Mayor Milt's Journal

ARE WE LEARNING OR NOT?

2011-03-14T12:32:00.000-05:00

Reality looks us straight in the eye as we approach the gas pump. That reality is the fact that we didn’t learn our lessons from the 1973 oil embargo. It seems we are not learning yet.

Our reliance on oil from the Middle East is absolutely ridiculous and something has to be done quickly because our reliance our heavy debt is sucking the economic blood from our nation. The redistribution of wealth in the last two years is greater than ever before in our history and it’s time we do something about it.

It should have been evident to all of us that the so-called “greenies” would sooner or later break our backs with environmental constraints of gargantuan proportions. Attempts were made to completely block offshore drilling for new oil and drilling in the ANWR (Alaska National Wildlife Preserve). It has been estimated that the ANWR site would produce, or could produce, enough oil supplies to last at our present rate of consumption approximately 200 years. Drilling for oil in this area poses absolutely no problem to the environment, as a matter of fact, it is probably an area where the least damage to the environment could be done by such activity.

ANWR is comprised of 19 million acres the area upon which drilling would be performed is approximately 2000 acres along the coast. The entire ANWR refuge is the size of 10 states in the central US. Further disturbance by pipelines would not be a factor. The fact that this site is only 160 miles from the present oil drilling facilities on the North Slope at Prudhoe Bay no further oil pipelines would be needed to across the state of Alaska.

It is my understanding that great deposits of oil are available in the Dakotas as well as offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. It seems that the time has come to tell the Greenies that we've had enough and we are going to become independent of oil from the Middle East. The uprisings in almost every country in the region are not doing the prices of oil any good and it is further making us benevolent to those who would destroy us. It is a sin that we must buy oil from our enemies.

Several days ago the president was pondering whether or not the US should get involved in the Libyan crisis and I believe the answer is absolutely not. We have little to zero interest in that area only to the extent that we get about 2% of our oil from Libya.

There are many myths involved in the activities and earnings of oil companies. Today our gas-bag politicians are plying on our ignorance of facts to make themselves look good. For example, Sen. Durbin of Illinois has made two statements that are totally ridiculous. The first being that we should open up our emergency reserves to lower the price of gasoline. That has been tried in the past and it did only two things. First, it only reduced the cost of gasoline by about two cents per gallon. Secondly he claims that the oil companies are making huge profits while the fact remains that they are not. The average profit for oil companies is not any different than any other industrial endeavor, which usually averages about 7%.

The oil industry important to the US? The number of workers involved in this industry is approximately 9.2 million people. Another myth is that oil executives receive exorbitant salaries. That is untrue, the fact is that oil company executives own only approximately 1.5% of the shares while millions of Americans own shares of their stock through their pension plans, 401(k)s etc. These are very large entities and as a result it makes him capable of investing in new reserves. However they are the target for every politician that comes down the pike. The industry must have strong cash reserves and remain in a position to be able to invest in new oil in our country alone.

It has been stated that the oil companies get unfair subsidies and the fact is that the oil and gas industry received no subsidy whatsoever yet they produce about $9 million per day in taxes to the federal government. As a mater of fact, these companies pay an average of 48% while other S&P industries 28%.

Should we continue buying oil from our enemies or should we insist that the Greenies stand aside and quit picking on the oil companies. Let’s make way for producers to get on with their business of finding and producing more oil in the U.S. and as a result the prices our gasoline prices will drop reflecting the strength of our economy and not the strength of Ali Baba and his 40 thieves.

Taxes and fantasy

2011-02-17T17:22:00.004-06:00

Why not try it .... couldn't be worse

Facing a future of higher taxes, fewer jobs, higher prices and more bankruptcies doesn’t pose a very bright future. We are told by those to whom we have entrusted our public business there is absolutely no way out of this mess unless we squeeze just a little more from you. They refer to it as the need for “ALL OF US” to sacrifice. It seems to me that we have been sacrificing all along and they simply have managed our sacrifices to suit their own political agenda.

Let’s take a trip to fantasy land.

Rather than tax businesses and corporations more heavily what would happen if we gave them tax credits for contributions to education? What might happen if they lowered the tax on corporations and businesses substantially so that we would once again be able to compete on the world market? Those things would create jobs but wouldn’t buy votes. Would it be a disaster, or hazardous to our health and welfare if we were to simply make deep cuts in /the number of so-called protective agencies? I don’t think it would, rather it would allow us to pursue our own endeavors more economically and produce wealth. Producing wealth would attract investment and as a result pension plans and personal savings would increase proportionally thereby being a “real” stimulus package.

As we continue our fantasy trip we would see the so-called “entitlement” programs evaporating leaving change in our pockets to pay our bills.The problem there is that it would turn hordes of voters away from incumbents and we certainly can’t allow that. There are so many more things that we could do to trim government down to size, Government should be something we can afford and one that provides the space we need to be industrious and productive.

Now back to reality.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the tax bite is going to be increasing dramatically in the months and the years to come. There is no way that the present tax system will produce enough revenue to pay for the promises that have already been made and new sources of revenue are going to be the rule of the day in Washington and in the state houses across the nation.

The income tax is an extremely regressive tax. The greater the tax bite costs and unemployment rises and this results in reduced revenue to government.. Simply put means that government has to increase the tax rate to have the same income from a smaller pocket book. We will not just feel a pinch from higher income taxes but higher costs and new taxes will strangle our economy even more.

Throughout the summer and prior to the November elections, we’re going to see a flurry and a flourish of activity designed to make a lion look like a sheep. We are experiencing that in spades as this article is being written. A nuclear summit hosted by our president in Washington DC including (Britain and Australia excepted) numerous nations around the world is being heralded as a showpiece by the Obama administration to make the point that he is interested in protecting us from harm. I may be wrong but it seems to me that the atomic bomb had a great deal to do with the formation of the United Nations and has been a centerpiece of their rhetoric for all these years. So what’s new?

Earlier on our fantasy trip I referred to reducing regulatory agencies. That is simply not the case in this administration. On the contrary, approximately 140 new agencies will be added to oversee all aspects of the new, so-called, health bill. That’s certainly is not a cut and regulatory agencies but a dramatic increase.

On the subject of taxes we will hear very little until November and after that Lookout. We will see in this nation a VAT (value added tax) which simply translated means a federal sales tax on every item and on many services that you receive. This tax is also referred to as an “ad valorem” tax meaning that each individual that handles a product or service from inception to delivery pays a tax on the added value and that tax is passed along to the consumer. This is a very common tax in many European nations.

We might say that the VAT might be a good idea if they were to eliminate or reduce corporate and individual income taxes however, you know that is very unlikely. We have reached a point in our history where nearly 50% of our population pays no tax and yet receives a refund on unearned income. You need not be an economist nor a scientist to realize that when one half of our population lives on the labor of the other half and the number of non producers is increasing every day, sooner or later we will reach the point of no return.

We all asked the same question, what can we do. I think there is only one thing we can do and that one thing is reality a long shot. We must vote out many incumbents and be very careful who we select to replace them. This is not as easy as it sounds because incumbents are well aware of the fact that those to whom they have granted all of these perks are not going to be happy if they don’t continue to receive them. We already hear those recipients squealing as a few elected officials who have intestinal fortitude indicated these programs must be cut or drastically reduced. At first glance we might say ignore their squealing however, the reality is that most of them vote and the rest of us don’t.

Consider these questions in November and let’s try to take this country back and once again let those who work and produce the wealth make the rules.

Illinois is going down for the 3rd. time

2011-02-17T16:32:00.003-06:00

Some years ago a relative of mine who had reached that age where things weren’t quite so clear begin receiving credit cards in the mail that were unsolicited. She was pretty excited by the fact that her credit was so good that they would just arbitrarily send her credit cards. One of the cards in particular had checks that came with it so you simply could write the checks and they would clear through the credit card company. I guess you can see what I’m leading up to.

Some of her credit cards had balances that had reached the limit. But for her this was not a problem at all, she simply wrote payments from the checkbook of the other credit card. Needless to say she learned about borrowing money and increasing her debt. She simply dug a hole deeper and deeper.

The state of Illinois has apparently learned this lesson very well, or they will soon learn it very well. The recent tax increases by the legislature are extremely devastating and even more so at this particular time. If raising the taxes weren’t enough they are also borrowing to pay bills thereby, digging that deeper hole.

They try to make us believe that the tax increases will not be devastating to our economy but, that is just not true. An increase in income taxes to individuals simply reduces their buying power. In addition to the costs of what they buy will increase because of taxes levied upon the producer. The corporations of Illinois and of the nation for that matter are not able to compete with foreign markets and a great deal of the problem could be resolved by lowering, not raising taxes on corporations. Increases in costs of production are simply passed along to the buying public.

As we begin to buy less and less produced by our local manufacture jobs are lost because the workforce does not have to be as large. These businesses now become less and less competitive in the world market and at home. Taxes were raised at a time when they should have been reduced.

A New York paper stated that there were 47 states sliding down the slippery slope to bankruptcy with alumni being one of the worst. Attempting to raise taxes and fees to resolve the monetary hemorrhage of the state as we can see, is not the answer. As we speak of bankruptcy it might be a good idea of the state of Illinois and to simply do that.

Bankruptcy would erase the slate and allow for a fresh start it would automatically release the stranglehold of public service unions. It would cause many so-called “entitlements” to be drastically reduced or in some cases eliminated.

Our state is rich in what it takes to make an economy grow. from Cairo in the South to Rockford in the north we have many resources that could be put to use if they were not taxed to death. We have coal, oil and some of the richest farmland in the nation yet they take us to the brink of starvation by taxation. This burden must be lifted in order to return our standard of living to what it was.

The only problem with my idea is that as soon as the state was bankrupted the legislators would again, and very quickly, tax and spend for votes and in no time at all we would be looking at the same picture. The hemorrhage of our state’s money flow is the city of Chicago. They have the horsepower to elect and they have the means after they’re elected to siphon a disproportionate amount of our wealth to their themselves.

I may have oversimplified or method of recovery but I’m sure that most would agree something drastic has to happen. You could speak with the legislators who would agree that something as drastic as bankruptcy would not be “good” for the state but rather damaging to our economy. Of course we must remember that if they don’t bring home the bacon they don’t get reelected.

Do what they might, they should not continue to do what my relative did. Borrow money to make payments on what we have already borrowed.

Is this the National Security force Obama suggested?

2010-12-07T01:58:00.003-06:00

It is absolutely impossible to plug all holes at an airport to insure against a breach of security. With the employees, both airline and municipal, the purveyors of services such as food and equipment, the number of possibilities of a breach is always going to be there. Any attempt to tighten security or monitoring of basic airport operations would bring it to a halt.

In an effort to make airline travelers feel safer, body scans and groping has become the tool of choice for TSA (Transport Security Administration). After 9/11 this agency was created under the Department of Transportation and later moved to the Department of Homeland Security. The indignities that airline travelers must endure likely have little or no effect on the safety of their flight. The audacity of the agency is unbelievable. When people begin to complain about the full body scanning and the groping by security agents the director of homeland security, Jeanette Napolitano had the audacity to state “if they don’t like it they can find another way to travel”

If you are not an airline traveler and are not subjected to the TSA activities at airports you certainly should be concerned about the agency from which this organization sprouts namely, Department of Homeland Security. This agency is delving into your private lives on a daily basis making a dossier on everyone from members of Congress to individuals who participate in tea party activities.

During the campaign of Barack Obama he made his statement more than one time that he wanted to see a “national security force” as large as the Army and as well-equipped. That statement seems to have passed without notice and my question now is, is the Department of Homeland Security gradually becoming that so-called security force and TSA being a symptom of the power of this agency? In a nutshell I am more concerned about the agency than I am about their feeble attempt to curb terrorism on airplanes.

TSA alone has 67,000 employees and that number is growing. While this number does not represent all employees of the Department of Homeland Security it is significant to note the rapid growth. Is it possible that this is the genesis of the security force alluded to by Barack Obama? I think it is.

When I was a boy we used to be truly amazed by the fact that German citizens under the Hitler regime were required to carry papers and show those as they passed between villages and cities. We could not believe that people would be subjected to such scrutiny but wait, we could well be seeing that right here in our own country.

One of the proposals of the Department of Homeland security is to create a federal driver’s license. This license will contain a digital picture of the driver and encoded scanning marks for further identification. States who refuse to comply with this order will lose federal funds. They are being blackmailed. This driver’s license providing homeland security with a track of your movements along with the information they are presently gathering from credit card transactions. Does this all sound too familiar?

Internal memos of the organization included notice to all law enforcement agencies which includes TSA to be put on alert and keep an eye out for possible terrorists including returning veterans, pro-life organizations or pro-gun groups. In other words anyone who might be an opponent of the new regime.

I have only recited a couple of items that this all powerful organization is undertaking but there are many more. Each day new rules are handed down that further curtail your activity and monitor daily life.

No, I am not as afraid of some terrorist who may be plotting an attack on an airplane from some remote mountain cave as I am from the awesome power of our new “security force”.

Did we not notice?

2010-10-28T10:40:00.003-05:00

Is he an idiot? Is he a fool? Does he not know what he is doing? On the contrary, the man is extremely intelligent and has an inner drive that propels him to do what he thinks is right in spite of what others around him may suggest. I am referring to Barack Obama.

It is sometimes difficult to determine who this man is but is not difficult at all to identify his goal.

The Marxist ideology of Obama is easy to understand when one examines his family background. His grandparents (his mother’s side) we’re so steeped in Marxist ideology that they insisted on taking their daughter (Barak’s mother) to a college in Oregon that had a professor on staff who was a widely known Marxist. Their hope was that this exposure would give their daughter the proper political orientation.

Obama’s mother moved to Hawaii to further her education where she married Barack’s father. His father was a left wing agitator in Kenya consequently the meeting of minds between these two would be natural. Later after divorcing Barack’s father,she and her son moved to Indonesia.

My timeline fades somewhat during the period of his life from Indonesia to the point where he enters colleges and universities in the United States. During these years Mr. Obama was in close contact with professors with a very strong Marxist ideology that fit with his own.

One of the professors in particular that Obama was exposed to in his university years was one who believed that the United States had to be destroyed from within. That the economic system must be turned into such chaos as to allow government to take over all aspects of the monetary system, production and people control. It appears as though Mr. Obama learned his lessons well.

The rise to power was swift and obscure and most people had no idea who this man was or where he came from. He was fresh, new and had a smooth message. He captivated many. A charismatic black man preaching change.

In his beginning as a “community organizer” in Chicago Barack was groomed for the future by folks such as William Ayers. It was his springboard to the White House. The organization became known as “acorn”. This was a government financed organization to organize inner-city communities, whatever that means. Mr. Obama and some of his radical cohorts found this to be just exactly what the doctor ordered to propel one of their own up the ladder. He was articulate, intelligent and black.

An Illinois seat in the Senate was up for election and a supposed friend of Barack’s was seeking reelection to that seat. The stops were pulled and the organization these people had established immediately set out to disqualify any opposition to an Obama run. Barack’s name was placed in contention and almost like lightning was elected to the Illinois Senate and with the same lightning speed to the Senate of the United States.

One of the best organized and most heavily financed campaigns in history was launched to install this man as president of the United States. There were few bumps in the road for Mr. Obama’s campaign as the groundswell of people thirsted for the “change” that he so often mentioned. Little did they realize what that really meant.

The book and Barack’s zeal for Marxist revision unfolded almost exactly as it was written.

He began with the financial institutions by closing banks, over-regulating banks and other financial institutions with the intent being to ultimately reach the point of a national bank controlled by the government.

