a lawmaker was spat upon" as absolute fact. There is no innocent until proven guilty process to this invective.
There were numerous media film crews, the ubiquitous cell phone cameras, and Jesse Jackson, Jr. filming throughout the alleged incidents. Not a single one of them recorded any of the above charges nor were there any arrests! Had there been any documented evidence of a single one of these charges, it would have been looped endlessly on MSNBC. Instead, they must resort to repeating the allegations as fact. There has been a reward of $10,000 offered to anyone who has documentation of any of these incidents. The reward is still unclaimed.
Tea Party patriots are everyday citizens exercising their Constitutional right to disagree with the path this country is following. Despite your constant repetition, they are not racist, homophobic, or violent. This irresponsible and infantile name calling is a blatant example of the lack of civility the author decries and disingenuously says he desires. I would say this is a classic case of "the pot calling the kettle black" but you know how that would be distorted!
William L. Garvin
“Honest Mistakes, Broken Promises and Outright Lies!”
By William L. Garvin
"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our politics for so long." Barack H. Obama
When the President promised that passage of the Stimulus Bill would “jump start the private sector,” would create 3.5 million jobs, and unemployment would never rise above 8%, it could have been an honest mistake. After all, virtually none of his czars or economic advisors has any practical private sector experience. In fact, his staff has the least amount of private sector experience of any president in history. That’s why none of his outrageously expensive efforts have done anything of significance to assist the private sector. You can’t fix what you can’t understand nor are you likely to fix what you dislike.
When Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sobelius crows that the insurance companies will have their profits reduced by $90 billion dollars, she forgets that it also means there is $90 billion less to tax. When the government takes over student loans, it is estimated that there are 30,000 private sector employees who will lose their jobs. That’s a loss of 30,000 taxpayers. Of course that will probably mean that the Department of Education will have to add 30,000 federal workers. At an average federal salary, that’s another $2 billion per year in tax money that will be required just in wages!
Much ado is being made about the 162,000 jobs that were created in March. Of particular note is that 48,000 of those “jobs” are temporary federal positions for the census that will end around September. Apparently, the government intends to hire nearly one million workers for the census effort. Again, they are all temporary positions. Even if all 162,000 were private sector, full-time, and permanent, it’s just a drop in the bucket. The unemployment rate continues at 9.7% with approximately 17 million unemployed and countless others who are underemployed or who have just given up. If this is what “focusing like a laser on jobs” looks like, heaven help us all.
When you have a President with no private sector business experience and no governmental executive experience who picks a career politician as his Vice President, the inexperience gap is exacerbated. Virtually all of his key staff are bureaucrats, politicians, or academics. When the most frequent visitor to the White House is Andy Stern, the president of the Service Employees International Union, the results are predictable. Look at how the President demonized Wall Street. He demonized bankers. He demonized mortgage brokers. He demonized automotive executives. He demonized doctors. (Remember how he said they would perform unnecessary amputations because they could make more money!) He demonized insurance companies. He demonized oil companies. He demonized small business for not hiring. Why should they when they’re getting hit with new health care costs and the Bush tax cuts are expiring? Now it’s time to demonize (and terrorize!) Caterpillar, John Deere, AK Steel and ATT-Verizon for taking new health care charges which the SEC requires them to do! Representatives Waxman and Stupak possess little knowledge or sophistication in corporate finance so their subpoenas are little more than an excuse for another Congressional browbeating of corporate executives.
It’s to be expected that the President would demonize Republicans, despite his “postpartisan” promises, but he and his minions have also gone out of their way to demonize town hall protestors and citizens at Tea Parties. About the only people he hasn’t demonized are SEIU and his expanding federal government. Watch him pass “card check” in the dark of night that will effectively eliminate secret ballots for union members.
What certainly was more than an honest mistake was the eight recorded times he promised to open up the health care negotiations to public view and CSPAN. He also promised to have all bills on line for five days before he signed them. He promised to go over each bill line by line and eliminate earmarks and pork. None of this has been done. In fact, back room deals, bribes, and secret deals have reached new and obscene levels of sleaze. You may have noticed that there is no significant tort reform in Obamacare. The States are “allowed” to establish “commissions” to study the issue. It is purely coincidental that 94% of the American Trial Lawyers Association donations go to Democrats. It’s the same shell game as allowing offshore oil “exploration” instead of “drilling.” Did you notice that he also closed several leases that had already been approved? Delay, delay, delay.
The Obama-Reid-Pelosi triumvirate has an “unconstrained elitist vision” that they know what’s best for everybody and they are going to do it no matter what citizens say. They are ill equipped to deal with is the law of unintended consequences. These are the problems that pop up that were never anticipated. They don’t even see the fiscal problems that should be anticipated. When you have no cash in your pocket, you shouldn’t buy a round of drinks!
"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our politics for so long." Barack H. Obama
When the President promised that passage of the Stimulus Bill would “jump start the private sector,” would create 3.5 million jobs, and unemployment would never rise above 8%, it could have been an honest mistake. After all, virtually none of his czars or economic advisors has any practical private sector experience. In fact, his staff has the least amount of private sector experience of any president in history. That’s why none of his outrageously expensive efforts have done anything of significance to assist the private sector. You can’t fix what you can’t understand nor are you likely to fix what you dislike.
When Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sobelius crows that the insurance companies will have their profits reduced by $90 billion dollars, she forgets that it also means there is $90 billion less to tax. When the government takes over student loans, it is estimated that there are 30,000 private sector employees who will lose their jobs. That’s a loss of 30,000 taxpayers. Of course that will probably mean that the Department of Education will have to add 30,000 federal workers. At an average federal salary, that’s another $2 billion per year in tax money that will be required just in wages!
Much ado is being made about the 162,000 jobs that were created in March. Of particular note is that 48,000 of those “jobs” are temporary federal positions for the census that will end around September. Apparently, the government intends to hire nearly one million workers for the census effort. Again, they are all temporary positions. Even if all 162,000 were private sector, full-time, and permanent, it’s just a drop in the bucket. The unemployment rate continues at 9.7% with approximately 17 million unemployed and countless others who are underemployed or who have just given up. If this is what “focusing like a laser on jobs” looks like, heaven help us all.
When you have a President with no private sector business experience and no governmental executive experience who picks a career politician as his Vice President, the inexperience gap is exacerbated. Virtually all of his key staff are bureaucrats, politicians, or academics. When the most frequent visitor to the White House is Andy Stern, the president of the Service Employees International Union, the results are predictable. Look at how the President demonized Wall Street. He demonized bankers. He demonized mortgage brokers. He demonized automotive executives. He demonized doctors. (Remember how he said they would perform unnecessary amputations because they could make more money!) He demonized insurance companies. He demonized oil companies. He demonized small business for not hiring. Why should they when they’re getting hit with new health care costs and the Bush tax cuts are expiring? Now it’s time to demonize (and terrorize!) Caterpillar, John Deere, AK Steel and ATT-Verizon for taking new health care charges which the SEC requires them to do! Representatives Waxman and Stupak possess little knowledge or sophistication in corporate finance so their subpoenas are little more than an excuse for another Congressional browbeating of corporate executives.
It’s to be expected that the President would demonize Republicans, despite his “postpartisan” promises, but he and his minions have also gone out of their way to demonize town hall protestors and citizens at Tea Parties. About the only people he hasn’t demonized are SEIU and his expanding federal government. Watch him pass “card check” in the dark of night that will effectively eliminate secret ballots for union members.
What certainly was more than an honest mistake was the eight recorded times he promised to open up the health care negotiations to public view and CSPAN. He also promised to have all bills on line for five days before he signed them. He promised to go over each bill line by line and eliminate earmarks and pork. None of this has been done. In fact, back room deals, bribes, and secret deals have reached new and obscene levels of sleaze. You may have noticed that there is no significant tort reform in Obamacare. The States are “allowed” to establish “commissions” to study the issue. It is purely coincidental that 94% of the American Trial Lawyers Association donations go to Democrats. It’s the same shell game as allowing offshore oil “exploration” instead of “drilling.” Did you notice that he also closed several leases that had already been approved? Delay, delay, delay.