Industry was in effect confiscated (auto industry) and government minions were placed in charge as nearly half of the stock was transferred to labor unions. That is only the tip of the iceberg. I don’t think many of us ever dreamed that we’d see the day when the United States government would be involved in such a scheme. Further more I never would have believed Congress would not have intervened. Other business and industry are within the target zone but will be eliminated by regulation and confiscatory tax schemes.

The national health care bill that we hear so much about and know so little about has little to do with health care but a lot to do with people control. It ids also a union payment for peace while the socialist system is being implemented.

The insurance industry is being nationalized through the health care system by regulation of premium pricing and ultimately forcing business and individuals to belong to the national health care system. This is the most effective form of control.

The most sinister action of old by this administration is the astonishing debt that has been imposed upon all of us. Most of us in all of our children are going to live in some degree in servitude for many years to come.

I can’t say that Barack Hussein Obama hates America but I can say that he hates the economic system. He made absolutely no bones about that throughout his entire campaign but apparently folks were so mesmerized they just did not hear.

Before I am no longer in this picture I would like once again to see a president who travels the world extolling the virtues of the free enterprise system and holding American high as he refers to his country. I do not want a president who apologizes. We have nothing in this world to apologize for we have pulled the chestnuts out of the fire for so many people for so many years and now we have a president who “apologizes”. I don’t want a president who bows to the heads of foreign states. I want a president who stands beside me reverently holding his hand over his heart as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the Star-Spangled Banner not folding them over the front of his trousers.

This is my take on the man we call president.

Do we have the guts to turn this mess around?

2010-08-31T11:56:00.002-05:00

If you can read this and not think once more you are the problem.

We are constantly told that if we don’t remember history, understand history or take our lessons from history we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes hoping for different results. That statement is absolutely true.

One of the reasons that we don’t delve into history and see what happened is because we expect that to be something so far back that it couldn’t possibly affect anything they were going to attempt to do today but that’s not a fact, the fact is that we only have to move backward a short period of time to learn these old lessons.

We hear so much about the founders of our country and how wise they were. Oh yes, they were wise all right because they knew so much about history and their burning desire was to break the bonds of history that had tied man’s hands for centuries. To do this they drafted the Constitution that would be the guideline for our nation (the greatest nation on earth) for centuries.

I’m not so old that I guess you could equate me with those people and I’m certainly not nearly as wise as they were. So let me move my timeclock forward many years. I am going to take the liberty to print some excerpts from those who were writing and talking about the same problems that we face today in the 1930s. I will also extract some excerpts from an opinion column written by a man who lived in a time that so exemplifies the path we follow today hoping to make the same mistakes with different results.

An excerpt from a local Wisconsin newspaper circa 1934.

With growing talk of fascism, communism and socialism as a remedy for world troubles we as a nation, should not lose sight of one outstanding fact, namely that we, the people of the United States are the government no other form of government ever gave such complete control to “the people” as does our own Constitution

We have no ruling class here that is necessary to revolt against in order to protect ourselves. By the ballot, we the people have the power to express our views in a more emphatic, orderly and speedily manner than can ever be accomplished by force in these days of unrest and discontent we should remember these facts. We should appreciate the great government that we have. We should get down on our knees and offer a prayer of thankfulness that our ancestors, through trial and suffering, created a constitutional form of government that gives each and every one of us the greatest liberty and equality of opportunity of any people in the world

Our Constitution is the poor man’s greatest heritage and the rich man’s only protection.

You see in just our lifetime there were those who were attempting to bring “change”. We are fortunate today that very little of that radical change ever materialized. Had it materialized, the next article that I present comes from the Russian newspaper Pravda and was written by a writer who lived through the socialist adventures of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and experiment of Marxist revolution in a country without a strong constitution and little knowledge of history. I think you’ll be very surprised and very awakened by what this man has to say.

American capitalism gone with a whimper

27.04.2009 Source:

Pravda.Ru

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

American_capitalism It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power.

Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America. The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too.

Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Second thoughts

2010-08-29T17:31:00.002-05:00

Just how concerned are you about the Marxist run of Obama?

By Lou Pritchett, Procter & Gamble

A LETTER FROM A PROCTER AND GAMBLE EXECUTIVE TO THE PRESIDENT*

THE LAST SENTENCE IS THE MOST CHILLING

Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management.. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.

AN OPEN LETTER TO
PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike
any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive
Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no
visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth
growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus
don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned
yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to
publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail..

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America '
crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style
country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system
with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly
capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose
that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of
living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics
against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from
challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider
opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both
omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything
you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the
Limbaugh's, Hannity's, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing,
conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will
probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett
*
*
This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it.
Big surprise. Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over
500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed
is that good men do nothing. It's happening right now.*
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp

Is permiting a mosque at ground zero really showing our tollerance toward religion?

2010-08-24T11:27:00.008-05:00

Religious Freedom?

A reprint of an article by Brigitte Gabriel a Muslim woman from Lebanon. Her story may cause us to rethink our strong desire to show the world our tolerance of religion but rather show our compassion for the families of the victims of religious intolerance in the demolition of the Twin Towers in New York on 911.

learn more about Brigitte Gabriel at http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/welcome-to-act-for-america

I grew up in Lebanon when Islamic militants, in league with Palestinian followers of Yasser Arafat, tore our beautiful country apart.
As a result, from age 10 to 17 I lived in a bomb shelter beneath my family’s bombed out home.
I know what Islamic terror is. I have lived through it. And after 9/11, I made a promise to myself that I would do whatever I could to ensure that radical Islam and the terror it produces would not do to my adopted country, America, what it did to my country of birth.
This is why I founded American Congress for Truth in 2002.
It didn’t take me long to realize that America is not only threatened by radical Islam, Islamic terror, and “cultural Jihad.” We are also threatened by a festering political correctness that is unwilling or unable to identify and define the threat we face.
If we don't win the war against Islamofascism other issues won't matter at all.
• We won't have an economy to worry about.
• We won't have equal rights for all.
• We won't have our cherished freedom.
• And we will live under Shariah Law.

Lest you be tempted to think this is an exaggeration, consider this.
There are dozens of terrorist sleeper cells in cities throughout America.
Hundreds of mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) in America house materials that call for Jihad against non-Muslims and the overthrow of America’s constitutional system of government, to be replaced by Islamic Shariah law.

Numerous cities in Great Britain have officially recognized Shariah law and Shariah courts, creating a dangerous precedent for other Western democracies. In fact, there is at least one instance in America where a court referred a dispute between Muslims to an “Islamic court.”
Shariah-compliant financial products are now offered by numerous American financial institutions.

Over two dozen Islamic charities have been identified by our government as having ties to terrorists and terrorist organizations. In late 2008, leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, and American Islamic charity, were found guilty on 108 counts related to funneling contributions to terrorists.

Americans – and freedom-loving people everywhere -- must awaken to the threat of radical Islam, which may well be the greatest existential threat to safety and liberty of the 21st century. Jihad has been declared on Christians, Jews, non-Muslims and secularists worldwide by Islamic radicals...simply because we are infidels according to their belief.
This “jihad” can take on many forms – from violent terrorism to societal subversion through the vehicle of “cultural jihad.”

As America stood up against and defeated Nazism and Communism -- now is the time to stand up and stare down the evil of religious hatred, bigotry and intolerance.
This begins with knowledge. As you become informed, find out how you can take action by visiting the website of ACT! for America, http://www.actforamerica.org.

Together we can save our country and our freedom. Together we can fight for the values of Western Civilization that have produced opportunity, prosperity, peace and liberty wherever those values are practiced. You are the heroes who make our work possible.

I especially thank you for helping me protect the country that has blessed me so much --America, the dream that became my address.
Brigitte Gabriel

The IRS is ready are you?

2010-08-20T19:53:00.004-05:00

On January 1, 2011, the largest tax hikes in the history of America
will take effect.
They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves.
On January 1, 2011, here’s what happens...
(read it to the end, so you see all three waves)...

First Wave:

Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.

These will all expire on January 1, 2011.

Personal income tax rates will rise.

The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).

The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.

All the rates in between will also rise.

Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.

The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

• The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
•
• The 25% bracket rises to 28%
•
• The 28% bracket rises to 31%
•
• The 33% bracket rises to 36%
•
• The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family.

The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income.

The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.

The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.
The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax.

This year only, there is no death tax. (It’s a quirk!) For those dying on or after January 1, 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes, a business, a retirementaccount, could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones. Think of the farmers who don’t make much money, but their land, which they purchased years ago with after-tax dollars, is now worth a lot of money. Their children will have to sell the farm, which may be their livelihood, just to pay the estate tax if they don’t have the cash sitting around to pay the tax. Think about your own family’s assets. Maybe your family owns real estate, or a business that doesn't make much money, but the building and equipment are worth $1 million. Upon their death, you can inherit the $1 million business tax free, but if they own a home, stock, cash worth $500K on top of the $1 million business, then you will owe the government $275,000 cash! That’s 55% of the value of the assets over $1 million! Do you have that kind of cash sitting around waiting to pay the estate tax?

Higher tax rates on savers and investors.

The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.

The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011.

These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave:

Obamacare

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:

The "Medicine Cabinet Tax"

Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The "Special Needs Kids Tax"

This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularlycruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.

There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States , and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.

Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington , D.C. ( National Child Research Center ) can easily exceed $14,000 per year.

Under tax rules, FSA dollars can not be used to pay for this type of special needs education.

The HSA (Health Savings Account) Withdrawal Tax Hike.

This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Third Wave:

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise-the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.

The major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year.

According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center , Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear.

Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000.

This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can currently expense half of their purchases of equipment.

In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.

There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced..The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.

Tax credits for education will be limited.

Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.

Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.

The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.

Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.

This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution." This ability will no longer be there.

And worse yet?

Now, your insurance will be INCOME on your W2's!

One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" healthcare legislation . . . the dupes, er, dopes, who backed this administration will be astonished!

Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort.

If you're retired? So what... your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get.

You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year.

For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse.

This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the15% that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases.

Not believing this??? Here is a research of the summaries.....

On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."

Joan Pryde is the senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters.
Go to Kiplingers and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Number 3 is what is above.

We are on a slippery slope

2010-08-05T04:08:00.002-05:00

Change in our lives many times comes on so gradually that we don't even notice. Then in a flash, we realize that things are so different and we can't believe that it has happened. Today, we seem to be awakening to the fact that our nation has made some tremendous changes and we're wondering how we got here?

In the first 200 years the United States of America produced greater wealth and prosperity than all of the rest of the world in 2000 years. Why? Because individuals were free to pursue their own individual happiness.

Throughout history, however, there have been those who have believed that government should be larger and that it should possess all power and we should be the servants of the state. I can't put my finger on a time when that transition actually begin to take place in our country. Government grew considerably during the Roosevelt administration prior to World War II. The country was slowly recovering from the Great Depression when many social programs were introduced that shifted power to the central government. This social march was interrupted by World War II. At the conclusion of World War II both Europe and Asia were in the throes of social reform. The Soviet Union regained its strength from the ravages of war and Joseph Stalin picked up the banner and tightened his grip on his subjects as he shipped his brand of communism West. His influence and his assistants very quickly transformed China into a communist state.

Post-World War II brought tremendous economic growth to our country. People had saved money throughout the war and were now ready to spend it on things they had always wanted. I guess you could say that spending money, buying homes and new automobiles was our brand of therapy to remove the scars of war. However there was another side to this story.

The Socialists were on the rise here at home as well as they were in Europe and Asia. As a matter of fact, we all remember the Army McCarthy hearings that took place when Sen. McCarthy was attempting to ferret out those socialists who had infiltrated many levels of government. His efforts may or may not have been on the mark but it does point to the fact that something was changing in our lives. At this point it did not seem obvious to the rest of us as we attempted to pursue our own lives and seek the happiness that we desired.

The Korean War was another spark to ignite the movement towards Socialism in America. We were involved in the conflict that dragged many nations into focus because of their relationship to the UN. The United Nations described this conflict as a police action however, the USA carried the burden as we always have. Between the end of that conflict and the war in Vietnam we slid back into a postwar recovery mode until the Vietnam war.

That particular war probably changed the horizon of social activity more than any single conflict this nation has faced. The streets were filled with protesters, the universities became hotbeds of anarchy and the hidden cover of the socialist movement was now in the open. The 1960s became the turning point of this nation on a very steady march to socialism. We no longer hid our socialist tendencies under a bushel.

Many tools were employed to make this transformation. The environment is one that is most obvious to all of us. It was an ideal tool to use because none of us can be opposed to keeping our surroundings clean and livable. Consequently this was a movement that could be used by government to garner more power than from any other single activity.

Many argued that free people in the pursuit of their happiness were polluting the environment. Therefore, government had to restrain the activity of people to save the earth. That activity like all of the rest was insidious. It shifted us a little at a time. Today when we hear so much about Cap and Trade. We are told that we have been terrible people because we have used so much of the resources of the earth and polluted it so badly that we now have to cut back on or use of these resources. And if we don't we will be taxed tremendously for their. If you want to cut back on the use of any product, service or activity you begin by making people poor so they can afford it. That is exactly what this program will do.

Other devices have been employed to control people and move the balance of power to a central government. Another example of control term “political correctness”. Political correctness is been a tool very effectively used to curtail freedom of speech. These things I have mentioned have been long-term slow-growing tools of those who believe the power of our lives belongs to a central government.

There are several things that are paramount to move a nation to the left. Number one, you must control capital and we see this happening on a daily basis. In the last two years we have seen Wall Street maligned, our banking system decimated resulting in economic chaos like we have not seen before. Number two, controlling production is essential to the power and control of a central government. As we look at the automobile industry it becomes clear that the government is moving steadfastly in this direction. The third and most important requirement is to control the population.

Population control can be the result of many activities that are regulated under the guise of something altogether different. We now hear that we must control the Internet. Of course we must control the Internet if we are to have a strong central government that speaks for all of us with one voice. Talk radio is another target of our present administration. There has been talk of a “bailout” for newspapers. Should that take place, the freedom of the press will become only four words and have no meaning whatsoever. Napoleon once said that he would rather face 10,000 swords than three newspapers. I think we can see why it's so important for government to control the press. The most critical population control devices so far has been the embryonic national healthcare system. The government will eventually force you into this system whether you like it or not and will require you to pay for the pleasure of doing it.

Wouldn't we all like to believe that these actions taken by those we have elected are for our benefit and to make our lives better? That is not the case at all, but rather a shift of the diminishing wealth of our nation from the private sector to government. That means simply that those in power have the wealth and we produce it only if we are able.

As dire as all of this looks I really believe the nation is awakening. I am reminded of the statement made by admiral Yamamoto as he steamed toward Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He said “I think we have awakened a sleeping giant”. I hope that is exactly what has happened in the last two years. I do believe that we are becoming wise, more educated and ready to meet the threat that faces us.

This fall we have the opportunity to go to the polls and do what we have done for over 200 years and that is to clearly tell government what their powers will be and what their powers will not be. It is our choice to make and we can make it or we can continue on the slippery slope that we are on today.

2010-08-02T10:53:00.000-05:00

I bet you thought it was a dream

Title IX Revenue Provisions—Subtitle A: Revenue Offset
"(Sec. 9002) Requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee
the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored group health coverage
that is excludable from the employee's gross income (excluding the value of
contributions to flexible spending arrangements)."

Starting in 2011—next year—the W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be
increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are provided.
It doesn't matter if you're retired. Your gross income WILL go up by the amount
of insurance your employer paid for. So you’ll be required to pay taxes on a larger
sum of money that you actually received. Take the tax form you just finished for
2009 and see what $15,000.00 or $20,000.00 additional gross income does to
your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year. For many it puts you into a
much higher bracket. This is how the government is going to buy insurance for
fifteen (15) percent that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases,
but it's not really a "tax increase" as such, it a redefinition of your taxable income.

Also, go to Kiplinger's and read about the thirteen (13) tax changes for 2010 that
could affect you.

Why am I sending you this? The same reason I hope you forward this to every
single person in your address book. People have the right to know the truth because
an election is coming in November. So vote intelligently, based on your values.
But also adjust your tax withholding, or increase your savings, so that you aren't
surprised and put in a jam when your federal income taxes are due on April 15, 2012.

Fight organized crime! Re-elect no one.

2010-06-22T11:04:00.001-05:00

BUST BIG OIL

You don’t like BP (British Petroleum); in fact you are not too happy with any oil company. after all they are nothing but big rip-off, price gouging, profiteering behemoths taking advantage of the driving public. It’s time something is done.

It’s time we take the bull by the horn and do something. For example, we could join Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton in their boycott of BP gas stations. That would directly attack the American family that makes a living from the gas station. I’m talking about those people who buy homes, automobiles send their children to school take vacations and pay taxes, they can find something else to do. They need not be messengers for big oil money.

A boycott and government pressure combined would put the squeeze on oil refineries as well, like those in Texas City and Indiana that refine these products. Just like the retail operators these people would feel our wrath and learn the consequences of being a front for oil tycoons. We can’t stop now; we must take giant steps in this battle for economic fairness and protect our environment at the same time.

The whole petrochemical industry, the polluters of our atmosphere, must be taken to task as well. They will be reigned in after we curtail oil production and limit its use pretty much to government and law enforcement purposes.

Blacktop on our roadways is a wasteful use of petroleum and a heath hazard as well. Plastic, another item of petroleum derivatives that clogs our waste system is a big problem. Electrical wire covering made of plastic is a big user of oil. Let’s go back to old-fashioned rubber and cotton covering. Speaking of cotton and wool they covered our bodies for centuries. Why then must we insist on miracle fabrics made from petroleum? I can think of so many things we simply can eliminate to bring our grievances to bear on those fat cats. Propane, some medicines, ink, lubricants, pantyhose and the list goes on and on. We did without all this before and we can do it again. Building materials, this computer I am using and so many other things can be dumped for the sake of making them pay. The oil companies are responsible for our problems and we have every right to make them step back and learn a lesson.

Your government is doing all it can to solve this problem and they need our help and need it now. They have put a moratorium on deep water drilling but are not too concerned about the Chinese doing it in the gulf, likely because we owe them so much money. The moratorium will help but the thing that really will hit them on the chin is the 20 billion in shakedown money the administration bled from BP. Good for them.

That 20 billion is to be used to ease the pain and suffering of those folks on the gulf coast. I think it might at that. I don’t believe this administration would use any of that 20B to buy votes in November, do you?

2010-05-16T05:36:00.001-05:00

The price of Tomatoes

I have no idea who the author of the following is but nevertheless, it is pretty much factual and we need to be reminded of the mess we have allowed ourselves to be lured into.

CHEAP TOMATOES?  This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent  From a California school teacher - - -  

"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic  and income levels

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc.., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.   Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten.  

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for theunwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids.

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing  funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America .. 

I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less than 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" (whores ) and throwing things, that the teachers were in tears.   

Free medical, free education, free food, day care, etc., etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled not only to be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements? 

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.  

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.   

Americans, We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?  

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about "political correctness " that we don't have the will to do anything about it. 

If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know including your Congressmen and Senators.  

CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about? 
Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.  
Consumers don't want expensive produce.
Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs.

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth ,   a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor."

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no   income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return,   he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.  

       He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.
       He qualifies for food stamps..
       He qualifies for free (no deductible),  no co-pay) health care.
       His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.
       He requires bilingual teachers and books.
       He qualifies for relief from high energy bills..
       If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled , they qualify for SSI.   Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare .   All of this is at
TAXPAYER'S EXPENSE

He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance. Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.   He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits. Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills AND his.

The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.
Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!

THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY. 'AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!'  

2010-05-15T05:55:00.004-05:00

You pay to help the hangman
tie the noose

L.A. teacher calling for a Communist Revolution against America

If you got through the video without throwing up, You have just seen a Communist teacher in Los Angeles, indoctrinating and inciting students, to revolt against the United States supported by, U.S Tax payers.

His name is Ronald Gochez, unarguably, a Communist.
I believe he should be FIRED and BARRED from any position where he comes in contact with young impressionable minds.
You can call Ramon C. Cortinez, School Superintendent at (213) 241-7000 or email him at communications@lausd.net
It is my understanding May 12, 2010 an emergency meeting was being held to decide what to do with Mr. Gochez.

2010-05-02T20:47:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine writes for two news papers and presents his points very well. So many of know so little of our president and his background it is difficult to get a firm grip on his direction of travel. Gary Meinert does it very well. Following is one of his recent articles appearing in the Green Valley Arizona news.

From the president’s playbook…….the fifth rule

On December 16, 1773, a band of “radicals” calling themselves Sons of Liberty, climbed aboard East India Company ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The act protested the tyrannical rule and oppressive taxation policies of the British Crown. They were patriots and still revered!

Similar bonfires of freedom have begun to blaze across our nation, and this movement has grown to a conflagration not seen in this country since the days of anti-segregation marches. Just as there were those who protested the tyrannical rule and oppressive taxation of the British Crown, there are millions today who oppose the Obama regime and its attempts to transform this country.

The tea party movement has grown exponentially. Its members and message have been attacked viciously by the left, its complicit media, and those who are part of the Obama regime. The basis and methods of this strategy comes from the book, “Rules for Radicals, authored by Saul Alinsky, a Communist Community Organizer who died in 1972. His son, David, is heir to his legacy, and in deference to his father, is referred to as Saul.

Alinsky’s fifth rules states: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage. This rule is used to mock, ridicule, distort, and marginalize an opponent. It is the primary tool used to combat anything the left cannot win in a debate such as; the rise of Sarah Palin and her popularity; The Fox News Network; talk radio, and the tea party movement. Obama has been a longtime follower of Alinsky’s teaching and a close friend of his son, David, who praised Obama by saying, “Obama learned his lesson well.” Saul Alinsky would be proud of his prize student.

Using Alinsky’s fifth rule, the liberal/socialists refer to those participating in the tea parties as poorly educated, angry, old, unpatriotic, poor, racists and dangerous. This act of demonizing dissent, straight out of the Alinsky playbook, is the only tool in their arsenal. Rather than debate the issues, demonization, ridicule, and the attempt to minimize the impact is used. The latest poll by the New York Times/ CBS show those who attend the rallies are more educated and wealthier than those in the same demographics.

The state media and members of Congress are fanning the flames attempting to link those who attend rallies as racists, homophobes, hate mongers, and bomb throwers. Following are just four of dozens of examples.

“The group in Washington fighting against the health care bill and fighting against the president looked just like and sounded like those groups that attacked the civil rights movement in the south”. Rep. Charlie Rangel

“What are the tea partiers really angry about? Health care reform or the fact that it was an African-American president and a woman Speaker of the House who pushed through major change?” Chis Matthews MSNBC

“The conjunction of a black president, a female Speaker of the House, topped off by a wise Latina on the Supreme Court and a powerful gay Congressional committee chairman, would sow fears of disenfranchisement among a dwindling and threatened minority in the country no matter what policies were in play.” N.Y. Times columnist Frank Rich

Jason Levin bragged about his “infiltrators” of the Tea Party protests by saying “you might see some of my people dressed in Nazi uniforms and yelling racist, anti-Semitic or offensive comments to reflect on the [true] protesters.” (See crashtheteaparaty.org)

Remember Cindy Sheehan? The signs portraying Bush as Hitler. The film made suggesting his assassination. Remember all the signs calling for his death. Remember the hate speech that filled the air outside his ranch in Crawford Texas.

President Obama, who one would think was elected to represent all the people again lowered himself and the office of the presidency to the depths of condescension when on tax day, he marginalized a group of citizens by saying the tea partiers “amused” him. Latest polls indicate that 24% of Americans identify themselves with those who amuse him! What a great leader of all the people!

Contrary to what the liberal press and the socialist regime in Washington call them, the peaceful, civic minded and civil tea partiers are a cross section of Americans who are fed up with big government, uncontrolled debt, rising taxes, decimation of the Constitution, and a president who either won’t listen to his people or doesn’t care what they say. This is a president who is following the teachings of Saul Alinsky, and is currently implementing the Fifth Rule.

The following quotation could have been written by those in the tea party movement: “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win” Gandhi

Gary Meinert

2010-04-26T05:02:00.001-05:00

The real truth and the Mexican Border

Anyone who believes that t that the border problems between the United States and Mexico are overrated or contrived is simply someone who has been informed only by the so-called mainstream media.

I have a friend who spends the winter's in Arizona near Tucson near the Mexican border. A number of years ago he became involved with a group who monitored border crossings of illegal immigrants and during those years he has given speeches and radio programs. He has attempted to tell as he sees it. I'm including here a link to his blog. http://borderissues.us/ I think you'll find it a place where you get a much different perspective than you ever will in the media.

After reviewing this blog I'm sure that you will agree with me that this issue is extremely serious and that it will not go away with a simple flourish of a pen on an amnesty bill signed by the president. This hemorrhage will not stop as long as the Mexican government does not cooperate and in some cases encourages flight by its citizens across the border. Take a look.

A layup area where stopped while transiting the border

2010-04-19T23:11:00.004-05:00

The red light camera
the leak in the dike

2010-04-19T15:54:00.001-05:00

I have no idea who the author of this is but it is so right and so timely. America What did you do?

So, Let's Recap "2009".........what a year

1. The American people inaugurate a half-Arab Muslim president with a total of 142 days experience as a US Senator from the most politically corrupt state (city) in America whose governors have been ousted from office. The President's first official act is to order the close of Gitmo and make sure terrorists civil rights are not violated.
(honest mistake?)

2. The U.S. Congress rushes to confirm a black Attorney General, Eric Holder, whose law firm we later find out represents seventeen Gitmo Terrorists. (An honest mistake?!)

3. The CIA Boss appointee, Leon Panetta, has absolutely no experience, has a daughter Linda, we find out, who is a true radical anti-American activist and a supporter of all the Anti-American regimes in the western hemisphere. (There were socio-economic factors involved!)

4. We got the second most corrupt American woman (Pelosi is #1) as Secretary of State; bought and paid for. (You can put lipstick on a pig, but it still stinks!)

5. We got a Tax Cheat for Treasury Secretary who did not properly file his own taxes for 12 years. (He misspoke!)

6. A Commerce Secretary nominee who withdrew due to corruption charges. (Another honest mistake???)

7. A Tax cheat nominee for Chief Performance Officer who withdrew under charges. (Hmmm... another screw-up?)

8. A Labor Secretary nominee who withdrew under charges of unethical conduct. (Ok, maybe this person was just plain stupid.)

9. A Secretary HHS nominee (Daschle) who withdrew under charges of cheating on his taxes. (I'm running out of excuses for these idiots!!)

10. Multiple appointments of former lobbyists after an absolute campaign statement that no lobbyists would be appointed.
(Dear God, I am getting a headache!)

All this occurred just during the first three weeks. . . but who's counting?

America is being run by the modern-day Three Stooges ; Barry, Nancy and Harry and they are still trying to define stimulus..."it's spending!!!"

The congress passes the $800,000,000,000 (that's $800 billion) pork-loaded spending bill where the government gives you a smidgen of your tax dollars ($13 per week), making you feel so good about yourself [stimulated], that you want to run out to Wal-Mart and buy a new Chinese-made HDTV and go home and watch Telemundo!

Here's the good news though - Obama took Air Force One to Denver to sign the stimulus package, wasting as much as 10,000 gallons of fuel OR 24 JOBS FOR ONE YEAR.

Don't you just love hypocrites?

Obama went to the International Olympic Committee to have them choose Chicago for a host city, he failed.

Obama went to Copenhagen to lecture them on global warming, he failed.

Obama went to new Jersey to promote the Democratic candidate for governor, he failed,

Obama went to Virginia to promote the Democratic candidate for governor, he failed.

Obama went to Massachusetts to promote the Democratic candidate for senator, he failed.

Speaking of praying, Obama has now been president for a full year and yet he & wife (first lady) Michelle,the Christian family they claim to be, have not attended church since the inauguration.

Obama is the 1st president in history who did not attend any Christmas religious observance.

He was the first president to miss the Army & Navy Football game.

He must miss Reverend Wright!

And finally, he is the 1st president to remain on vacation after a terrorist attack. In these times 'I'll keep my God, my freedom, my gun and my money. Anyone that supports this insanity can keep "THE CHANGE".

2010-04-13T13:42:00.001-05:00

It's only the begining

Let’s take a trip to fantasy land.

Rather than tax businesses and corporations more heavily what would happen if we gave them tax credits for contributions to education? What might happen if they lowered the tax on corporations and businesses substantially so that we would once again be able to compete on the world market? Those things would create jobs but wouldn’t buy votes. Would it be a disaster, or hazardous to our health and welfare if we were to simply make deep cuts in /the number of so-called protective agencies? I don’t think it would, rather it would allow us to pursue our own endeavors more economically and produce wealth. Producing wealth would attract investment and as a result pension plans and personal savings would increase proportionally thereby being a “real” stimulus package.

As we continue our fantasy trip we would see the so-called “entitlement” programs evaporating leaving change in our pockets to pay our bills.The problem there is that it would turn hordes of voters away from incumbents and we certainly can’t allow that. There are so many more things that we could do to trim government down to size, Government should be something we can afford and one that provides the space we need to be industrious and productive.

Now back to reality.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the tax bite is going to be increasing dramatically in the months and the years to come. There is no way that the present tax system will produce enough revenue to pay for the promises that have already been made and new sources of revenue are going to be the rule of the day in Washington and in the state houses across the nation.

The income tax is an extremely regressive tax. The greater the tax bite costs and unemployment rises and this results in reduced revenue to government.. Simply put means that government has to increase the tax rate to have the same income from a smaller pocket book. We will not just feel a pinch from higher income taxes but higher costs and new taxes will strangle our economy even more.

Throughout the summer and prior to the November elections, we’re going to see a flurry and a flourish of activity designed to make a lion look like a sheep. We are experiencing that in spades as this article is being written. A nuclear summit hosted by our president in Washington DC including (Britain and Australia excepted) numerous nations around the world is being heralded as a showpiece by the Obama administration to make the point that he is interested in protecting us from harm. I may be wrong but it seems to me that the atomic bomb had a great deal to do with the formation of the United Nations and has been a centerpiece of their rhetoric for all these years. So what’s new?

Earlier on our fantasy trip I referred to reducing regulatory agencies. That is simply not the case in this administration. On the contrary, approximately 140 new agencies will be added to oversee all aspects of the new, so-called, health bill. That’s certainly is not a cut and regulatory agencies but a dramatic increase.

On the subject of taxes we will hear very little until November and after that Lookout. We will see in this nation a VAT (value added tax) which simply translated means a federal sales tax on every item and on many services that you receive. This tax is also referred to as an “ad valorem” tax meaning that each individual that handles a product or service from inception to delivery pays a tax on the added value and that tax is passed along to the consumer. This is a very common tax in many European nations.

We might say that the VAT might be a good idea if they were to eliminate or reduce corporate and individual income taxes however, you know that is very unlikely. We have reached a point in our history where nearly 50% of our population pays no tax and yet receives a refund on unearned income. You need not be an economist nor a scientist to realize that when one half of our population lives on the labor of the other half and the number of non producers is increasing every day, sooner or later we will reach the point of no return.