The Obama-Reid-Pelosi triumvirate has an “unconstrained elitist vision” that they know what’s best for everybody and they are going to do it no matter what citizens say. They are ill equipped to deal with is the law of unintended consequences. These are the problems that pop up that were never anticipated. They don’t even see the fiscal problems that should be anticipated. When you have no cash in your pocket, you shouldn’t buy a round of drinks!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
“Villains, Violence, and Vilification”
By William L. Garvin
As soon as the health care bill was signed, the media cup overflowed with a concerted effort to stifle all dissent and paint all opposition with a “proclivity to violence” label. Once again, they have a new found and sanctimonious sensitivity that is bordering on schizophrenia. From their jaundiced soapboxes, protestors in general, and the Tea Party in particular, are violent, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, plundering mobs. Liberals of course are without sin.
When Nancy Pelosi and her Congressional phalanx marched through the health care protesters with Paul Bunyan’s gavel, she clearly intended to provoke a confrontation. In fact, she had Jesse Jackson, Jr. videotaping the entire proceeding. Surprise of surprises, there was no confrontation, no violence, and no arrests. This is typical of Tea Party gatherings where participants even pick up their trash. Law enforcement organizations, including the capitol police, consistently praise them for the order and decorum that characterizes their gatherings. Progressive causes such as Code Pink, Earth Liberation Front, WTO protestors, etc. should conduct themselves in a similar manner!
Since there was no untoward behavior recorded, a couple members of Congress stepped forward to allege they had been spat upon and called racist and homophobic slurs by chanting protestors. Once again, there is not a shred of evidence to support their charges even with the ubiquitous cell phones and cameras. The $10,000 reward for documentary evidence remains unclaimed. That hasn’t stopped the liberal media from proceeding as if the charges are fact because they want them to be true.
Every large organization will have a few fringe lunatics that the media can focus upon and proclaim them to be representative of the entire movement. If they can’t find any, they are liable to make them up. For instance, there was the reporter who wrote a story that said he heard protesters shout “kill him” in reference to Barack Obama at a Sarah Palin rally. The FBI report said it never happened and that the reporter made it up. So who’s inciting the violence?
The Reverend Al Sharpton vehemently defended Tawana Brawley and her alleged rape by a gang of white men. The entire story was a fraud and the attorney in the case, C. Vernon Mason, was subsequently disbarred. Jesse Jackson ruined the name and reputation of several Duke lacrosse players in another fake episode that led to the resignation of the overzealous prosecutor. Who’s fanning the flames of racial violence?
Chris Mathews of MSNBC and host of the violently titled “Hardball” seems to be one of the most nervous of the Nervous Nellies. His concern was much more muted when there was a movie about the assassination of George Bush or when both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney were consistently labeled as “war criminals.” Who was fanning the flames then?
Mathews also seems to suffer from convenient selective amnesia. Here is a quote from one of his Hardball segments: “You guys see Live and Let Die, the great Bond film with Yaphet Kotto as the bad guy, Mr. Big? In the end, they jam a big CO2 pellet in his face and he blew up. I have to tell you, Rush Limbaugh is looking more and more like Mr. Big and at some point somebody’s going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he’s going to explode like a giant blimp. That day may come. Not yet, but we’ll be there to watch. I think he’s Mr. Big. I think Yaphet Kotto. Are you watching, Rush?” Who used the inflammatory rhetoric then, Chris?
On August 9, 2009, while speaking in Philadelphia, it was our President Obama who said he wanted his followers to “get in their faces.” He went on to say “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” There was no sense of outrage then nor is there any sense of outrage now. It is only the conservative protestors who must be silenced. No longer is dissent the highest form of patriotism. Hypocrisy abounds.
This manufactured outrage is a smokescreen, a feint, a cover-up so you don’t see what’s really going on. Barely noticed was the Congressional Budget Office release of its analysis of President Obama’s 2011 budget. According to the Washington Times, the national debt was $6.3 trillion when he took office. On February 1, the CBO projected President Obama’s projected deficit to be $8.53 trillion over the next 10 years; Thursday, they raised the projection to $9.75 trillion! How do you make $1.2 trillion dollar mistakes!!! According to the CBO, we are headed to a $20.3 trillion national debt by 2020 and that DOESN’T include any additional health care costs.
Government cannot give you anything if they haven’t first taken it from someone else. The share of the debt per household when President Obama assumed office was $56,000. It is $72,000 today and it will be $170,000 in 2020. We are spending tomorrow today and liberals don’t want you to notice!
As soon as the health care bill was signed, the media cup overflowed with a concerted effort to stifle all dissent and paint all opposition with a “proclivity to violence” label. Once again, they have a new found and sanctimonious sensitivity that is bordering on schizophrenia. From their jaundiced soapboxes, protestors in general, and the Tea Party in particular, are violent, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, plundering mobs. Liberals of course are without sin.
When Nancy Pelosi and her Congressional phalanx marched through the health care protesters with Paul Bunyan’s gavel, she clearly intended to provoke a confrontation. In fact, she had Jesse Jackson, Jr. videotaping the entire proceeding. Surprise of surprises, there was no confrontation, no violence, and no arrests. This is typical of Tea Party gatherings where participants even pick up their trash. Law enforcement organizations, including the capitol police, consistently praise them for the order and decorum that characterizes their gatherings. Progressive causes such as Code Pink, Earth Liberation Front, WTO protestors, etc. should conduct themselves in a similar manner!
Since there was no untoward behavior recorded, a couple members of Congress stepped forward to allege they had been spat upon and called racist and homophobic slurs by chanting protestors. Once again, there is not a shred of evidence to support their charges even with the ubiquitous cell phones and cameras. The $10,000 reward for documentary evidence remains unclaimed. That hasn’t stopped the liberal media from proceeding as if the charges are fact because they want them to be true.
Every large organization will have a few fringe lunatics that the media can focus upon and proclaim them to be representative of the entire movement. If they can’t find any, they are liable to make them up. For instance, there was the reporter who wrote a story that said he heard protesters shout “kill him” in reference to Barack Obama at a Sarah Palin rally. The FBI report said it never happened and that the reporter made it up. So who’s inciting the violence?
The Reverend Al Sharpton vehemently defended Tawana Brawley and her alleged rape by a gang of white men. The entire story was a fraud and the attorney in the case, C. Vernon Mason, was subsequently disbarred. Jesse Jackson ruined the name and reputation of several Duke lacrosse players in another fake episode that led to the resignation of the overzealous prosecutor. Who’s fanning the flames of racial violence?
Chris Mathews of MSNBC and host of the violently titled “Hardball” seems to be one of the most nervous of the Nervous Nellies. His concern was much more muted when there was a movie about the assassination of George Bush or when both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney were consistently labeled as “war criminals.” Who was fanning the flames then?
Mathews also seems to suffer from convenient selective amnesia. Here is a quote from one of his Hardball segments: “You guys see Live and Let Die, the great Bond film with Yaphet Kotto as the bad guy, Mr. Big? In the end, they jam a big CO2 pellet in his face and he blew up. I have to tell you, Rush Limbaugh is looking more and more like Mr. Big and at some point somebody’s going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he’s going to explode like a giant blimp. That day may come. Not yet, but we’ll be there to watch. I think he’s Mr. Big. I think Yaphet Kotto. Are you watching, Rush?” Who used the inflammatory rhetoric then, Chris?
On August 9, 2009, while speaking in Philadelphia, it was our President Obama who said he wanted his followers to “get in their faces.” He went on to say “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” There was no sense of outrage then nor is there any sense of outrage now. It is only the conservative protestors who must be silenced. No longer is dissent the highest form of patriotism. Hypocrisy abounds.
This manufactured outrage is a smokescreen, a feint, a cover-up so you don’t see what’s really going on. Barely noticed was the Congressional Budget Office release of its analysis of President Obama’s 2011 budget. According to the Washington Times, the national debt was $6.3 trillion when he took office. On February 1, the CBO projected President Obama’s projected deficit to be $8.53 trillion over the next 10 years; Thursday, they raised the projection to $9.75 trillion! How do you make $1.2 trillion dollar mistakes!!! According to the CBO, we are headed to a $20.3 trillion national debt by 2020 and that DOESN’T include any additional health care costs.
Government cannot give you anything if they haven’t first taken it from someone else. The share of the debt per household when President Obama assumed office was $56,000. It is $72,000 today and it will be $170,000 in 2020. We are spending tomorrow today and liberals don’t want you to notice!
“Kiss America Goodbye”
By William L. Garvin
The retching sound you heard a week ago Saturday night was the national gag reflex after Speaker Pelosi and her statist minions crammed 2000 pages of government health care tyranny down our American taxpayer throat! Never before have I seen such arrogance and disdain for the will of the people nor such a blatant expansion of government power.
While many Americans believe there needs to be a curtailment of rising health care costs, in no reputable poll does a majority of citizens support Obama-care or Pelosi-care or a government option. Nonetheless, here we go. Shades of San Francisco’s Gavin Newsome: “Here it comes…the door’s wide open now…like it or not.” What is it about San Francisco politicians?
The charade of a debate was about as predictable as Kabuki Theater. Republicans would read portions of the bill and point out flaws; Democrats would say they were wrong but would never read the specific language which would prove the error. There was an unending series of 1-minute statements that were all printed up in advance and submitted for the record. There was no discussion of opposing points or language. There was no debate. It was a dog and pony show complete with both parties using children as stage props despite empty warnings from the chair.
I now believe that truth is the first casualty in the House of Representatives. I even heard Sheila Jackson Lee refer to the bill as “concise.” But then, Representative Lee also likes to talk on her cell phone while her constituents ask her questions at her town hall meetings. Nice parallel universe you live in, Ms. Jackson. There is no doubt that if the Pinocchio Effect was in play, Jimmy Durante and Cyrano de Bergerac would not even be in the ballpark with these prevaricators! Joe Wilson, we sure could have used you last Saturday.
No cuts in Medicare? It will only be about $500 million in “waste and fraud.” Wait a minute…if there really is that much waste and fraud, why are we using Medicare as the model for the government option? Why do we think that over 100 of these new commissions and boards and agencies will be fraud free? Why do we think that NOW, for the first time, after many years of abject fiscal failure, we will have a new government agency that will go where no government agency has ever gone before? Or do you just want to believe in Santa Claus?
Four hours of discussion for 1,990 pages of government gobbledygook that represented one-fifth to one-sixth of the American economy that had been available for less than a week! How is that “hope and change” thing working out for you now? Why does the AMA support this bill even though Investor’s Business Daily found out that 45% of doctors will consider quitting their practice if this bill is enacted into law? How come there are no processes for increasing the supply of doctors even though the workload is about to increase by tens of millions of patients?
As for bill particulars, if you make more than $500,000 per year, your tax rate will go up 5.4 percent. Why don’t we just outlaw rich people and take all their money now instead of slowly bleeding them to death? If you’ve gone out and purchased really good health insurance, what the government calls a “Cadillac plan,” you will get to pay a surtax. If you didn’t purchase a Cadillac plan, guess what? You’ve got a surprise coming. Forty percent of the difference between what you pay and $12,700 will now have to be declared as income. There won’t be a tax increase but there will be new income that will be taxed. Isn’t that clever? You dumb American taxpayers will never figure that one out. Also, there are untold millions of costs that are off budget and being transferred to the states as an unfunded liability. You probably won’t notice when states have to increase property taxes and sales taxes to pay for these new responsibilities.
You probably also won’t notice that there is no significant tort reform in this bill. The fact that the trial lawyers’ political action committee gave 96% of their donations to Democrats is pure coincidence. Oh, and don’t look in the fine print to see that states that do have tort reform have to be punished by this Pelosi-care extravaganza.
You could have predicted that this bill would be steamrollered. After all, when the lesser HR 3200 was exposed to daylight, the contents did not stand up to public scrutiny. It incited a passion across this country, at town halls, in congressional offices, and over a million people at the 9/12 meeting in opposition to the onerous and ridiculous contents. Despite non-stop presidential campaigning, SEIU union thuggery, and ACORN activists, American citizens continued to protest their opposition. So, Pelosi and Reid did what they do best. They went behind closed and locked doors and wrote their new bills. In the meantime, what promises were made? What threats were made? How were the arms twisted? We all know “the Chicago Way.” We also know that the supposedly fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats turned into lapdogs or Blue Puppies that needed potty training. All bark and absolutely no bite.
If you read our United States Constitution, nowhere does it say anything about health care. In fact, nowhere does it say that the government has the power to make any citizen buy anything. If you want to read it again, there are very limited functions and powers provided to the federal government. No matter how many times you read it, health care ain’t there! James Madison said “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions.” If so, then to paraphrase Janis Joplin, “Obama, won’t you buy me…a Mercedes Benz!”
Now of course, there is the “General Welfare” clause but how can a system designed to provide benefits to a minority of citizens be considered as general welfare? It can’t! When Speaker Pelosi was questioned as to the constitutional authority for Obama’s health care proposal, she dismissed it with a “you can’t be serious” non-answer. Later on, her spokesman clarified “You can put this on the record: that is not a serious question. That is not a serious question.” Au contraire, my friends; it is a VERY serious question! In Mark Alexander’s essay of October 29th of this year, he chronicled similar ignorance on the part of House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, and Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy.
The “General Welfare” clause was written by James Madison and is found in Article 1, Section 8. When an expenditure of funds was requested of an early Congress, he noted “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents….” And here I thought that the President and all the lesser public servants in Congress and the cabinet swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic….” Pogo was right: “I have seen the enemy and they is us!”
So, look back, America. This year, there’s that $800 billion stimulus bill that has been an abject failure but you still have to pay for it. There’s the Cap and Trade fiasco working its way through Congress that will raise your utilities about $1,500 per year. You will have to pay. Don’t forget your water and sewer fees doubling here in Rio Vista that you will have to pay for. And that little old $24 billion unemployment/housing incentive bill passed last week that you will have to pay for. Now we’ve got a new trillion dollar health care bill that you will also have to pay for. Bend over and kiss your wallet goodbye and kiss the middle class goodbye. Now, stand up and kiss your freedom and kiss America goodbye!
The retching sound you heard a week ago Saturday night was the national gag reflex after Speaker Pelosi and her statist minions crammed 2000 pages of government health care tyranny down our American taxpayer throat! Never before have I seen such arrogance and disdain for the will of the people nor such a blatant expansion of government power.
While many Americans believe there needs to be a curtailment of rising health care costs, in no reputable poll does a majority of citizens support Obama-care or Pelosi-care or a government option. Nonetheless, here we go. Shades of San Francisco’s Gavin Newsome: “Here it comes…the door’s wide open now…like it or not.” What is it about San Francisco politicians?
The charade of a debate was about as predictable as Kabuki Theater. Republicans would read portions of the bill and point out flaws; Democrats would say they were wrong but would never read the specific language which would prove the error. There was an unending series of 1-minute statements that were all printed up in advance and submitted for the record. There was no discussion of opposing points or language. There was no debate. It was a dog and pony show complete with both parties using children as stage props despite empty warnings from the chair.