We all asked the same question, what can we do. I think there is only one thing we can do and that one thing is reality a long shot. We must vote out many incumbents and be very careful who we select to replace them. This is not as easy as it sounds because incumbents are well aware of the fact that those to whom they have granted all of these perks are not going to be happy if they don’t continue to receive them. We already hear those recipients squealing as a few elected officials who have intestinal fortitude indicated these programs must be cut or drastically reduced. At first glance we might say ignore their squealing however, the reality is that most of them vote and the rest of us don’t.

Consider these questions in November and let’s try to take this country back and once again let those who work and produce the wealth make the rules.

2010-04-12T10:41:00.003-05:00

Socializing Oil

I highly doubt there was ever any question in anyone's mind that this administration is hell-bent on nationalizing the monetary system, production and population control. Recently in a House hearing the following was recorded. Use your own judgment and answer your own questions.

2010-02-28T17:22:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine. Gary Meinert who resides in Tuscon AZ in the winter and Boulder Junction WI in the summer writes comums for news papers in both communities. Gary has great insight and reflects the feelings of so many of us. I have taken the liberty to publish one of his latest because I think he is right.

A Proud Tea Partier Thanks Obama

America has rarely witnessed a momentous or important a political event than the ascendancy of Barack Obama to the Presidency. For it, many citizens of this nation owe him debt of gratitude. More later on the definition of gratitude as it applies to this event.

Candidate Obama promised “Hope and Change” to an army of devotees drawn to a charisma hiding any real substance or achievement. They embraced, what would become unfulfilled promises of healthcare reform, bipartisanship, transparency, absence of lobbyists, withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, closing of Guantanamo, cuts in spending and elimination of “Pork” packed legislation, improvements in education, lower taxes and a balanced budget.

Grave concerns began surfacing to those who listened closely to his words. Obama said “I will fundamentally transform America”. Americans found this of concern and wondered about the audacity of a man with absolutely no executive experience to make such a brash statement. Not coincidentally, Saul Alinsky, Obama’s close friend and fellow radical “community organizer”, preached the same ideology in his book, Rules for Radicals. It worried us that our new president seemed to be no more than a Jesse Jackson-style activist, but with oratory skills which, with his friend Alinsky, had been spawned in the cesspool of Chicago politics. Thank you President Obama.

When President Obama took the oath of office he swore, “…..to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution….” Yet previously on a number of occasions, he had stated: “[The Constitution]…is a charter of negative liberty”. His sworn oath apparently was just meaningless words.

The radical nature of Obama’s agenda became clearer when we witnessed the cabinet appointments of radicals and those of over 30 Czars who answered only to him. Tax cheats, radicals and cronies with little background in their appointed roles surged into the administration. Americans heard a wake-up call.

Using Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to complete his American version of a troika, he continued his plans to socialize our nation, beginning with our health care system. His preoccupation with this goal trumped the more urgent matter of the economy and creation of jobs. After 411 televised speeches promoting his version of healthcare, the citizen’s gag reflexes reacted to having it jammed down their throats and said enough! The awakening gained momentum.

An exploding national debt resembling a Madoff ponzi scheme fueled a reaction by the citizens not seen for decades. That concern and the proposed Obamacare plan became a catalyst for what is now known as the Tea Party movement. Celebrating the rights of free speech and assembly, it began with small gatherings all across America until it grew to millions of citizens. The administration and critics’ response was to ridicule their fellow citizens by referring to them as, un-American, an unruly mob, and domestic terrorists. This was their only option because there were no leaders they could attack personally. The mainstream media followed this lead and many of them did not cover these events, but insulted the attendees as well. The momentum continued and more and more people joined the chorus of voices and expressed their concerns.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife explained the left’s dilemma. She said,

“The establishment is afraid of the grassroot patriots because they don’t know what to think of them or how to deal with them. They have no leader, they are all leaders, they are everywhere, and they are not going away.”

The Tea Party movement supports any candidate who believes in smaller federal government, lower taxes, reduction in national debt and adherence to the Constitution. While respecting the office of the President, they are repudiating the man who occupies the oval office. Had Diogenes left the streets of Athens in search of an honest man, and visited Jefferson, Wisconsin, his quest would have been rewarded. An African American man from Milwaukee came to this small town to be part of the protest. As he proudly joined the Tea Party he displayed his handmade sign that said, “Blame me, I voted for the bastard”. This frustrated man resorted to using harsh words to express his disdain for the man whom he had voted. He is only one of a diverse group of patriotic Americans who are sincerely concerned about the direction of the country.

The administration’s socialist policies are bad, but the principals behind them are worse. They represent a return to the idea that the American Revolution repudiated: The idea that some are equipped by nature or training to manage the lives of others without their consent. There is an inane view that this administration of average career politicians and cronies possess an acuity greater than that of the combined whole of 300 million citizens.

Read the words of Abraham Lincoln from 1864

“We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others, the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name – Liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names – liberty and tyranny.”

The ascendancy of Barrack Obama to the Presidency of the United States of America has stirred a slumbering populous that in the past has been complacent and uninvolved. With his ineptness as a leader, and failed policies based on far left and radical policies, we are grateful to President Obama for awakening America.

We have let it be known that we are willing to be governed by patriots, not by tyrants. Millions will continue to mobilize for the purpose of taking back this great democratic country.

“The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress”

Frederick Douglas

Respectfully Submitted

Gary Meinert

2010-02-22T21:27:00.001-06:00

DO WE REALLY KNOW THIS MAN?

There is no end to the moves Obama will take to force his agenda on the American people. At this point it should be perfectly obvious that Americans simply do not want any form of federal health care. Nevertheless, he takes every step possible to force the issue. One has to ask why?

I think the answer to the question “why” is quite clear. The president is an ideologue, the product of William Ayers and Saul Alinsky, his Communist mentors. There are those who question the motives of Obama, they ask, “what’s in it”,” who’s making a killing” and “who’s getting rich”? I don’t believe that any of the above are what motivates Obama. His socialist ideology, which he has made very clear all throughout his political life and before is the driving force behind this man and it is not transparent. He is extremely clever and is capable of saying just exactly what people want to hear but he reminds me of a magician who has you watching his hand while he pulls a rabbit out of his ear.

Obama wasted little time after his inauguration to begin implementing his socialist agenda. First was to control capital. He made a fast and clean cut to the jugular of the nation’s major financial institutions. Second he moved quickly to secure a major portion of production namely, Chrysler and General Motors. It must be noted that his guillotine struck directly at the stockholders and handed their investment to the labor union. Nationalizing capital and production is a cornerstone of socialist conversion.It seems that Congress was totally oblivious to what was happening and climbed on the administration bandwagon as though it were a camel headed for the promised land.

The third ingredient necessary for the transformation of a capitalist society to socialism is to capture the population in one fashion or another. In the case of this administration it seemed that the ideal cause would be nationalized healthcare. This was a song that played well in some areas but not very well in others. This country has the most advanced, the most modern and the most available healthcare in the entire world. There may be some shortcomings in the system but I would dare say that most of those shortcomings are the result of intervention and manipulation that the government has already accomplished. To solve the problems involved in our medical distribution system we need to first look at government bureaucracy and shave that down to size.

It is quite obvious that the American people simply do not want any form of national health insurance. President Obama and his band of brothers are insistent upon forcing the issue. Now remember, as I mentioned earlier, you just cannot tell what this man is going to do next although, you may be quite certain that he is not going to waver from his course of complete socialism.

Because the political wind blew in the wrong direction in Massachusetts and several other states making the Senate look like it might not be as friendly to his health-care bill as it had been in the past. Now he has a new trick up his sleeve. He will now have a plan introduced that will be chained to the budget bill which does not need more than a majority to pass. No super majority and no filibuster can stop it. So you see, this man is bent on having his own way and will do so at any cost.

Things in his past that have troubled me greatly are several. One being the fact that he was seen not saluting the flag of the United States. Another was the fact that he has been all over the world decrying America. Apologizing for us and I don’t think any apologies are necessary for this nation and particularly coming from the President of the United States. I noted that he did not apologize for America while standing amid the grave markers of thousands of young men who went away to protect freedom in a foreign land and never returned. For that we should apologize? I don’t think so.

I believe that Obama’s upbringing and his tutoring by the remnants of the 60s communists and anarchists have left this man with a hatred of the country over which he presides. I am certain he believes that capitalism is the opiate of the working class and that he has been sent and charged with the responsibility of changing that. One thing is certain his closest associate, his wife, made the statement during his campaign that this was the first time in her life that she was proud to be an American. Those may not have been Barack’s words but I would wager that at one time or another they were pillow talk.

“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”
Samuel Adams 1776.

2010-01-19T21:05:00.001-06:00

Congratulations Senator Brown

Today January 19, 2010 history was made in Massachusetts with the election of Scott Brown a Republican and the first Republican to be elected senator from Massachusetts since 1972. This is not only a landmark for the Republican Party in the state of Massachusetts but it is a hallmark for the United States of America.

On the eve of Barack Obama's first year in office the biggest defeat of his tenure has been handed to him on a platter. The people across America have spoken and will continue to speak in the future to send a message to the administration that radical socialism is not what Americans want. The Democrats hold on the U.S. Senate has been broken and the chances are good that the balance of power in the House of Representatives will face a similar defeat.

Three years ago Barack Obama hailed the Internet as a tool for his whirlwind campaign and his ultimate elevation to the office of president of the United States. I wonder what he thinks of the Internet today because it is certainly a fact that this medium has had a tremendous effect on the election in Massachusetts and will have a similar impact upon the rest of the nation.

From all of us across the country Scott Brown "Sen. Brown" we applaud you and we stand behind you. America is speaking.

2010-01-19T07:40:00.001-06:00

IT IS WAR AND NOTHING ELSE

Jihad is a word that we all hear frequently but do we really understand its meaning? The meaning of jihad is described in Arabic as follows “a holy war undertaken by Muslims against unbelievers”. I believe that this declaration of war is something that we should take very seriously and treat it as a war.

Last month the 23-year-old Nigerian named, Abdul Mudallad was taken into custody at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. According to statements by the press he received training by Al Qaeda in Yemen and was given instructions on how to detonate a bomb that he concealed in his underwear.

It appears that this young man boarded an aircraft in Lagos Nigeria and transferred to a Northwest flight in Amsterdam bound for Detroit. Security missed him in Amsterdam and it is reported that he was not on any terrorist watch list however, it has later been learned that he was on a watch list but not the one being used by the authorities in Amsterdam. Abdul’s father had notified authorities that he was concerned about his sons radical behavior and was afraid that he may become involved in terrorist activity against the US.

In spite of the warnings and the knowledge that this individual posed a threat no action was taken against him and he was allowed to board the flight in Amsterdam. When approaching the Detroit metropolitan area this passenger attempted to ignite the explosives that he was carrying in his underwear but much to his surprise the explosive did not detonate but rather sent him on fire. Passengers subdued him and the crew declared an emergency and landed at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport without further incident.

This was an incident that could have been extremely serious but because of a fluke his attempt to blow up aircraft was a failure. I don’t really believe that all of the faults surrounding the safety and the security either in Lagos or Amsterdam are as much of a concern as the handling of this passenger after he was arrested.

This passenger admitted ties to Al Qaeda and that in itself makes him a Jihadist meaning that he is a soldier and a member of an army that has declared war on the West. He was arraigned in a US court and will be given the same consideration as a common thief. In my opinion, this man should be removed from US soil and tried by a military tribunal. Simply because these soldiers don’t wear uniforms and mingle among us using terror as their weapon makes them an enemy, a soldier and they should be a prisoner of war.

I have the same feelings concerning the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay who are being moved to New York to stand trial in our court system. Once again, they are soldiers and not common criminals consequently, they should not be afforded the accommodations of our courts.

There are those who argue that we don’t treat prisoners that way. They claim our laws and our treatment of prisoners stands way above that of a military tribunal. Under normal circumstances I would agree but when we capture prisoners of war they should be treated as such. To dilute our system of jurisprudence by offering foreign fighters the benefit of a civil court is a travesty.

I’m sure that we all remember the war trials at Nuremberg. Those were prisoners who had declared war on the free world and were tried by the same people who faced the muzzle of their guns and the gas of their extermination camps. Tthat was a military tribunal.

I say try this guy along with the rest of them in Guantánamo Bay Cuba and not in Michigan, New York or Illinois.

How Liberals fight those they fear

2009-11-24T18:04:00.002-06:00

Liberals fight in ways that are difficult for most of us to comprehend. They seldom counter or support a position with facts or philosophy but rather with slander and attempt to demoralize their target.

They have done a fine job of doing exactly that with Sarah Palin. This video is likely the best dichotomy I have seen. This is well worth the few minutes it takes to watch it.

2009-11-24T13:13:00.002-06:00

What will the socialist health bill do to Americans?
by
Stephen E. Fraser, MD
2001 West 86th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46260

Dr. Fraser's letter to Senator Bayh

July 23, 2009

Senator Bayh,

As a practicing physician I have major concerns with the healthcare
bill before Congress. I actually have read the bill and am shocked by
the brazenness of the government's proposed involvement in the patient
physician relationship. The very idea that the government will dictate
and ration patient care is dangerous and certainly not helpful in
designing a healthcare system that works for all. Every physician I
work with agrees that we need to fix our healthcare system, but the
proposed bills currently making their way through congress will be a
disaster if passed.

I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the
following troubling lines that I have read in the bill. You cannot
possibly believe that these proposals are in the best interests of the
country and our fellow citizens.

Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will audit books of all employers that self insure!!

Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!

Page 42 of HC Bill:The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you. You have no choice!

Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to individuals finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct access to you ur banks accounts for elective funds transfer.

Page 65 Sec 164: is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations: (ACORN).

Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the Exchange.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example - Translation: illegal aliens.

Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members - your Health care WILL be rationed.

Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

Page 124 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monopoly.

Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors/ American Medical Association - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make! (salary)

Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE!

Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Page 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.

Page 150 Lines 9-13: Business's with payroll btw 251k & 401k who doesn't provide public option pays 2-6% tax on all payroll.

Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC according to Government will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

Page 195 HC Bill: Officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans finances /personal records.

Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that!

Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors, low income and poor are affected.

Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors, doesn't matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same!

Page 253 Line 10-18: Govt sets value of Doctor's time, proffession, judgment etc. Literally value of humans.

Page 265 Sec 1131: Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.

Page 268 Sec 1141: Federal Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151: The Govt will penalize hospitals for whatever Govt deems preventable re-admissions.

Page 298 Lines 9-11: Doctors, treat a patient during initial admission that results in a re-admission -Govt will penalize you.

Page 317 L 13-20: PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Doctors what/how much they can own!

Page 317-318 lines 21-25, 1-3: PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand.

Page 321 2-13: Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input is required. Can u say ACORN?!!

Page 335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339: Govt mandates establishment of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing.

Page 341 Lines 3-9: Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advance Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing people into Govt plan.

Page 354 Sec 1177: Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people! Unbelievable!

Page 379 Sec 1191: Govt creates more bureaucracy - Tele-health Advisory Comittee. Can you say HC by phone?

Page 425 Lines 4-12: Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life patients.

Page 425 Lines 17-19: Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!

Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3: Govt provides approved list of end
of life resources, guiding you in death. (assisted suicide)

Page 427 Lines 15-24: Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Govt has a say in how your life ends.

Page 429 Lines 1-9: An "advanced care planning consultant" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

Page 429 Lines 10-12: "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOVT!