I now believe that truth is the first casualty in the House of Representatives. I even heard Sheila Jackson Lee refer to the bill as “concise.” But then, Representative Lee also likes to talk on her cell phone while her constituents ask her questions at her town hall meetings. Nice parallel universe you live in, Ms. Jackson. There is no doubt that if the Pinocchio Effect was in play, Jimmy Durante and Cyrano de Bergerac would not even be in the ballpark with these prevaricators! Joe Wilson, we sure could have used you last Saturday.
No cuts in Medicare? It will only be about $500 million in “waste and fraud.” Wait a minute…if there really is that much waste and fraud, why are we using Medicare as the model for the government option? Why do we think that over 100 of these new commissions and boards and agencies will be fraud free? Why do we think that NOW, for the first time, after many years of abject fiscal failure, we will have a new government agency that will go where no government agency has ever gone before? Or do you just want to believe in Santa Claus?
Four hours of discussion for 1,990 pages of government gobbledygook that represented one-fifth to one-sixth of the American economy that had been available for less than a week! How is that “hope and change” thing working out for you now? Why does the AMA support this bill even though Investor’s Business Daily found out that 45% of doctors will consider quitting their practice if this bill is enacted into law? How come there are no processes for increasing the supply of doctors even though the workload is about to increase by tens of millions of patients?
As for bill particulars, if you make more than $500,000 per year, your tax rate will go up 5.4 percent. Why don’t we just outlaw rich people and take all their money now instead of slowly bleeding them to death? If you’ve gone out and purchased really good health insurance, what the government calls a “Cadillac plan,” you will get to pay a surtax. If you didn’t purchase a Cadillac plan, guess what? You’ve got a surprise coming. Forty percent of the difference between what you pay and $12,700 will now have to be declared as income. There won’t be a tax increase but there will be new income that will be taxed. Isn’t that clever? You dumb American taxpayers will never figure that one out. Also, there are untold millions of costs that are off budget and being transferred to the states as an unfunded liability. You probably won’t notice when states have to increase property taxes and sales taxes to pay for these new responsibilities.
You probably also won’t notice that there is no significant tort reform in this bill. The fact that the trial lawyers’ political action committee gave 96% of their donations to Democrats is pure coincidence. Oh, and don’t look in the fine print to see that states that do have tort reform have to be punished by this Pelosi-care extravaganza.
You could have predicted that this bill would be steamrollered. After all, when the lesser HR 3200 was exposed to daylight, the contents did not stand up to public scrutiny. It incited a passion across this country, at town halls, in congressional offices, and over a million people at the 9/12 meeting in opposition to the onerous and ridiculous contents. Despite non-stop presidential campaigning, SEIU union thuggery, and ACORN activists, American citizens continued to protest their opposition. So, Pelosi and Reid did what they do best. They went behind closed and locked doors and wrote their new bills. In the meantime, what promises were made? What threats were made? How were the arms twisted? We all know “the Chicago Way.” We also know that the supposedly fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats turned into lapdogs or Blue Puppies that needed potty training. All bark and absolutely no bite.
If you read our United States Constitution, nowhere does it say anything about health care. In fact, nowhere does it say that the government has the power to make any citizen buy anything. If you want to read it again, there are very limited functions and powers provided to the federal government. No matter how many times you read it, health care ain’t there! James Madison said “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions.” If so, then to paraphrase Janis Joplin, “Obama, won’t you buy me…a Mercedes Benz!”
Now of course, there is the “General Welfare” clause but how can a system designed to provide benefits to a minority of citizens be considered as general welfare? It can’t! When Speaker Pelosi was questioned as to the constitutional authority for Obama’s health care proposal, she dismissed it with a “you can’t be serious” non-answer. Later on, her spokesman clarified “You can put this on the record: that is not a serious question. That is not a serious question.” Au contraire, my friends; it is a VERY serious question! In Mark Alexander’s essay of October 29th of this year, he chronicled similar ignorance on the part of House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, and Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy.
The “General Welfare” clause was written by James Madison and is found in Article 1, Section 8. When an expenditure of funds was requested of an early Congress, he noted “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents….” And here I thought that the President and all the lesser public servants in Congress and the cabinet swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic….” Pogo was right: “I have seen the enemy and they is us!”
So, look back, America. This year, there’s that $800 billion stimulus bill that has been an abject failure but you still have to pay for it. There’s the Cap and Trade fiasco working its way through Congress that will raise your utilities about $1,500 per year. You will have to pay. Don’t forget your water and sewer fees doubling here in Rio Vista that you will have to pay for. And that little old $24 billion unemployment/housing incentive bill passed last week that you will have to pay for. Now we’ve got a new trillion dollar health care bill that you will also have to pay for. Bend over and kiss your wallet goodbye and kiss the middle class goodbye. Now, stand up and kiss your freedom and kiss America goodbye!
“ALL CRETINS ARE LIARS!”
“’All Cretins are liars,’” said the Cretin. Prove or disprove the truth of this statement.” So began my college course in philosophy and logic. I have learned that it is not enough just to say that something is a lie, even if you are the President of the United States. You must prove your case, not merely issue a proclamation from on high as if it were a heavenly commandment. The same is true for members of Congress and for you and me.
As the judiciary likes to opine, one needs to look at “the totality of the circumstances” before truth can be derived. To begin with, the President said “the time for bickering is over” and it’s time for the “games” to end. By what power does he get to end the “game” and reduce heartfelt concerns and questions of millions of Americans to “bickering”? The latest polls show that 56% of Americans oppose his plan. As for reducing substantial issues to de minimus standing, what about using a joint session of Congress, customarily reserved for declarations of war or a State of the Union address, to deliver what was essentially a campaign speech?
To start with, the President referred to Sarah Palin’s editorial in the Wall Street Journal and many town hall protesters challenges to health care reform as “a lie”, “bogus”, and a “deliberate misrepresentation.” Although his breaches of decorum (including using the “bloody pulpit” to attack a private citizen) should be given equal weight to Congressman Wilson’s charge of “you lie,” they have not. However, rather than debate what I believe to be the impropriety of BOTH parties in this imbroglio, let’s examine the core issue that ignited the firestorm of controversy—health care for illegal aliens.
We’ll start by looking at the President’s health care plan. Wait…apparently we can’t because to date, all we have is HR 3200 and now the Baucus bill which directly and indirectly contradicts much of what the President said would be in his plan. Remember, he wanted a bill on his desk to sign last August so HR 3200 must bear his imprimatur in both form and content. Accordingly, the President can make all the pronouncements he chooses and use his excellent rhetorical skills ad infinitum, but the bottom line remains: it is the legislature that writes the legislation and what we must analyze. We finally have a Senate bill to look at and compare but it too fails to pass the smell test and also lacks tort reform.
Interestingly, in his speech, for the first time I heard the President use the phrase “thirty million uninsured Americans.” We used to hear numbers of 45 to 50 million uninsured. How come? Is it because now the spotlight is on the fact that illegal aliens previously were included? If not, why the new numbers? You simply cannot reach 46 million uninsured without including illegal aliens.
I hate being a policy wonk but although HR 3200 prohibits illegal aliens from receiving government-run healthcare it doesn’t require any proof of citizenship. Later on the bill also states that illegal immigrants are not eligible for the new taxpayer-funded affordability credits but once again, there is nothing in the bill to enforce these provisions! Furthermore, Section 152 states that all services shall be provided “…without regard to personal characteristics….” I surmise that means we’re on the honor system. Why would any reasonable person think that someone who is here illegally in the first place will now be honorable and not request benefits?
Another section provides that if one member of a family is afforded coverage, all members would have coverage. This would reasonably mean that if a child of illegal aliens is born in the United States, then all members of that family who are here illegally would then be eligible for health care benefits. And of course, free translation services will be provided to all individuals for whom English is not the primary language.
Now here’s another nail in the coffin of presidential errors. On July 16 an amendment that would have required the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to specifically prevent illegal immigrants from receiving the affordability credits was defeated by the House Ways and Means Committee. More than 70 other federal programs already use SAVE. This is not the only time Democratic committee members have insured that loopholes remain intact. On July 30 an amendment by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) that would have required identity verification for those claiming U.S. birth was defeated along party lines by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It is clear that the devil remains in the details and that the Democratic committee members want the loopholes to remain. To their credit, after the brouhaha, the Senate committee hurriedly returned to work to “drill down” and added verification requirements to their health care proposal.
As a society, we are falling into a dangerous practice of making technically accurate statements with the intent to deceive. So Mr. President, until you show me and the rest of the 56% of the American voters in plain language and in written legislation the truth of your allegations, it’s just unsubstantiated huff ‘n puff rhetoric. The details in the legislation clearly contradict what you said. I’ll leave it up to the voters to determine what is true, what is a lie, and what is an intent to deceive. Based on the available evidence in the written legislative proposals, I have already made up my mind!
WLG
As the judiciary likes to opine, one needs to look at “the totality of the circumstances” before truth can be derived. To begin with, the President said “the time for bickering is over” and it’s time for the “games” to end. By what power does he get to end the “game” and reduce heartfelt concerns and questions of millions of Americans to “bickering”? The latest polls show that 56% of Americans oppose his plan. As for reducing substantial issues to de minimus standing, what about using a joint session of Congress, customarily reserved for declarations of war or a State of the Union address, to deliver what was essentially a campaign speech?
To start with, the President referred to Sarah Palin’s editorial in the Wall Street Journal and many town hall protesters challenges to health care reform as “a lie”, “bogus”, and a “deliberate misrepresentation.” Although his breaches of decorum (including using the “bloody pulpit” to attack a private citizen) should be given equal weight to Congressman Wilson’s charge of “you lie,” they have not. However, rather than debate what I believe to be the impropriety of BOTH parties in this imbroglio, let’s examine the core issue that ignited the firestorm of controversy—health care for illegal aliens.
We’ll start by looking at the President’s health care plan. Wait…apparently we can’t because to date, all we have is HR 3200 and now the Baucus bill which directly and indirectly contradicts much of what the President said would be in his plan. Remember, he wanted a bill on his desk to sign last August so HR 3200 must bear his imprimatur in both form and content. Accordingly, the President can make all the pronouncements he chooses and use his excellent rhetorical skills ad infinitum, but the bottom line remains: it is the legislature that writes the legislation and what we must analyze. We finally have a Senate bill to look at and compare but it too fails to pass the smell test and also lacks tort reform.
Interestingly, in his speech, for the first time I heard the President use the phrase “thirty million uninsured Americans.” We used to hear numbers of 45 to 50 million uninsured. How come? Is it because now the spotlight is on the fact that illegal aliens previously were included? If not, why the new numbers? You simply cannot reach 46 million uninsured without including illegal aliens.
I hate being a policy wonk but although HR 3200 prohibits illegal aliens from receiving government-run healthcare it doesn’t require any proof of citizenship. Later on the bill also states that illegal immigrants are not eligible for the new taxpayer-funded affordability credits but once again, there is nothing in the bill to enforce these provisions! Furthermore, Section 152 states that all services shall be provided “…without regard to personal characteristics….” I surmise that means we’re on the honor system. Why would any reasonable person think that someone who is here illegally in the first place will now be honorable and not request benefits?
Another section provides that if one member of a family is afforded coverage, all members would have coverage. This would reasonably mean that if a child of illegal aliens is born in the United States, then all members of that family who are here illegally would then be eligible for health care benefits. And of course, free translation services will be provided to all individuals for whom English is not the primary language.
Now here’s another nail in the coffin of presidential errors. On July 16 an amendment that would have required the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to specifically prevent illegal immigrants from receiving the affordability credits was defeated by the House Ways and Means Committee. More than 70 other federal programs already use SAVE. This is not the only time Democratic committee members have insured that loopholes remain intact. On July 30 an amendment by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) that would have required identity verification for those claiming U.S. birth was defeated along party lines by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It is clear that the devil remains in the details and that the Democratic committee members want the loopholes to remain. To their credit, after the brouhaha, the Senate committee hurriedly returned to work to “drill down” and added verification requirements to their health care proposal.
As a society, we are falling into a dangerous practice of making technically accurate statements with the intent to deceive. So Mr. President, until you show me and the rest of the 56% of the American voters in plain language and in written legislation the truth of your allegations, it’s just unsubstantiated huff ‘n puff rhetoric. The details in the legislation clearly contradict what you said. I’ll leave it up to the voters to determine what is true, what is a lie, and what is an intent to deceive. Based on the available evidence in the written legislative proposals, I have already made up my mind!
WLG
“Time to Drain the Swamp”
By William L. Garvin
“The more you read about politics, the more you got to admit that each party is worse than the other.” Will Rogers
When the Democrats took control of the House and the Senate three years ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi loudly proclaimed an end to the “culture of corruption.” Furthermore, she vowed to run “the most ethical administration in history.” She should have kept in mind that “When you’re up to your rear end in alligators, it’s hard to remember that you came in to drain the swamp.”
The swamp water must be particularly toxic in New York. First, we have the Governor attempting to intimidate a witness in a judicial proceeding then we have a total whack job emerge in Representative Massa. Naturally, his ethics investigation has been dropped with his resignation. However, it was just a short while back that Speaker Pelosi was demanding to know who knew what and when did they know it when a Republican sent an inappropriate text message to a page. No groping, no sexual contact, no Massa massages. My how she sings such a different tune when it’s a member of her own party.
Then there’s that rascally old Charlie Rangel. Here’s the chair of the Ways and Means Committee that determines the tax codes breaking rule after rule after rule. While the Tim Geithner defense might work for a simple mathematical miscalculation (just darn that Turbotax!), there’s no way it will work for failing to declare income. He should have just hid his cash in the freezer like William Jefferson. But rather than demanding that Representative Rangel resign, the Speaker arranged a “leave of absence” from his committee chair. Now that’s really cracking the ethical whip.
We can assume that she’s taking her cues from the top. After all, when a Utah representative votes no on the health care bill, his brother gets nominated by the President for a judgeship. No matter what his qualifications, the appearance of impropriety is overwhelming. But then, there’s nothing about this health care takeover that’s been open and above board. Despite the incessant rhetoric of “transparency,” “openness,” and “televised debates”, it’s the same old Democrat modus operandi, back rooms, closed doors, unilateral decision making, and an all out naked power grab. Now they’ve bundled a federal takeover of the student loan program into the health care legislation!
One thing you can say about the Democrats, they did learn at least one lesson. Now there are no leaks. The press wasn’t even allowed to interview attendees at the President’s staged health care speech at Arcadia University. Who knows what deals are being struck? No news about Louisiana Purchases, Cornhusker Kickbacks, union paybacks, Florida special exemptions, or Connecticut hospitals this time around. Who even knows what’s in the bill? Speaker Pelosi actually said “We have to pass the bill to know what’s in it without the fog of distraction.” No wonder Jack Cafferty on CNN called you a “horrible person.” When Democrats lose CNN, they are in trouble.
Given this administration’s consistent track record, we can expect more of the same. We can expect another midnight vote, probably on the weekend, with no debate. One would think that if legislators were proud of their vote, they would do so in the full light of day. The President has said the “American people are entitled to an up or down vote.” What he means is he is entitled to an up or down congressional vote. The American people have made their choice clear. There is only 35% of the electorate that support this particular health care bill. Fewer than that actually believe their medical costs will go down.
The President and the Speaker are deathly afraid to let their members go home over the recess and get another earful from their constituents. That’s why they are doing everything possible to cram this down our throats this week. That’s why they are willing to sacrifice Bart Stupak and the other opponents to federally funded abortion in their own party. Actually, they are willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone in November.