Page 429 Lines 13-25: The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

Page 430 Lines 11-15: The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life!

Page 469: Community Based Home Medical Services = Non profit organizations. Hello, ACORN Medical Services here!!?

Page 472 Lines 14-17: PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORIGINATION. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based organization. Like ACORN?

Page 489 Sec 1308: The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt into your marriage.

Page 494-498: Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services.

Senator, I guarantee that I personally will do everything possible to
inform patients and my fellow physicians about the dangers of the
proposed bills you and your colleagues are debating.

Furthermore, If you vote for a bill that enforces socialized medicine
on the country and destroys the doctor/patient relationship, I will do
everything in my power to make sure you lose your job in the next
election.

Respectfully,

Stephen E Fraser MD

2009-11-01T10:50:00.001-06:00

Can we still prevent this
America wake up

How did we elect the most radical administration in our nation’s history?

The campaign to propel Barack Hussein Obama to the white house started long before most of us knew who he was. His background was extremely sketchy and his qualifications even less obvious, yet he swept the nation by storm in 2008. He became a media sweetheart, Americans were enamored with a man they said would bring change. The “change” that the Obama camp offered was never well defined and for good reason.

While our eyes were on the performer the stage hands were setting the scene and guiding their godchild to unprecedented heights. The candidate himself offered many veiled clues as to the direction he would lead and the “change” he had in mind but kept far enough away so you never really knew for sure what he meant.

One thing that he did display was certain disdain for America. He refused to place his hand on his heart during the National Anthem, he did not wear a flag lapel pin and his wife on two occasions stated that this was the first time in her life she was proud to be an American. He even produced some psychedelic spinning wheel to replace the presidential seal.

Obama first indicated his racist views in his remark about his grandmother being “your typical white person” and later in a book he published concerning the choices he had to make regarding race. Of course his long time friend and spiritual advisor Jeremiah Wright put the presidential hopeful in a very uncomfortable position with his famous statement “not God bless America, but God damn America.” In my opinion his position on race was benign and had little to do with his leadership agenda. I was more interested in the message he was sending concerning the fundamental social changes he and his friends had long attempted to implement. The time was right and the candidate Obama fit the bill.

The behind the scenes strategists were composed of Marxists, avowed socialists of all descriptions and they were led by a notorious cop killer and Marxist William Ayers, who saw the tool he needed in Barack Obama to “organize” the black community in Chicago, where Ayers was plying his trade.

Packaging the candidate, stealing an election in Chicago, orchestrating a media blitz and engineering a banana republic type fraud ridden election opened the way to the Whitehouse.

Now that candidate is the president and we must question where we are going. He is surrounded by extreme left cronies and has appointed many of them to critical posts and installed czars to exercise authority with impunity. Now we take three baby steps to Socialism.

The first step is to control capital: that is being done at a rapid pace. Banks are being closed and government supervision (takeover) is in progress as you read this.

Secondly, you must control production: that job is moving swiftly with a government controlled auto industry and union ownership. Government bailouts are the tool of choice to invade industry and it will continue until the mission is accomplished.

The third and final step to make this “change” complete is control the population. It’s happening. We are being kept off balance with a key controversy in the name of public health care, while Washington's left community implements more social control mechanisms.

Social management is best done with control of the media. Danger has never been as imminent as it will be when the government controls the press and that is exactly what they are proposing. Total control of the information is a necessary ingredient in a socialist society. A hit list has already been made of those in the media who oppose administration thinking and will examine every possibility to banish the dissenters from print and the airways. Fox News is presently the number one enemy of the Whitehouse.

Nothing is more critical to a regulated society than a controlled press. Napoleon said “I’d rather face ten thousand swords than three newspapers.” Obama and company plan to do what Napoleon couldn’t and that is eliminate the voice of the opposition.

In a more direct attack on dissent a Whitehouse website recently posted a request for names of folks voicing opposition to the positions of the administration. Does this sound like something you have heard someplace before? The internet is next.

You may think I am seeing ghosts or being a bit over concerned and you might be right. I went to Pravda (Russian News Service) to see if they had any views on our Socialist ride. After all who has had more experience?

A direct quote from an introduction by a writer from that paper entitled (American Capitalism Gone with a Whimper) is as follows, “It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.”

This writer further stated, “The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.”

These statements should bother all of us to the point of taking some very serious and direct action. This is an election year and the only opportunity we have to reverse course in this matter. It seems congress is totally oblivious to the calamity facing us or they are predominantly so far left they concur with what’s going on.

About one-third of the Senate will be elected in November and every member of the House of Representatives must stand for election. I have never been so blunt and straight forward regarding the election of a candidate as I am now. I would advocate sweeping with a new broom. I will not mark a ballot for change, I will mark mine to change the players.

If we don’t do what needs to be done quickly we will surly face the consequences.

2009-10-22T10:29:00.001-05:00

You can't avoid being seen

Do you sometimes feel like you’re on Candid Camera? You wonder who is watching behind the camera on the corner, in the hotel, the office, the courthouse, the parking lot? If you are somehow uncomfortable being monitored and watched you have every right to be. Unless we do something soon this personal invasion of your privacy will get worse.

We are and have been eased into this unprecedented surveillance by big brother very slowly and cautiously, it has slipped into our lives and we take it for granted. Worse yet we have no idea who is monitoring these beasts. Is it someone who is a professional, a trained law enforcement officer or some clerk? It is disturbing to think that some unknown individual with an unknown agenda can monitor your actions.

I have less problem with video cameras in places of business as it it the best protection and certainly the best tool available to catch criminals in the act and gather information for prosecution after the fact. I can condone cameras in the secure section of a court house or the detention areas of police stations, but on the streets, sidewalks and highways I draw the line. That has gone too far.

We are now witnessing surveillance cameras at regulated traffic corners snapping pictures of autos making illegal turns, running caution or red lights and we are told it is for our own good. It reduces accidents we are told. I am not going to argue that point, however I am going to challenge the fact that the city, county or state are really that concerned about our safety. Regulators are being sold on the idea that this is a money maker for them. In no time at all the equipment is paid for and the money rolls in.

The sixth amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides that in all criminal prosecutions the accused has the right to face his accuser. This premise comes from old English law and earlier Roman rules. Traffic violations are not criminal offenses, however are you comfortable with the possibility of some invisible man or machine issuing you a citation and not being able to see, hear or confronting this individual. Not being able to defend or explain your case. I doubt this is something you feel good about.

So we tolerate the camera on the corner monitoring scofflaws, but what lies ahead? One ambitious Illinois senator is pushing to have these glass eyed cops stationed along our highways to capture speeders. I acknowledge the danger of speeders on our highways however, I prefer the use of officers who can analyze situations, conditions and apply the human element on the spot.

To this point I have commented on the cameras we face on the street today, but what might lie ahead? Around the world and primarily in Europe privacy groups are taking strong stands against the further proliferation of these myopic monsters putting us in the sights of big brother and using this information for god knows what.

Britain is the surveillance capital of the world, it is estimated that there are 4.2 million closed circuit (CCTV) television cameras in the country, that is one for every 14 people. A person could be captured on as many 300 times on an average day. As if that were the end, but it is not. Monitoring the myriad of personal data contained in hundreds of data bases such as, social security registrations, bank transactions, applications to organizations, credit cards and more. provides a seamless monitoring system for almost everyone. To add insult to injury the newest technology provides for mobile surveillance systems that can watch gatherings, parks, picnics and the list goes on. Technology allows photos or video to be “tagged” this means that electronic scanning of this media will identify individuals across many photos or movies, giving the viewers a complete trail of your activities for any period of time they wish to review. Sound scary does it?

Cameras are located in bus terminals, airports, shopping malls, highways, museums and sports facilities to name a few. They are operated by police, security services, various national and local government agencies as well as private companies. The potential of management and control of the population is iron clad. Will we acquiesce and gradually allow our government to reveal us to the public, rob our privacy and threaten our freedom or will we take a stand to stop it?

Few would argue the position of the FBI which states that CCTV surveillance is a valuable tool to prevent crime. My question is will we give up freedom for safety and have none of either? In the past our nation was different than most other countries. The power was in the hands of the people and we allowed government to have what we deemed would be permissible. In other parts of the world the opposite is the case, government has the power and may grant some to the people. I must ask, have we rounded the bend.?

It will be our choice. May I take your picture?

2009-09-21T08:01:00.001-05:00

Nikita Khrushchev said... we do not need to force Communism on you. You will do it yourself.

Our fast track to Socialism should come as no surprise however; it should be taken very seriously. The plan to “change” this nation was recited over and over during two years of campaigning by our present administration. It appears that Hollywood theatrics and horrendous spending were the keys to our being anesthetized enough to stifle our resistance. We asked no questions as to just what “change,” meant, now we know. It is the remaking of America in the image of a “cooperative” land of plenty for all. The change is real and moving much faster than anyone ever dreamed, while congress, the body that can put on the brakes seems to be oblivious to the danger facing us.

In only eight months this administration has moved faster and deeper into Socialism than any administration including that of FDR. It has controlled capital and production, it is controlling people with it’s forced health reform as well as asking people to inform on folks opposing the administration on the Whitehouse website. The president has stated we need a domestic security force as strong as the army. This may sound preposterous but I do think he will try to pull it off. Is this our very own brand of the Gestapo?

The most compelling and complete control of the population will follow with the confiscatory tax burden to pay for our jailer’s plans for redistribution of wealth. These taxes will first be felt in 2011 and accelerate at an alarming rate until your reward will be a federally established wage.

The latest and most dangerous move is the presidents statements that he is looking to bail out the newspaper industry. This is not a new revelation. The president addressed it in March and appointed a woman from the Los Angeles Times to be the information czar. His appointee, Rosa Brooks says it is a must to make news sources a not for profit system. Literally translated it means government control of the press. No country in the world with a controlled press enjoys freedom. Are we next?

No attempt has been made to hide the fact that talk radio is on the watch list of this administration. Several alternative plans have been suggested including excessive license fees levied on talk radio, which could be transferred to bolster public radio programming in opposition to private sector talk radio. Public radio of course is regulated and has to answer to government for a major portion of its funding.

We should be very wary of a Whitehouse where half the staff is comprised of czars who have no constitutional authority, no congressional authority and answer only to the president. A base of power and intimidation is flourishing that should be the prime target of congressional oversight.

2009-09-19T04:58:00.003-05:00

Obama on Health in Minneapolis

September 12, 2009 my fishing trip to Northern Minnesota was interrupted by the campaign sweep of Obama to Minneapolis stumping for his health care "solution" (like we need one). His trumpeting for heath reform is an acceptable endeavor for the president of the United States, but there is much more to this story and this president.

The president stood at the podium in the stadium packed with cheering hordes as he extolled his panacea for America's health woes. He began with "we must stop this bickering". I guess it's bickering if you don't agree but debate if you do. Is that the end? No it is not.

He began to wind up that speech like his buddy Jeremiah Wright. He enticed passion and screaming by himself and the audience until you would swear you ware at a tent revival. As I watched this I reflected upon my memories of presidents past. How composed, how sophisticated and presented such a genuine personality. One that came to mind was Ronald Reagan. President Reagan would have been in a suit speaking in a friendly controlled tone as though you were in his living room visiting him. Not Obama, he was in an open shirt pounding, ranting and raving, all of this so beneath the dignity of our president.

Other than tent preachers I recall the old movietime news shorts at the theater of Adolph Hitler producing the same theatrical antics as he stole the soul of Germany and executed its citizens.

I am sad but mostly embarrassed.

2009-09-19T04:58:00.001-05:00

Obama on Health in Minneapolis

September 12, 2009 my fishing trip to Northern Minnesota was interrupted by the campaign sweep of Obama to Minneapolis stumping for his health care "solution" (like we need one). His trumpeting for heath reform is an acceptable endeavor for the president of the United States, but there is much more to this story and this president.

The president stood at the podium in the stadium packed with cheering hordes as he extolled his panacea for Americas health woes. He began with "we must stop this bickering". I guess it's bickering if you don't agree but debate if you do. Is that the end? No it is not.

He began to wind up that speech like his buddy Jeremiah Wright. He enticed passion and screaming by himself and the audience until you would swear you ware at a tent revival. As I watched this I reflected upon my memories of presidents past. How composed, how sophisticated and presented such a genuine personality. One that came to mind was Ronald Reagan. President Reagan would have been in a suit speaking in a friendly controlled tone as though you were in his living room visiting him. Not Obama, he was in an open shirt pounding, ranting and raving so beneath the dignity of a president.

Other than tent preachers I recall the old movietime news shorts at the theater of Adolph Hitler producing the same theatrical antics as the stole the soul of Germany and executed its citizens.

I am sad but mostly embarrassed.

2009-09-16T11:00:00.001-05:00

The First Amendment May be History

We are slipping at an alarming rate into the abyss of Socialism (Communism) and we seem not to be able to muster the population to rise up and say “no more”. Since January 20^th our system of government with over two hundred years of the most colossal progress of any nation on earth before it has taken a disastrous turn. The United States as opposed to other nations was comprised of citizens who gave power to government and not the other way around. This is all changing fast my friends, very fast and we’d better do something and do it soon.

Our freedoms are being attack from every quarter at a very deliberate pace and we don’t seem to notice. One day we will all suddenly realize that our cherished freedoms are no longer. Just what is happening? Capital, business, industry and now the population is being outright corralled by the “change” we’ve heard so much about. Banks are being closed, auto dealers shut down and much more, as we surrender to a government we elected. Industry is being nationalized with management appointed by government lackeys. Does all of this sound familiar?

On another front civil rights are being abridged. You may not have noticed but, the president has appointed approximately 30 czars to various positions. These people have no constitutional authority and answer only to the president. These soldiers of state are being placed in strategic agencies to intimidate and force compliance with the personal wishes of the white house. This should scare the wits out of all of us, yet I hear very little reference to this on the streets.

On a more serious note, freedom of speech is in jeopardy. These czars are moving rapidly to squelch any viewpoints that may be in conflict with the administration. The term “political correctness” was a first step to control speech. Some words or phrases you use may constitute a violation of the law. Even worse these transgressions are generally punished by an agency without representation. This is a classic example of speech and the first amendment being squelched. A second and more blatant move was a white house website requesting citizens to report there the names of persons opposing the administration. Dangerous does not adequately describe such an action.

The real thorn in the side of this administration is the vast number of talk radio programs on the air. At last count over 2000 of them are broadcasting a conservative slant that nails communism in a box. The reaction to this by the administration is to move beyond the fairness doctrine, which states that the FCC requires all broadcasters to offer an opposing view. That is in itself an impossible task but the czar will identify all political material that is deemed in opposition to white house policy.

Further sanctions to free radio broadcasting will be to charge them exorbitant license fees and use that money to support National Public Radio controlled by government. This is outright takeover and nothing more. Are you worried? I am.

I suspect the wheels are already in motion to attack the printed media and the Internet. How will we communicate after those avenues are gone? What will and what can our government do impunity then?

2009-09-08T06:47:00.001-05:00

You say we have a czar?

Who are these czars? Webster says, “a czar is a person with great authority or power in a particular area”. That definition seems pretty clear so I decided to examine the czars that President Obama has installed, who are they, what do they do and by what authority does he make these appointments.

The most recent episode concerning one of these powerful appointees was the resignation of Van Jones. Jones is a self proclaimed Communist and was appointed the Green Czar in the Obama white house. Being a communist of course he represents the “working class”, but unfortunately in his position as a “czar” he becomes a leader in the United States Government. His resignation came as a result of his accusations that 911 was a government conspiracy and aspersions that Republicans were somehow responsible.