But there are those in our country who still believe in the Constitution as written and intended by our founding fathers. They are unwilling to substitute some nebulous “living constitution” that is subject to the whims and ephemeral priorities of a fickle legislature. Virginia believes that the federal government should not and does not have the authority to force private citizens into private contracts for health insurance. Accordingly, the Virginia General Assembly has given final approval to a bill making it ILLEGAL for the government to require individuals to purchase health insurance. According to the Washington Post, thirty-four other states are considering similar legislation. As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” We are willing to let ourselves be governed but we will never be ruled!
“The more you read about politics, the more you got to admit that each party is worse than the other.” Will Rogers
When the Democrats took control of the House and the Senate three years ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi loudly proclaimed an end to the “culture of corruption.” Furthermore, she vowed to run “the most ethical administration in history.” She should have kept in mind that “When you’re up to your rear end in alligators, it’s hard to remember that you came in to drain the swamp.”
The swamp water must be particularly toxic in New York. First, we have the Governor attempting to intimidate a witness in a judicial proceeding then we have a total whack job emerge in Representative Massa. Naturally, his ethics investigation has been dropped with his resignation. However, it was just a short while back that Speaker Pelosi was demanding to know who knew what and when did they know it when a Republican sent an inappropriate text message to a page. No groping, no sexual contact, no Massa massages. My how she sings such a different tune when it’s a member of her own party.
Then there’s that rascally old Charlie Rangel. Here’s the chair of the Ways and Means Committee that determines the tax codes breaking rule after rule after rule. While the Tim Geithner defense might work for a simple mathematical miscalculation (just darn that Turbotax!), there’s no way it will work for failing to declare income. He should have just hid his cash in the freezer like William Jefferson. But rather than demanding that Representative Rangel resign, the Speaker arranged a “leave of absence” from his committee chair. Now that’s really cracking the ethical whip.
We can assume that she’s taking her cues from the top. After all, when a Utah representative votes no on the health care bill, his brother gets nominated by the President for a judgeship. No matter what his qualifications, the appearance of impropriety is overwhelming. But then, there’s nothing about this health care takeover that’s been open and above board. Despite the incessant rhetoric of “transparency,” “openness,” and “televised debates”, it’s the same old Democrat modus operandi, back rooms, closed doors, unilateral decision making, and an all out naked power grab. Now they’ve bundled a federal takeover of the student loan program into the health care legislation!
One thing you can say about the Democrats, they did learn at least one lesson. Now there are no leaks. The press wasn’t even allowed to interview attendees at the President’s staged health care speech at Arcadia University. Who knows what deals are being struck? No news about Louisiana Purchases, Cornhusker Kickbacks, union paybacks, Florida special exemptions, or Connecticut hospitals this time around. Who even knows what’s in the bill? Speaker Pelosi actually said “We have to pass the bill to know what’s in it without the fog of distraction.” No wonder Jack Cafferty on CNN called you a “horrible person.” When Democrats lose CNN, they are in trouble.
Given this administration’s consistent track record, we can expect more of the same. We can expect another midnight vote, probably on the weekend, with no debate. One would think that if legislators were proud of their vote, they would do so in the full light of day. The President has said the “American people are entitled to an up or down vote.” What he means is he is entitled to an up or down congressional vote. The American people have made their choice clear. There is only 35% of the electorate that support this particular health care bill. Fewer than that actually believe their medical costs will go down.
The President and the Speaker are deathly afraid to let their members go home over the recess and get another earful from their constituents. That’s why they are doing everything possible to cram this down our throats this week. That’s why they are willing to sacrifice Bart Stupak and the other opponents to federally funded abortion in their own party. Actually, they are willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone in November.
But there are those in our country who still believe in the Constitution as written and intended by our founding fathers. They are unwilling to substitute some nebulous “living constitution” that is subject to the whims and ephemeral priorities of a fickle legislature. Virginia believes that the federal government should not and does not have the authority to force private citizens into private contracts for health insurance. Accordingly, the Virginia General Assembly has given final approval to a bill making it ILLEGAL for the government to require individuals to purchase health insurance. According to the Washington Post, thirty-four other states are considering similar legislation. As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” We are willing to let ourselves be governed but we will never be ruled!
“Referendum on the Czars”
During the presidential campaign, Candidate Obama said to “Judge me by the people I surround myself with.” That made good sense to me since I have often heard that “you measure a man’s worth by the quality of his friends.” If that is true, that may be one of the reasons for the President’s plummeting poll numbers. At this stage of his presidency, his numbers have dropped faster and farther than any president in history, with the exception of Jimmy Carter. This is particularly astonishing given the incredible support continually given to him by the one-sided main stream media and the total lack of scrutiny given to the President’s increasing army of czars, the only jobs he seems to be creating.
Take the Ex-Environmental czar for starters. Vann Jones, the self-identified Communist, who called Republicans “a**holes”, President Bush a “crackhead”, and signed a petition asking Eliot Spitzer to investigate the Administration’s role in staging the September 11 catastrophe. He was of course appointed by President Obama with zero congressional review or scrutiny. Yet you heard nothing of substance about him from our national media, “the eyes and ears” of the public. Even his middle of the night resignation over the Labor Day weekend received scant public notice.
Then there’s Cass Sunstein, appointed by President Obama as the Regulatory czar. He oversees the implementation of regulations in all governmental departments. As you know, the devil is always in the details and his office will be implementing regulations for every vague and not-so-vague section in any legislation. It is that “interpretation” that gives bureaucrats ever increasing power. Mr. Sunstein believes that all forms of hunting should be outlawed and that animals should have the right to legal representation and the right to sue humans! This of course includes farm animals.
As for his attitude towards humans, Victor Morawski, a professor at Coppin State, noted in his article that Mr. Sunstein “…has proposed that, wherever the effectiveness of a policy is examined using a Cost/Benefit Analysis, government agencies should adopt a standard that takes into account a person's age. This standard he readily admits ‘would likely result in significantly lower benefits calculations for elderly people, and significantly higher benefits calculations for children.’
For Sunstein, ‘A program that saves younger people is better ... than an otherwise identical program that saves older people.’ So he suggests that, ‘in producing regulatory impact analyses, agencies should ... [use] life-years as well as lives ... in deciding what to do.’” Sunstein’s wife, Samantha Power is another teacher at Harvard and was the President’s foreign policy advisor until she had to resign after calling Hillary Clinton “a monster.” I’ll bet they have fascinating pillow talk!
It’s a good thing Professor Sunstein has no close allies or I might have to worry about those pesky “death panels” that don’t really exist! Oh, no…there’s Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the Health Care czar and Rahm’s brother, who has always been a proponent of using cost benefit and comparative benefit analysis in the allocation of health care resources. The President has already appointed him to the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Research under the stimulus bill and given him $1.5 million for a report on comparative effectiveness research. We know where Dr. Emanuel and Tom Daschle (who says he sees the President every day) stand on Complete Lives Systems so just how should we judge you Mr. President?
Now, how about Dr. John Holdren, the President’s Science czar, who wrote a book along with the Ehrlich’s of “zero population growth” fame, in which they advocated compulsory abortion and limiting the number of children a family could have. He is infamous for the following quote: “The fetus, given the opportunity to develop properly before birth, and given the essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after birth, will ultimately develop into a human being.” So what happens if we don’t develop “properly” or subsequently become infirm in our later years? Are we seeing a pattern here?
While not a czar, another top White House health policy advisor is Dr. David Blumenthal. He is the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and has said he wrote much of the health care bill. Not only is he a strong advocate of Oregon’s “physician assisted suicide” but he also recommends slowing medical innovation to control health spending. Blumenthal has long advocated government health spending controls, though he concedes they're “associated with longer waits” and “reduced availability of new and expensive treatments and devices.'” (New England Journal of Medicine, March 8, 2001) He calls it 'debatable' whether the timely care Americans get is really worth the cost. Maybe that’s why Oregon will tell cancer patients they CANNOT AFFORD those expensive cancer treatments but will tell those same patients that the State CAN AFFORD to pay for their suicide pills. Obviously, Dr. Blumenthal does not understand the difference between cost and value. How would you value an extra two or three years of life here on earth?