Jones claims a title of Community Organizer, much the same as the president’s former activities as a community organizer in Chicago. The similar backgrounds and friendships would tend to infer that the president was rewarding an old friend and implementing changes they both engender.

Mister Jones worked for the Apollo Alliance, the organization that wrote the Stimulus Bill. It really strikes me as inconsistent to find a person who detests Capitalism in a position to overhaul the free enterprise system. Is this only a coincidence? I do not believe it is.

The president has appointed 30 czars to various positions and my research provides no evidence of any constitutional authority or regulation that authorizes a person to be elevated to the lofty yet questionable position of czar: “a person with great authority or power in a particular area”. Jones has in his previous statements advocated that an organization he founded must adhere to Marxist doctrine.

With 30 friends “czars” appointed to key positions that regulate and control our daily lives, such as the Federal Communications Commission. We should protest loudly and question the motives of this movement. Where is congress, what are our representatives doing to squelch this bold “change” instituted by a president who promised change. Is this the change you had in mind?

One has to seriously wonder about the relationships of Jones and all the other czars he has appointed. If Obama were asked about them, he would very likely plead ignorance. Remember he didn’t know about Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s acid statements and his disdain for America although he was associated with him for twenty years or more. Cop Killer turned professor of education at U of I in Chicago, Bill Ayers, was not close to him, yet he did know Ayers and worked on community organizing with him and together gave birth to ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) with your tax money. Bill Ayers like his other “friends” is published as an anti establishment socialist.

Do you think we need to take a long hard look? I do. Actually we need not look very far.

2009-09-06T12:11:00.001-05:00

If George W. Was an Idiot...

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a TelePrompTer installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVD's, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had misspelled the word advice would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potato as proof of what a dunce he is?

If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?

If Ge orge W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made
into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?


So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive?

Can't think of anything? Don't worry.

He did all this in his first 5 months -- so you'll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.
Now that I think about it, who is the idiot?

2009-09-06T04:52:00.001-05:00

So Many Questions, So Few Answers

The buzz of questions and answers concerning federal (socialized medicine)insurance is focusing more critically on the real issues.The plan was intended to be railroaded through congress with maximum speed and few questions. The Health Committee of the House of Representatives was given only 24 hours to review a thousand page document before sending it to the floor for action. Speaker of the house Pelosi, informed a Democrat Caucus that anyone who didn't sign on would be ejected from the room.

A son made me aware of a question and an answer I had never considered.

The flap in the document includes a national health prevention section. On the surface that makes sense and for each individual it does make sense to watch your health to prevent a personal catastrophe. On a national scale this good idea becomes an extremely costly proposition and and one delivering few results. Just a small percentage of the population, let's say 30 percent, at any given time is headed, health wise,toward a calamity. Yet we would spend time and energy on all of the population to accomplish nothing. In the process this debacle would cost billions and slow down the health care system in general.

I thought that his observation was very astute and would have thought our representatives would have analyized this question among many others. Not for a minute, because that is all the time they have to jamb socalized medicine down our throats.

Representative Price on Health care

2009-09-05T12:54:00.002-05:00

Representative Price a member of the House of Representatives and a physician makes his thoughts known to the assembly. This is very thought provoking.

2009-09-04T10:41:00.001-05:00

BRAINWASHING OUR KIDS

The recent flap over Obama's lesson plan is taking on more baggage than he ever expected and I hope the momentum keeps going until the last nail is in his political coffin.

The address he intends to deliver on Tuesday September 8 from the Whitehouse is no more than a socialist rally by the most left administration this nation has ever seen. His address is designed to fit his social engineering plan for us. Let's just take a moment to review the plan for Communism as illustrated by Karl Marx. First control the capital, bank closures and takeover of financial institutions: control production, General Motors a now government institution: finally population control. Do we see any of this here? Yes, of course we do, every one of those three steps are well under way and some already accomplished. The brainwashing of kids is the step that spells the death knell for freedom.

I am reminded of a true experience I had before I retired. I was at the gate in Denver when a fueler entered my cockpit to verify his fuel load. I recognized his accent as Spanish and I inquired as to his origin. The story he related was incredible and a real lesson for us all.

This individual had been a pilot for Cubana Airlines based in Havana. His wife operated a gift shop in the terminal in there. Castro had come from the hills to save Cuba from the ravages of Batista. Most Cubans heralded his arrival as a sort of renaissance. Fidel was the messiah of change. Do we see any parallels in America today?

Our fueler and his wife began to see changes that troubled them. The greatest concern they felt had to do with their children. They noticed that the kids were watching more TV and that the programs featured the face and ramblings of Fidel Castro. Their concerns began to mount into fear of what was happening and they devised a plan to escape before it was too late.

He regularly flew trips that included stops in Miami and on to New York with a layover and returning VIA the same route the following day. On this occasion his wife and family joined him on his trip and the wife and kids deplaned in Miami. She was ostensibly on a buying trip to Miami for her gift shop. Her husband continued to New York. The day he returned he abandoned his flight in Miami, joined his family and they went into hiding seeking asylum. That family were among the lucky ones and managed to escape from the tyranny of that Communist island nation. Their decision to leave was triggered by the propaganda being fed their children in an attempt to make them "good comrades"

The address to school kids via TV on Tuesday September 8 is not one iota different than the mind warping employed by Mr. Castro in Cuba in the 50s. Let us keep history in our minds as our guides and not let this administration lead us down the the left path to destruction of our basic fabric. A quip recently between Fidel Castro and Chavez was very much an indication of his standing among the communists of the hemisphere. Fidel said "he (Obama) is more left than we are.

2009-08-30T05:15:00.001-05:00

The 545 People Responsible For All Of U.S. Woes

Charley Reese has retired since this article among many othres was written. He was a syndicated writer for many years and a regular contributor to the Orlando Sentinel. The points to ponder in this particular writing are so clear and so vivid one has to wonder why we permit our politicians to control our lives to the most minute detail.

Mr Reese failed to mention that we make politicians what they are. We ask for pork to come home, we ask for payments and programs galore. We are insatiable when it comes to feeding at the government trough. Until we realize that we simply ask for our punishment and are willing to change our ways, we will not accomplish any of the corrections Mr. Reese suggests. Nonetheless he has hit the nail on the head.

BY Charley Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 235 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation's responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Don't you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O'Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.

O'neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it's because they want them in Lebanon.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

This article was first published by the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper

2009-08-25T05:47:00.001-05:00

FILL IT UP AND CHECK THE OIL

I am a person who follows current events and the political happenings. There are times when you get bogged down in one single area that prevents you from keeping up with the crowd. The “energy crises” is one of those potholes I encountered along the way. I have thought, calculated and pondered this situation and now I am going to try to straighten it out for you.

Experts tell us that the oil we get from the Middle East is not going to last forever, that it will soon be depleted and other oil reserves are not abundant enough to allow us to continue using it at our present rate. The experts say, “Undiscovered reserves are minimal at best”. That is sure not good news to say the least, however other experts say that the unknown reserves mount into hundreds of billions of barrels that are there just for the taking. Do we or don’t we?

I’ll go with those who say we are running out. Seems some political types who live in the corn belt have been frightened to death by the experts and are heading full speed ahead to digest all that Iowa and Illinois corn into ethanol. Pour the corn in the gasoline tanks of our autos, or are they corn tanks? What ever you call them they will gobble up our food supply, wear out the land and provide a puny fuel that delivers less energy per gallon than gasoline and requires almost as much energy to produce as it finally delivers on the highway. I know you think this is a poor investment, but it must be a good investment because the government subsidizes it. Corn farmers deposit their profits in banks that are failing and can afford automobiles manufactured by the government. A plus if I ever saw one.

Leaving the field we have to fill a whole bunch of energy needs as well. We need to heat our houses, light our homes, offices, streets and highways. We need energy to operate our manufacturing plants that are left but that takes more corn than we can grow. There is a lot of coal that we might burn to make electricity but that is almost a cardinal sin to even consider the dirty stuff. Forget it and let’s opt for some high efficiency and clean power. Nuclear power, oops I said that? Not on your life it’s dangerous, and unsafe at any speed. I then turned to wind power. Yep we do see some of those humongous behemoths turning in the slightest breeze around the country but that technology will not catch on. The only steady wind is in Washington and in most other areas it is only spotty. The cost to benefit ratio is lousy not to mention the environmental problems they cause. They cast a shadow on surrounding homes, make a swooshing sound that is undesirable and nearsighted birds have been known to meet their demise upon contact with those whirling blades. Looks like we may be running short of ideas, but don’t panic our government has appointed a Czar to iron out the kinks.

I examined hydrogen as a power source because it the most plentiful gas on the planet. I thought I had really hit on the all time resolution of this perplexing problem. To my chagrin I discovered that others had already explored this source of power and found it to be to costly, to heavy and too dangerous. I had almost given up then I stumbled upon something that might work.

Let’s assume that we continue buying Arab oil paying whatever they decide to charge in desert dollars. Sooner or later they will run out according to the “experts” and that would drive the price of oil is high enough to encourage exploration in other areas. Not a bad plan. The Middle East would become a customer and not a provider and our oil dollars would start flowing in the other direction.

There is a system that is working as we ponder all these crazy ideas. The free market system. Sooner or later the price of energy will provide the incentive for the real innovators to find alternatives that work and are affordable. This system in America has worked wonders for two hundred years. Taxpayers did not pay for the telephone, steam engine or the light bulb and they don’t need to buy corn.

2009-08-20T20:35:00.001-05:00

Barack Obama Karl Marx

I received this as an undocumented email. I have been so busy looking and reporting I never stopped to analyze what has happened and what is likely to happen. This is dynamite.

What would you say if I gave you 11 reasons why the elections in 2010 will be the most important in the history of the United States?

1. What if I had told you in October 2008, before the last presidential election, that before Barack Obama's first 100 days in office, the federal government would be in control of both the mortgage and the banking industries? That 19 of America 's largest banks would be forced to undergo stress tests by the federal government which would determine if they were insufficiently capitalized, so they must be supervised by the government?

Would you have said, "C'mon that will never happen in America ."

2. What if I had told you that within Barack Obama's first 100 days in office the federal government would be the largest shareholder in two of the US Big-Three automakers: Ford, GM, and Chrysler? That the government would kick out the CEO's of these companies and appoint hand-picked executives with zero experience in the auto industry and that executive compensation would be determined, not by a Board of Directors, but by the government?

Would you have said, "C'mon that will never happen in America ."

3. What if I had told you that Barack Obama would appoint 21 Czars, without congressional approval, accountable only to him, not to the voters, who would have control over a wide range of US policy decisions. That there would be a Stimulus Accountability Czar, an Urban Czar, a Compensation Czar, an Iran Czar, an Auto Industry Czar, a Cyber Security Czar, an Energy Czar, a Bank Bailout Czar, and more than a dozen other government bureaucrats with unchecked regulatory powers over US domestic and foreign policy.

Would you have said, "Cmon that will never happen in America ."

4. What if I had told you that the federal deficit would be $915 billion in the first six months of the Obama presidency - with a projected annual deficit of $1.75 trillion - triple the $454.8 billion in 2008, for which the previous administration was highly criticized by Obama and his fellow Democrats. That congress would pass Obama's $3.53 trillion federal budget for fiscal 2010. That the projected deficit over

the next ten years would be greater than $10 trillion.

Would you have said,  "Cmon that will never happen in America ."

5. What if I had told you that the Obama Justice Department would order FBI agents to read Miranda rights to high-value detainees captured on the battlefield and held at US military detention facilities in Afghanistan . That Obama would order the closing of the Guantanamo detention facility with no plan for the disposition of the 200-plus individuals held there. That several of the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo would be sent to live in freedom in Bermuda at the expense of the US government. That some of our returning US veterans would be labeled terrorists and put on a watch list.

Would you have said, "Cmon that will never happen in America ."

6. What if I had told you that the federal government would seek powers to seize key companies whose failures could jeopardize the financial system. That a new regulatory agency would be proposed by Obama to control loans, credit cards, mortgage-backed securities, and other financial products offered to the public.

Would you have said, "Cmon that will never happen in America ."

7. What if I had told you that Obama would travel to the Middle East, bow before the Saudi king, and repeatedly apologize for America 's past actions. That he would travel to Latin America where he would warmly greet Venezuela 's strongman Hugo Chavez and sit passively in the audience while Nicaraguan Marxist thug Daniel Ortega charged America with terrorist aggression in Central America.

Would you have said, "Cmon that will never happen in America ."

8. Okay, now what if I were to tell you that Obama wants to dismantle conservative talk radio through the imposition of a new "Fairness Doctrine." That he wants to curtail the First Amendment rights of those who may disagree with his policies via internet blogs, cable news networks, or advocacy ads. That most major network television and most newspapers will only sing his phrases like state-run media in communist countries?

Would you say, "Cmon that will never happen in America ."

9. What if I were to tell you that the Obama Justice Department is doing everything it can to limit your Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. That the federal government wants to reinstate the so-called assault weapons ban which would prohibit the sale of any type of firearm that does not require the shooter to pull the trigger every time a round is fired. That Obama's Attorney General wants to eliminate the sale of virtually all handguns and ammunition, which most citizens choose for self-defense.

Would you say, "Cmon that will never happen in America ."

10. What if I were to tell you that the Obama plan is to eliminate states rights guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment and give the federal government sweeping new powers over policies currently under the province of local and state governments and voted on by the people. That Obama plans to control the schools, energy production, the environment, health care, and the wealth of every US citizen.

Would you say, "C'mon, that will never happen in America ."

11. What if I were to tell you that the president, the courts, and the federal government have ignored the US Constitution and have seized powers which the founders of our country fought to restrict. That our last presidential election may have been our last truly free election for some time to come. That our next presidential election may look similar to the one recently held in Iran . (And maybe under review by ACORN.)

I know - I know what you will say. That will never happen in America .

Hopefully you realize the significance of taking the census away from the Commerce Department and placing it under the White House, where Acorn has been given broad authority to manage it.
If we don't do everything in our power to stop this madness in 2010 and 2012, may God have mercy on our souls. Pass this on to every freedom loving American.

2009-08-11T07:26:00.001-05:00

Homeland Security dangerous

There are times when one just chokes on the idiocy of rules and regulations and this is one of those times for me. My career has spanned 61 years from that day I first soloed in 1948 until today. Thirty-six of those years I was employed as a pilot for United Airlines. I loved every minute I spent on the job and enjoyed the people and places I have seen, but that has all changed.

I was appalled at a news report stating that passengers on a Continental Airlines express aircraft landed at an alternate airport due to inclement weather and all the passengers including children were forced to remain on that tube of tin for 13 hours because Homeland Security people were not present to clear the disembarkation. I just could not believe the story but unfortunately it was true. This exercise in stupidity could only have been perpetrated by rules set by the hand of a bureaucrat. People trapped in these conditions in the heat of summer is unconscionable. One would not leave a pet in a cage in the sun, but airline travelers is another story altogether. Wouldn’t you like to see the director of Homeland Security placed in that position? You won’t of course but you are likely to see humans treated like animals again in the future in the name of “security”.

Every aspect of air travel today is hindered by the actions of this cadre of high flying SS troopers. You are checked, embarrassed and delayed by this superfluous invasion by an army of government employees that served little to no purpose. It has caused airlines to incur delays and run costs beyond belief as well. You are battered in two ways.

We are led to believe that it is for our safety while experts outside government in security have advised our storm troopers that we are over-killing for no good reason. An old saying that says, “if one will give up freedom for security he deserves neither”, is so true and that is exactly what is happening and will continue to happen in the future.