I’d better start finishing my thoughts now because of one final czar, Mark Lloyd, who is the Chief Diversity Officer for the Federal Communications Commission. If you Google Mr. Lloyd, you will find that he has written extensively on the subject of conservative talk radio and his plans for dealing with a medium that he obviously dislikes. He advocates excessive fines (up to 100%) that will then go to more liberal public radio and make it impossible for conservative radio to operate. He also advocates filing excessive complaints against those stations thereby causing them to incur increasingly high expenses defending themselves. Shades of the same strategy that the far left used against Sarah Palin with the unending filing of unfounded ethics complaints.
Mr. Lloyd may believe that the only freedom of speech (which he has stated is an “exaggeration”) is that which agrees with him. He has spoken of his admiration of Hugo Chavez’s “democratic revolution”. Maybe he should have taken note of the fact that Chavez basically seized and nationalized any radio or television that was not spouting the party line. Then again, maybe he did and that is a harbinger of things to come!
So, Mr. President, you asked me to judge you by the people who are surrounding you. I have and I find your choices troubling and contrary to the core values that have made this country so great for so long. Because of these people and their views, I can no longer trust the motives of your Attorney General in seeking to prosecute members of the CIA. I can no longer trust in any extension of presidential or governmental power. I can no longer chalk it up as coincidence that the George Soros hedge fund purchased $811 million in Petrobras stock in the second quarter of this year to make it the fund’s largest holding. Then, in the very next quarter, the U.S. Export-Import Bank loans $2 billion (and may loan $5 billion) to Petrobras (a very rich oil company) to drill for oil off the coast of Brazil. It is of course, George Soros and Move-On.org who boasted that he “owned” the Democratic party! I can no longer trust your unemployment estimates which have been consistently wrong. I can no longer trust your deficit and debt projections which have been consistently wrong. I can no longer trust your stimulus projections which have been consistently wrong. I can no longer trust your health care cost projections which are illogical and not supported by any independent group.
In summary, I do not trust the people you have chosen who surround you. Using that criteria alone which you have proposed, I can no longer trust your judgment; therefore, I cannot trust you. That’s a sad state of affairs.
WLG
Take the Ex-Environmental czar for starters. Vann Jones, the self-identified Communist, who called Republicans “a**holes”, President Bush a “crackhead”, and signed a petition asking Eliot Spitzer to investigate the Administration’s role in staging the September 11 catastrophe. He was of course appointed by President Obama with zero congressional review or scrutiny. Yet you heard nothing of substance about him from our national media, “the eyes and ears” of the public. Even his middle of the night resignation over the Labor Day weekend received scant public notice.
Then there’s Cass Sunstein, appointed by President Obama as the Regulatory czar. He oversees the implementation of regulations in all governmental departments. As you know, the devil is always in the details and his office will be implementing regulations for every vague and not-so-vague section in any legislation. It is that “interpretation” that gives bureaucrats ever increasing power. Mr. Sunstein believes that all forms of hunting should be outlawed and that animals should have the right to legal representation and the right to sue humans! This of course includes farm animals.
As for his attitude towards humans, Victor Morawski, a professor at Coppin State, noted in his article that Mr. Sunstein “…has proposed that, wherever the effectiveness of a policy is examined using a Cost/Benefit Analysis, government agencies should adopt a standard that takes into account a person's age. This standard he readily admits ‘would likely result in significantly lower benefits calculations for elderly people, and significantly higher benefits calculations for children.’
For Sunstein, ‘A program that saves younger people is better ... than an otherwise identical program that saves older people.’ So he suggests that, ‘in producing regulatory impact analyses, agencies should ... [use] life-years as well as lives ... in deciding what to do.’” Sunstein’s wife, Samantha Power is another teacher at Harvard and was the President’s foreign policy advisor until she had to resign after calling Hillary Clinton “a monster.” I’ll bet they have fascinating pillow talk!
It’s a good thing Professor Sunstein has no close allies or I might have to worry about those pesky “death panels” that don’t really exist! Oh, no…there’s Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the Health Care czar and Rahm’s brother, who has always been a proponent of using cost benefit and comparative benefit analysis in the allocation of health care resources. The President has already appointed him to the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Research under the stimulus bill and given him $1.5 million for a report on comparative effectiveness research. We know where Dr. Emanuel and Tom Daschle (who says he sees the President every day) stand on Complete Lives Systems so just how should we judge you Mr. President?
Now, how about Dr. John Holdren, the President’s Science czar, who wrote a book along with the Ehrlich’s of “zero population growth” fame, in which they advocated compulsory abortion and limiting the number of children a family could have. He is infamous for the following quote: “The fetus, given the opportunity to develop properly before birth, and given the essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after birth, will ultimately develop into a human being.” So what happens if we don’t develop “properly” or subsequently become infirm in our later years? Are we seeing a pattern here?
While not a czar, another top White House health policy advisor is Dr. David Blumenthal. He is the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and has said he wrote much of the health care bill. Not only is he a strong advocate of Oregon’s “physician assisted suicide” but he also recommends slowing medical innovation to control health spending. Blumenthal has long advocated government health spending controls, though he concedes they're “associated with longer waits” and “reduced availability of new and expensive treatments and devices.'” (New England Journal of Medicine, March 8, 2001) He calls it 'debatable' whether the timely care Americans get is really worth the cost. Maybe that’s why Oregon will tell cancer patients they CANNOT AFFORD those expensive cancer treatments but will tell those same patients that the State CAN AFFORD to pay for their suicide pills. Obviously, Dr. Blumenthal does not understand the difference between cost and value. How would you value an extra two or three years of life here on earth?
I’d better start finishing my thoughts now because of one final czar, Mark Lloyd, who is the Chief Diversity Officer for the Federal Communications Commission. If you Google Mr. Lloyd, you will find that he has written extensively on the subject of conservative talk radio and his plans for dealing with a medium that he obviously dislikes. He advocates excessive fines (up to 100%) that will then go to more liberal public radio and make it impossible for conservative radio to operate. He also advocates filing excessive complaints against those stations thereby causing them to incur increasingly high expenses defending themselves. Shades of the same strategy that the far left used against Sarah Palin with the unending filing of unfounded ethics complaints.
Mr. Lloyd may believe that the only freedom of speech (which he has stated is an “exaggeration”) is that which agrees with him. He has spoken of his admiration of Hugo Chavez’s “democratic revolution”. Maybe he should have taken note of the fact that Chavez basically seized and nationalized any radio or television that was not spouting the party line. Then again, maybe he did and that is a harbinger of things to come!
So, Mr. President, you asked me to judge you by the people who are surrounding you. I have and I find your choices troubling and contrary to the core values that have made this country so great for so long. Because of these people and their views, I can no longer trust the motives of your Attorney General in seeking to prosecute members of the CIA. I can no longer trust in any extension of presidential or governmental power. I can no longer chalk it up as coincidence that the George Soros hedge fund purchased $811 million in Petrobras stock in the second quarter of this year to make it the fund’s largest holding. Then, in the very next quarter, the U.S. Export-Import Bank loans $2 billion (and may loan $5 billion) to Petrobras (a very rich oil company) to drill for oil off the coast of Brazil. It is of course, George Soros and Move-On.org who boasted that he “owned” the Democratic party! I can no longer trust your unemployment estimates which have been consistently wrong. I can no longer trust your deficit and debt projections which have been consistently wrong. I can no longer trust your stimulus projections which have been consistently wrong. I can no longer trust your health care cost projections which are illogical and not supported by any independent group.