If you think that Homeland Security is only at airports, think again. Your life is being checked, traced, photographed and recorded in the name of security and I don’t think you are one iota safer because of it, nevertheless you are handing your freedoms to some appointed individual who is likely a failure from the private sector.

Folks, I think this is much more dangerous to our well being than we can imagine. I do know it has driven me from the skies. I have pass privileges that allow me inexpensive to free travel and I will not go to an airport to board a commercial flight for love nor money. I will not subject myself to the indiscretions of a functionary of Homeland Security when I can avoid it.

Are we sheep? Are we going to voice our objections and take back our freedom, or are we going to kneel down and remain subjects of the King?

2009-07-31T05:14:00.001-05:00

A reader Writes
by Donna Perez

No politician left behind

You may remember the “No Child Left Behind” act under the Bush Administration which was to bring children up to speed with their basic skills. I am proposing a new act ~ the “No Politician Left Behind” Act, which will ensure that our politicians can actually read what is given to them (ie- 1,500+ pages of a Health Care Bill which is just a nightmare that no one could possibly read in the time allowed),. That they can count (let’s review that stimulus bill to see just how many times we can count to a trillion). And that they can write ~ sensible legislation without pork in it, and that is real to the everyday citizen.

I guess we can’t blame them, most of them have never held a job in the private sector, and a good majority of them have never lived in the real world ~ or understand reality. This is our chance to do something for them!!

2009-07-16T11:36:00.001-05:00

Getting out the word.

In a recent post I commented on the fact that the internet, for all that it is supposed to be, is in fact a very viable and vital tool for the dissemination, information, opinions and varied points of view. The internet was a powerful tool used by the Obama team in his recent two year campaign.

Contrary to public opinion being created by the so called "legitimate press", I'm finding many changing their views in the hundreds of emails I receive. I see this media as the real vehicle for economic, social and political change as the future becomes a reality.

I thought my blog would be a good place to begin what may be called an electronic chain of ideas expressed by those who would not normally tend to voice an opinion or an idea. I would invite more than just the simple comments you can post here, but rather your detailed opinions. You can take issue with any post and agree with any. I want to see a cross section of expression broadcast from this little corner of the web.

Simply send me your copy and I will see that it is posted. I will not post any offensive material that is not in good taste nor any personally attacking another contributor. Let this be your invitation to blow your whistle.

My email: mcjensen@runbox.com (please insert the word blog in the subject line)

2009-07-15T05:32:00.001-05:00

Mr. President, don't make apologies for the U.S.

I know that many folks look at the internet as a place where the wild exchange of unverified information is disseminated by irresponsible writers. I can certainly agree with some of that thinking but on the other hand, I will not be lulled into believing that the myopic eye of the TV or the mumbo jumbo of talk radio is the gospel.

I assume you have already gathered that I spend considerable time on the internet delving into news stories as seen from different perspectives, reading blogs from some well known writers and some not so well known. The point being that from that broad array of constantly flowing information one can gain a good assessment of both fact and fiction. We have never in history had available such a broad source of information from which we can form conclusions of our own and not simply parrot the biases of the so-called “legitimate press”. I am the recipient of more than a hundred emails a day. Many are just spam but a good portion are directed to me because of my interest and activity in politics and community affairs.

It is no secret we are in a very tumultuous political season and the internet will be playing a significant role in the direction we take. The monetary and social experiments taking place today, will be influenced very much by this media. Recent discussions and emails have given me hope that we may be experiencing a re-awaking and will return the sound fiscal policies and social norms that made our country guiding light of the world.

I have had a real problem with several events in this upheaval, one being the fact that our president is roaming Europe and our hemisphere apologizing for the United States. There is no reason at all for us to apologize to anyone, anywhere and the president of the United States should be the very last person to do so. When I became aware of his apologies for our indiscretions in Europe, I thought how fitting to make this stumping speech in the middle of one of the hundreds of cemeteries where American soldiers lie, who died to save Western Europe from the rampage of Hitler and ending of the annihilation of Jews and others. Let’s not forget to include our humanitarian efforts around the world that brought millions from near death to a new beginning. Nothing to apologize for there. America has nothing to be ashamed of and Mr. President, I can tell you that more Americans each day are agreeing with me and are incensed that you of all people are pursuing this brand of humiliation.

My sources say they are worried about the economic follies being paraded in the name of economic recovery. Controlling capital and production are seen as reminiscent of social-economic experiments that failed in more places than you can count. We have already exceeded the highest deficit in the history of our nation and it is predicted that it could rise to as much as ten trillion dollars. If we choose to continue on this path we will face hyper inflation, the decimation of retirement savings and a standard of living that will no longer be the guiding light for others in this world.

Mr. President stay home and quit apologizing for us. Guide a gullible congress toward reestablishing the values and policies that made us the envy of the world and not attempt to make us equal with anyone, but better than all the rest.

If we are going to take our show on the road let’s not condemn a Jew for building a house in Israel while we ignore a Muslim building an atom bomb in Iran and above all do not condemn our nation.

Did we trash history?

2009-07-04T08:55:00.001-05:00

This week as we celebrate Independence Day, a holiday time worn to simply July 4th. It may be a good time to reflect on one of the greatest documents ever written by men who would challenge the bonds of oppression and pass freedom on to all who would follow.

On July fourth 1776, fifty-six signers representing the thirteen colonies fixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence.There was extreme danger to each of these men who gathered to announce to the world and the King of England that we are a free people and will remove the shackles of the King.

The document they drafted and signed was to become the heralding cry for the creation of a government that held so many truths to be unalienable rights, the natural rights of man. The most important of these rights that was described in that historic document was that governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. We are among a small club of nations with this belief, most others are the other way around. The government has the power and allows some to the people.

I chose this one example of unalienable rights for this topic because I believe that we may have turned the corner, that government now controls us to a greater extent than at any time in our history and I do not see many men and women representing us today with the wisdom, integrity and passion for freedom exemplified by those signing that great document on July 4th 1776.

This Independence Day may be a good time to find a copy of that cherished document and read it, refresh our memories and reflect upon the history of a nation so long lasting, so prosperous, a nation that has been the dream of immigrants for nearly 250 years.

Let’s renew our faith in our beginnings and demonstrate the same kind of courage those men from the thirteen colonies demonstrated and not allow those today who would reduce that document and our history to ashes.

They know us

2009-02-04T13:14:00.001-06:00

And we thought all along the Brits didn't understand us. I guess they know us pretty well.

Newspaper in England nailed the OBAMA CRAZE!

The Daily Mail ( UK ) wrote this editorial about Obama on 1/6/2009. (confirmation, Google " London Daily Mail Obama's Victory")

Obama's Victory--A British view
     A victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey, the mad racist preacher Jeremiah Wright,
the US mainstream media who abandoned any sense of objectivity long ago, Europeans who
despise America largely because they depend on her, comics who claim to be dangerous
and fearless but would not dare attack genuinely powerful special interest groups.
A victory for Obama-worshippers everywhere. A victory for the cult of the cult.
A man who has done little with his life but has written about his achievements as if
he had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear
reactor with his teeth. Victory for style over substance, hyperbole over history,
rabble-raising over reality.
    A victory for Hollywood , the most dysfunctional community in the world.
Victory for Streisand, Spielberg, Soros, Moore, and Sarandon. Victory for those who
prefer welfare to will and interference to independence. For those who settle for
group think and herd mentality rather than those who fight for individual initiative and
the right to be out of step with meager political fashion.
    Victory for a man who is no friend of freedom. He and his people have already
stated that media has to be controlled so as to be balanced, without realizing the
extraordinary irony within that statement. Like most liberal zealots, the Obama
worshippers constantly speak of Fox and Limbaugh, when the vast bulk of television
stations and newspapers are drastically liberal and anti-conservative. Senior Democrat
Chuck Schumer said that just as pornography should be censored, so should talk radio.
In other words, one of the few free and open means of popular expression may well be
cornered and beaten by bullies who even in triumph cannot tolerate any criticism and
opposition. A victory for those who believe the state is better qualified to raise children
than the family, for those who prefer teachers' unions to teaching and for those who
are naively convinced that if the West is sufficiently weak towards its enemies, war
and terror will dissolve as quickly as the tears on the face of a leftist celebrity.
A victory for social democracy even after most of Europe has come to the painful
conclusion that social democracy leads to mediocrity, failure, unemployment, inflation,
higher taxes and economic stagnation. A victory for intrusive lawyers, banal
sentimentalists, social extremists and urban snobs.

    Congratulations America !

The Mexican Border

2009-01-31T07:42:00.001-06:00

Is our Sourtern border secure?

A friend of mine has wintered in Tucson AZ for many years and during the winter he became associatedd with the Minutemen; a group of volunteers who hoined in monitoring the ilegal crossings at the border. Recently thing have changed drastically there and our security is threatened. Some time ago I dug from a remote news source that our military intelligence were worried about the possibiliity of drug wars causing the colapse of the Mexican Government.

The following letter from my friend will present an observers view, from one who is in the thick of it.

Hello Everyone:

You will notice that this email’s subject matter has changed to “Illegal Border Issues”. This
change is because the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in
Green Valley and I have resigned our positions with the organization. We’ve done this for two reasons. First, the rules of the MCDC prohibit volunteers, for liability purposes, from venturing into unsafe areas. This, as you know, is something I’ve been involved in for several years. Second, we both felt that we needed more time informing the public about the conditions on the border. I’ve been doing more speaking engagements than before, have several more lined up and will possibly develop something online. Next
Friday we’re both going down to a ranch in S.E. Arizona and meet with a
newly elected U.S. Congressman from an adjoining state. He want’s us to provide documentation and photos of the situation close to the border. March 1^st I’ll be the guest on a ½ hour radio show on KVOI in Tucson. It’s heartening for us to have gained the trust and credibility of community leaders. We also have a very close relationship with a ranking officer of the Border Patrol that now numbers 3,400 in this sector.

The drug wars have heightened in Mexico with their President announcing that 6,112 people were killed there in the past year. Over 5,000 were killed in the Mexican state of Sonora, directly south of the Arizona border. Nogales, where we used to feel safe in visiting, is now virtually off limits. The soldiers of Fort Huachuca have been ordered not to cross the border because of the danger. Many of the shops and businesses have closed and the streets are almost empty of “gringos”. Last
week the US National Security agencies put out a report that stated
that two countries in the world are in eminent danger of being taken
over by lawless organizations, Pakistan and Mexico.

Yesterday my partner and I spent nine hours in the desert. You might want to look on an Arizona map and look for the small town of Arivaca. It’s southwest of Tucson and Green Valley. We took Arivaca Rd, known as the Khyber Pass of Arizona, to Arivaca. From there we took desert and mountain trails all the way to the border. We
wanted photos of the vehicle barriers that the National Guard put up a
few years ago and also evidence of the drug trafficking. In seven hours we saw only border patrol agents. It’s very mountainous and the trails could only be traveled with a jeep and then with difficulty. We
stopped and talked to a team of border agents and I mentioned the
latest figures that 1,138 bodies had been found in the past seven years
in the sector. He laughed and said “those are only the ones they stumbled on”. That number could easily be doubled. It’s the heaviest drug trafficking area in the U.S. The other agent joked, “They say they died from suspicious causes….a bullet in the head”. Curious sense of humor!

Mid
afternoon we drove down a trail that was terribly rough to navigate due
to prehistoric lava flows crossing the trail. About half way into the
box canyon a Mexican walked out right next to my open window, from
behind some trees. We kept going and tried unsuccessfully to gain speed because of the terrain. Since we were headed into a box canyon we had to go out the same way. That was the first time I’ve had to take my pistol out of my holster. As we approached the area, the Mexican came out and ran behind us on foot. We’ll never know if he wanted our jeep or just a ride. We were told he was probably a “scout” for the drug smugglers but we can’t say that with any certainty.

Due
to the drug war going on in Mexico the immigrants who went back to
Mexico as our economy worsened, are beginning to return in large
numbers. Those apprehended tell the border agents that things are terrible in Mexico, but they can get welfare from the Americans. Nice to know, isn’t it?

As usual, if any of you wish to be taken off the list for these informal updates just let me know.

Be well, Gary

Change?

2009-01-06T05:57:00.001-06:00

What Lies Ahead?

We closed the door on 2008 and ushered in 2009, but not without bidding adieu to a year of turbulence and dismay. In my lifetime I have been witness to many extremes in our nation: born during the great depression of 1929 to 1945, the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor, D day, the end of World War 2, the Korean war, Vietnam and a myriad of other skirmishes around the globe. I watched Russia’s Sputnik float by in space and our own space program bloom and put a man on the moon. TV, computers and interstate highways sprouted and tied our country together. Those were good times and bad times, but America was the strongest and greatest democracy on the planet and thousands risked their lives to come here. What we enjoyed was the dream of many around the world, we represented all that mankind ever wanted; the opportunity to take a chance, to succeed or fail and here he could do it.

My first ballot for a president was cast for Dwight Eisenhower. I cast that ballot with pride. We had just witnessed a campaign conducted in style by men of character, who had goals that could only make a great nation shine even brighter. We got more than Hollywood and media hype in those days. We discussed politics and programs because our candidates were offering ideas and propositions for the nation. There were few catchwords that were pounded into our heads, just ideas for the future. We listened and became excited by real people making real plans and predictions.

We seldom heard the promises of help and handout from government and we were not looking for any. The electorate was not promised a rose garden, a free lunch or a guaranteed living they were promised opportunity. If you were willing to work, to strive and aim high in life you were given all the latitude possible to do it. Not true today.

The presidential campaign ended in November was the climax of two years of incessant pounding on our senses and thousands of words that were hollow. The exceptions to the hollow words were those promising half the nation’s inhabitants that they would be rewarded dearly for just voting right. Those words may just be too true. A new standard of living was going to be their largess, coming from the pockets of those who would still be willing to produce wealth. I am glad the campaign is over but I’m very uneasy about the quantity of truth in those promises.

I believe that when someone takes money from my pocket and gives it to someone else we have two problems. The guy that took the money from my pocket is stealing and the guy who accepts stolen property is guilty too. Now government thievery is not the same, they use the mysterious multiplier.

Two men watch one man down and out pass by. They grab the purse from a lady behind and give the money to the down and out guy. That is stealing, a crime. Now let’s add six zeros to those numbers. Two million watch one million down and out pass by and snatch the purses from one million to give to the poor million. Now it’s taxation. Simple as that.

I do know one thing for sure and that is that already 64 cents of every dollar in taxes collected goes to 5 percent of the people in this nation. Is it going to get worse? Yes I think it will. I have been told that 40 percent of Americans receive some subsidy from taxes. Have we reached the tipping point, will we soon have more taking than producing? It can happen. It did in the old Soviet Union and failed.

I will be watching, what will you be doing?

He said it without hesitation...he means it

2008-10-27T12:35:00.002-05:00

milt jensen

Did you have doubts. He says it loud and clear...

The proper time for this.......

2008-10-25T07:03:00.000-05:00

Things just don't change do they?

They are stil out thre.

The Power of Speech

2008-10-21T12:54:00.001-05:00

milt jensen

Mesmerized by speech

A friend has written this for publication and it is certainly food for thought......

Anointing of a leader

He stands confidently before the people and speaks with eloquent oratory skills rare by any standard. The wide-eyed, screaming, frenzied masses applaud his every comment. The desperate plight of the economy plays a timely roll in his plans to become the leader of the country. The message of change and hope roll from his tongue with a promise for each who listens with mouths agape. He doesn’t disappoint. He offers a repetition of vague promises of employment to all, redistribution of wealth, rescue of failing businesses, the crack down on nationwide corruption, end of class distinction, bolstering of banks and stimulation of foreign trade. The people of the world have lost respect for his country as a model but he will return it to its previous lofty status. But his most ambitious promise, an overhaul of the government that had broken down and is infested with corrupt, squabbling, and uncompromising politicians. The adoring crowd views him with an awe reserved for a child seeing a Christmas tree for the first time. They have heard his message of hope and change and they are convinced.
The time: Early 1930’s. The leader: Adolph Hitler.