In summary, I do not trust the people you have chosen who surround you. Using that criteria alone which you have proposed, I can no longer trust your judgment; therefore, I cannot trust you. That’s a sad state of affairs.
WLG
FIRING BACK at “Taking Aim”
There seems to be a national epidemic of obsessive compulsive behavior commonly known as “Palin-itis”. While most often observed in mainstream media, it was most recently manifested locally in last week’s column by Al Eaton. The symptoms are an irrational and overwhelming need to mock, demean, denigrate and ultimately destroy Sarah Palin and her family. It can be done by lies, innuendo, half-truths, and of course, the ever popular unnamed and anonymous sources. I can’t help but wonder what they are afraid of.
According to the liberal playbook, it appears to be perfectly acceptable to adopt both a sexist and patronizing attitude toward Governor Palin. Mr. Eaton chose to employ “cutesy”, “folksy”, “”down-home, dumbed-down philosophy”, “attractive appearance”, and “adorable little wink” in his essay. The National Organization of Women will probably offer the same support to her and express the same moral outrage as they did with Carrie Prejean. By the way, what was their position on Letterman’s crude joke about her daughter? Maybe we should ask Don Imus about double standards. Mr. Eaton’s column vaguely resembled Todd Purdum’s puerile hit piece in Vanity Fair but then again, Mr. Eaton isn’t married to Dee Dee Meyers (Bill Clinton’s press secretary) and only had the liberal talking points with which to work. Obviously, this was not a level playing field. Maybe one should read Governor Palin’s commentary and analysis on cap and trade before concluding who is “dumbed-down.” Debate the message; don’t kill the messenger.
I particularly abhorred the reference to “political scandal or embarrassment on the horizon” and possibly being drawn into “one of the many criminal investigations that been popping-up in Alaskan politics.” The most cursory of research efforts would have easily established that there have been TWENTY ethics charges levied against Governor Palin and ZERO convictions. Apparently, one individual woman has filed five of those allegations. It almost made me think that Alaskans have become a bunch of Chicago “wanna be’s” when it comes to political corruption! Quite honestly, if I’d have run up $500,000 in legal fees defending myself against frivolous complaints and spurious allegations, I’d be looking for a better paying job as well!!
I am also annoyed by the effete intellectual snobbery inherent in general attempts to paint Palin supporters and conservatives as uneducated hicks. Too many people have confused their education with their diplomas. I do believe however, that there are too many voters who can’t tell the difference between Sarah Palin and Tina Fey; there are too many people who can’t tell the difference between what a person says and what a person does; there are too many people who confuse being articulate with being able to read from a teleprompter; there are too many people who confuse being cool with being competent; there are too many people who confuse feeling with thinking. You are certainly entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts. There is nothing uneducated about fiscal responsibility and protecting our borders and our way of life. There is nothing uneducated about clinging to religion and/or guns. Maybe more people should educate themselves about Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. This 1940’s community organizer in Chicago was a communist and an atheist. (I recognize the redundancy.) He states that “you may have to destroy an economy to make people dependent on government.” No wonder his amoral strategy for the redistribution of wealth and social justice was contained in a book dedicated to Lucifer.
As a candidate, President Obama rightfully decried the half trillion dollar deficit of the prior administration. I don’t see how that has translated into giving President Obama and Congress leeway for exceeding a trillion dollar deficit this year alone! The stimulus bill, which many congressional representatives did not even read, for “shovel ready” projects to “jolt” the economy is not working. Furthermore, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates that the House version of health care will itself cost more than a trillion more dollars and will not result in any appreciable reduction in health care costs. If it was possible for government to spend its way into prosperity, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I fear that just as that brilliant council of economic advisors “guessed wrong” on unemployment, they have guessed wrong and overestimated tax revenues so, just as in California, the problem will only worsen with time.
More people should educate themselves on our Constitution and see where it says government should be owning and running insurance companies, car companies, banks, homes and health care. I also wonder why Congress doesn’t have approval and oversight authority for thirty-some “czars” in this new shadow government. If there is a “narcissistic personality disorder”, I do not think it belongs to Sarah Palin but to another administration that is going where no administration has gone before. (My apologies to the Trekkies.) I believe we should be afraid, but not of Sarah Palin. Don’t you think it’s time to give her and her family a break? After all, you still have time to blame everything on George Bush!
William L. Garvin
According to the liberal playbook, it appears to be perfectly acceptable to adopt both a sexist and patronizing attitude toward Governor Palin. Mr. Eaton chose to employ “cutesy”, “folksy”, “”down-home, dumbed-down philosophy”, “attractive appearance”, and “adorable little wink” in his essay. The National Organization of Women will probably offer the same support to her and express the same moral outrage as they did with Carrie Prejean. By the way, what was their position on Letterman’s crude joke about her daughter? Maybe we should ask Don Imus about double standards. Mr. Eaton’s column vaguely resembled Todd Purdum’s puerile hit piece in Vanity Fair but then again, Mr. Eaton isn’t married to Dee Dee Meyers (Bill Clinton’s press secretary) and only had the liberal talking points with which to work. Obviously, this was not a level playing field. Maybe one should read Governor Palin’s commentary and analysis on cap and trade before concluding who is “dumbed-down.” Debate the message; don’t kill the messenger.
I particularly abhorred the reference to “political scandal or embarrassment on the horizon” and possibly being drawn into “one of the many criminal investigations that been popping-up in Alaskan politics.” The most cursory of research efforts would have easily established that there have been TWENTY ethics charges levied against Governor Palin and ZERO convictions. Apparently, one individual woman has filed five of those allegations. It almost made me think that Alaskans have become a bunch of Chicago “wanna be’s” when it comes to political corruption! Quite honestly, if I’d have run up $500,000 in legal fees defending myself against frivolous complaints and spurious allegations, I’d be looking for a better paying job as well!!
I am also annoyed by the effete intellectual snobbery inherent in general attempts to paint Palin supporters and conservatives as uneducated hicks. Too many people have confused their education with their diplomas. I do believe however, that there are too many voters who can’t tell the difference between Sarah Palin and Tina Fey; there are too many people who can’t tell the difference between what a person says and what a person does; there are too many people who confuse being articulate with being able to read from a teleprompter; there are too many people who confuse being cool with being competent; there are too many people who confuse feeling with thinking. You are certainly entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts. There is nothing uneducated about fiscal responsibility and protecting our borders and our way of life. There is nothing uneducated about clinging to religion and/or guns. Maybe more people should educate themselves about Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. This 1940’s community organizer in Chicago was a communist and an atheist. (I recognize the redundancy.) He states that “you may have to destroy an economy to make people dependent on government.” No wonder his amoral strategy for the redistribution of wealth and social justice was contained in a book dedicated to Lucifer.
As a candidate, President Obama rightfully decried the half trillion dollar deficit of the prior administration. I don’t see how that has translated into giving President Obama and Congress leeway for exceeding a trillion dollar deficit this year alone! The stimulus bill, which many congressional representatives did not even read, for “shovel ready” projects to “jolt” the economy is not working. Furthermore, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates that the House version of health care will itself cost more than a trillion more dollars and will not result in any appreciable reduction in health care costs. If it was possible for government to spend its way into prosperity, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I fear that just as that brilliant council of economic advisors “guessed wrong” on unemployment, they have guessed wrong and overestimated tax revenues so, just as in California, the problem will only worsen with time.
More people should educate themselves on our Constitution and see where it says government should be owning and running insurance companies, car companies, banks, homes and health care. I also wonder why Congress doesn’t have approval and oversight authority for thirty-some “czars” in this new shadow government. If there is a “narcissistic personality disorder”, I do not think it belongs to Sarah Palin but to another administration that is going where no administration has gone before. (My apologies to the Trekkies.) I believe we should be afraid, but not of Sarah Palin. Don’t you think it’s time to give her and her family a break? After all, you still have time to blame everything on George Bush!
William L. Garvin
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