Gary Meinert
Green Valley, Arizona

milt jensen

2008-10-20T09:51:00.001-05:00

milt jensen

How much change can we stand?

We are hearing so much about change these days and it seems we are all being swept up in this hype. We are revved up, motivated and driven to near frenzy by the political rhetoric we are being exposed to. As I observed this phenomenon I am reminded of an experience of mine.

I was the captain on a flight from Denver Colorado to Chicago. While the first officer and I were in the cockpit doing our preflight setup a man fueling the airplane came into the cockpit to check the fuel gauges and match them to his drip stick reading under the wing. I quickly observed that this fellow was much more familiar with the airplane than the average fueler. He spoke with an accent that I recognized as Spanish and I asked him where he was from.

He told me that he was from Cuba and that he had been a pilot for Cubana airlines. His regular route was from Havana to Miami and New York. In those days folks living in Cuba were exposed to graft and corruption by their leader Fulgencio Batista,the 14th president of Cuba. There had been a great deal of animosity and loathing of the leader for some time and people were seeking “change".

A prior insurrection in Cuba led by Fidel Castro was put down. Mr. Castro and his compatriots were arrested and incarcerated but later all were released. Upon release Mr. Castro and his friends went to Mexico to establish themselves as the liberation Army to return to Cuba and wrest it from the hands of Batista. Castro did return and was hailed as a savior, a shining light and a chance for change. Excitement and hope filled the hearts and minds of every Cuban, they now had a leader that had promised "change", it was Cuba's finest hour.

Batista was exiled and Castro immediately began to tell the world how friendly, how pure the new government was. However, something was happening behind the scenes that none of us noticed or witnessed. The fueler on my airplane related to me that changes in the lives of Cubans were occurring very subtly. He noticed that his children were talking differently, were seeing things much differently than they had in the past and that the seed of new thought was coming from kids TV programs. As he and his wife watched this unfold it became obvious to them that Mr. Castro was not at all what he had portrayed himself to be. He was not the savior they had hoped for but appeared he was going to be their jailer.

My friend and his family realized the time had come to leave while they still could. His wife ran a gift shop at the Havana airport and planned a buying trip to Miami. At the same time he was scheduled to fly a trip from Havana to Miami to New York and return via the same route. On the return trip he left the airplane in Miami and met his wife and he and his family left the area and went into hiding, seeking asylum.

This family had left their home, their friends, all of their belongings with only a few dollars they had on their person. They would be starting a new life in a strange land without any prospects of employment or security. This fellow was the exception to the rule because he did have a profession and experience that he may be able to apply somewhere. He was hired by United Airlines as a fueler and served in that position until United discovered his background. At that point they made him a flight instructor at the Denver training center.

I told a story of change and today we are constantly hearing that change is coming. In our zeal for change, in our quest to make things easier for us I hope we are not lulled into a fake security blanket. I'm not saying that I feel either of our presidential candidates will or have the power to make the sweeping changes that were made in Cuba but either one of them and their administration can make "changes" that can turn us in that direction.

How much change do you really want? Remember my friend from Havana.

it was told to me this way

2008-10-17T15:46:00.001-05:00

THE TEN WHO BROUGHT THE U.S. DOWN

The story was told to me this way

The average American listening to all the news of bank failures, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (who?) being taken over by the government, and now a bail-out of large, privately owned and well known companies, is at first bewildered, and then angry. The average American should be furious.

But whom should Americans be furious? That seems to be the big question as political fingers are pointing in every direction. Was it greedy CEOs with their golden parachutes? Was it the Democrats? Was it the Republicans? Was it Wall Street? (Who, exactly IS Wall Street?) The simple answer is that it is all of the above.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke were on Capital Hill taking a verbal beating from some of the very people who should not be asking the questions, but answering them and answering those questions under oath.

Senator Chris Dodd, (D-Conn.) and Congressman Barney Frank, (D-Mass.) are the first two who should be grilled, not by fellow politicians, but by an independent and hopefully very clever, angry, and mean attorney hired by the American people. No one from the present Justice Department need apply. Both should be asked how much money they have taken from lobbyists hired by the CEOs of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Since that is public record, they should then be asked what Fannie and Freddie got in return for that money.

Barney Frank should be questioned about his House Bill, H.R. 3838, that is clearly designed to keep Fannie and Freddie afloat as long as possible despite all the signs that there was serious trouble ahead. But all his bill did was make the hole bigger in the side of the Titanic. Basically all H. R. 3838 did was: To temporarily increase the portfolio caps applicable to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, to provide the necessary financing to curb foreclosures by facilitating the refinancing of at-risk sub-prime borrowers into safe, affordable loans, and for other purposes.

Barney Frank and his counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.) did everything they could to delay and cover-up the outright fraud and book-cooking that was going on within Freddie and Fannie.

As far back as 2003, Freddie and Fannie were $9 billion dollars in debt because of bad loans that continued to be accepted on a daily basis. Pressure from liberals in Congress to continue giving out bad loans was relentless and for years it continued with CEOs, who happen to be friends of Dodd, Frank, Schumer, and Clinton, leaving with millions in their bank accounts as the companies they ran went under.

The truth is that this financial disaster for the American taxpayer didn't begin under George Bush, or Bill Clinton, or George Herbert Walker Bush, or Ronald Reagan. It started under Jimmy Carter. It started with the passing of The Community Reinvestment Act in 1977. Basically, this act pushed local community banks and lenders, to bend the rules a little and give loans to low-income families. Like many liberal schemes, it seemed like a good idea at the time. There was a provision that protected the nervous lender in the clause that stated that loans should be given in a safe and sound manner. This gave the bank some leeway and choice in the loans that were given out.

Under Bill Clinton, The Community Reinvestment Act was revised. Basically, the revision started to put pressure on lenders to take more financial risks. It was felt that lenders were not being fair to minorities and the poor who only wanted to share in the American dream of owning their own home. Janet Reno began to outwardly threaten banks and mortgage lenders with prosecution if home loans were not approved for those who wanted to purchase homes that, in truth, they could not afford.

Fearing federal retribution, loans started being approved for people who had no down-payment, no jobs, no collateral, and absolutely no hope of ever being able to meet any mortgage payment after the grace period of low interest ran out.

Then, the greed took over. Banks would bundle up loans, good and bad, and sell them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, making all their money up front for loans they knew would default eventually. As these loans did default, in larger and larger numbers, even Fannie and Freddie could no longer stand up under the hemorrhage of money loss. Wall Street panicked and so did the federal government.

Were there warning signs that a disaster was looming? Of course, there were. But there was money to be made and politicians and CEOs alike were not about to give up the gravy train of money being crammed in their pockets. The CEOs of Freddie and Fannie would hire lobbyists to slip money into the pockets of Senator Chris Dodd, (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate banking committee, who was supposed to be overseeing the banking industry, to the tune of $133,900 since 1989. Barack Obama was number two at the trough with over $120,000 which was no small feat since he has only been in the Senate for three years. Dodd and Obama were closely followed by the last Democratic nominee, John Kerry, (D-Mass.) and then Senator Hillary Clinton, (D-N.Y.)

What were these lobbyists buying for the millions they sprinkled around the Senate and House of Representatives? They were buying a blind eye. They were buying little or no oversight into the juggernaut that has finally crashed on the heads of the American taxpayer. CEOs got rich, politicians got rich and they got votes, being able to tell minorities and the poor, See what we are doing for you? For years, the red flags were stuffed under the desk and ignored.

Early in his administration, George Bush sounded an alarm over the small amount of working capital Fannie and Freddie had on hand. He urged them to sell more shares to increase their reserve in funding and put them on more stable ground. He urged them to be more selective in the loans they bought. This suggestion was declined because the current stockholders would not make as much profit.

Franklin Raines, the Fannie Mae CEO from 1999 to 2004, decided to retire early, taking millions with him, under a cloud of accusations that he had cooked the books to make it appear the company was making money instead of going head-long into debt. Another player in this financial kabuki dance is Jamie Gorelick. That name should ring a bell with every American. She seems to surface right at the heart of every American disaster in the last 15 years. Ms. Gorelick was vice-chair of Fannie Mae from 1997 to 2003. Like all the others, she left with millions in her pocket while declaring that Fannie Mae is among the handful of top-quality institutions.'

The next year it was found that Fannie was $9 billion dollars in the red. Oddly, this $9 billion had been overlooked in the books Ms. Gorelick and Mr. Raines kept.

Lets put Mr. Raines and Ms. Gorelick on the stand. The American people deserve to hear how much they gave lobbyists to pass on to their friends in Congress to keep the blinders on. That number is a staggering $16.2 million dollars since 1997. That amount bought very large blinders. And, it bought time. It bought time for the likes of Raines and Gorelick to make their millions and bow out before the bottom fell out.

Republican nominee John McCain raised the alarm two years ago but his plan for more oversight was killed in the Democrat-controlled committee. Over 20-year span, McCain took $20,000 but this did not stop him from voicing his concerns. The problem was that Democrats didn't want to hear about it.

President Bush's warnings were also ignored. Should Bush have done more? Yes. Unfortunately, Bush was distracted by the 9/11 attack and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So now, nearly every hour Americans watch as a pompous Chris Dodd or Barney Frank struts to a microphone to declare the failed economic policies of the Bush administration are responsible for this mess.

No, Senator, he is not. YOU and your greedy friends are responsible. It took three decades to reach the point of no return and some were there with their hands out nearly all of those years.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is launching a full investigation into all of this. This investigation will abruptly end should Barack Obama win in November. The last thing Democrats want is the American people learning how complicit so many of them are in the illegal practice at Fannie and Freddie that led to the taxpayers bearing the brunt of the their unbridled greed.

While politicians want oversight over the bail-out, there has been little outcry for an investigation into how all this evolved.

2008-10-13T09:56:00.000-05:00

Investors' Real Fear: A Socialist Tsunami

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, October 10, 2008 4:20 PM PT

The Crash:
"Why has the market dropped so much?" everyone asks. What is it about
the specter of our first socialist president and the end of capitalism
as we know it that they don't understand?

Read More: Economy | Business & Regulation

The freeze-up of the financial system — and government's seeming
inability to thaw it out — are a main concern, no doubt. But more
people are also starting to look across the valley, as they say, at
what's in store once this crisis passes.

And right now it looks like the U.S., which built the mightiest,
most prosperous economy the world has ever known, is about to turn its
back on the free-enterprise system that made it all possible.

It isn't only that the most anti-capitalist politician ever
nominated by a major party is favored to take the White House. It's
that he'll also have a filibuster-proof Congress led by politicians who
are almost as liberal.

Throw in a media establishment dedicated to the implementation of a
liberal agenda, and the smothering of dissent wherever it arises, and
it's no wonder panic has set in.

What is that agenda? It starts with a tax system right out of Marx:
A massive redistribution of income — from each according to his
ability, to each according to his need — all in the name of
"neighborliness," "patriotism," "fairness" and "justice."

It continues with a call for a new world order that turns its back
on free trade, has no problem with government controlling the means of
production, imposes global taxes to support continents where our
interests are negligible, signs on to climate treaties that will sap
billions more in U.S. productivity and wealth, and institutes an
authoritarian health care system that will strip Americans' freedoms
and run up costs.

All the while, it ensures that nothing — absolutely nothing — will
be done to secure a sufficient, terror-proof supply of our economic
lifeblood — oil — a resource we'll need much more of in the years
ahead.

The businesses that create jobs and generate wealth are already
discounting the future based on what they know about Obama's plans to
raise income, capital gains, dividend and payroll taxes, and his
various other economy-crippling policies. Which helps explain why world
stock markets have been so topsy-turvy.

But don't take our word for it. One hundred economists, five Nobel winners among them, have signed a letter noting just that:

"The prospect of such tax-rate increases in 2010 is already a drag
on the economy," they wrote, noting that the potential of higher taxes
in the next year or two is reducing hiring and investment.

It was "misguided tax hikes and protectionism, enacted when the U.S.
economy was weak in the early 1930s," the economists remind us, that
"greatly increased the severity of the Great Depression."

We can't afford to repeat these grave errors.

Yet much of the electorate is determined to vote for the candidate
most likely to make them. If he wins, what we consider to be a crisis
in today's economy will be a routine affair in tomorrow's.

2008-09-16T13:27:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

Don't fall for the line they feed you.

There is no question that times are tough and I don't know if we’re in a recession or depression. There is an old saying that goes like this, "if you are out of work it's a recession, if I am out of work it's a depression". There are many of us now who are in a depression using that analogy and there are many of us who are in a recession, but all of us are feeling the pain.

As we begin to feel the pinch and cut back our spending on such things as fuel and food we will see prices fall back somewhat. No demand and an oversupply adds up to lower prices, but in one area of our lives this economic truth is not true at all.

I cite government spending as being the big exception. We do not see our taxes fall; in fact we see government extracting even more of our money. Government creates no wealth, it produces nothing, and it can only redistribute your money and mine. It takes from one and gives to another and at the same time tries to make us think that it is in our best interest. They attempt to lead us to believe they are our benefactors and just being benevolent by giving aid to a chosen segment of our society. The fact is they are feeding us a placebo and at the same time causing our pain to worsen.

It is interesting to note that 64 cents of every dollar the government collects in taxes is distributed among 5% of the lowest income persons among us. It doesn't take a genius to do the math. It was only a matter of time before this trend would be a contributing factor to the economic chaos we are now experiencing. In this election year don't be fooled by rhetoric but rather, be educated by history. This campaign talks more about spending than it does about earning and America must get back into the earning business for the benefit of all of us, including the five percent that now reaps the windfall of taxation.

It sometimes makes us feel good when we hear someone say tax the rich they can afford it. I have a problem with this, I would think that without rich people, whatever that is, we poor folks would have nobody to work for. To further make my point, a number of years ago in an article I wrote here, I examined some numbers that came from the statistical analysis of the United States and the results were very interesting. At that time we were hearing, just as we are hearing now, that old refrain tax the rich,-tax the rich.

I wanted to know what that meant so I looked to the statistics our own government for answers and this is what I found. Not knowing who was rich and who wasn’t, I simply confiscated 100% from everyone who were earning $50,000 a year and more. When I applied all of the money the so-called rich people paid in taxes to the budget from that same analysis I discovered that those rich people only supplied enough money to run the government for a little over one month. That told me that the poor people that our government was referring to would have to pay the bill to run government for the next 10 1/2 months.

Nothing has changed. We are hearing the same song being sung by a different choir, but I assure you if you were to do the math you would very likely find the same results today that I found many years ago. The numbers would be different but the result should be exactly the same.

Don't ask where the money comes from to run government but ask where it goes and I think you will quickly have a different opinion each time the campaign rhetoric is focused on those despicable rich people. Remember you heard this from poor candidates.

You are being used in a very embarrassing way when someone seeking office assumes that you are not intelligent enough to see through their masquerade. Remember they are attempting to buy votes with public money. Don't let them use yours.

2008-08-18T21:00:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

Where are we headed in this country?

My ramblings here certainly express my more conservative position and pigpen hole me, so to speak. I have tried to be as unbiased and fair as I can in my position statements but underneath I am very concerned about the path our nation is following. I don't know if it is just my age, my background or if in fact we are stumbling into the socialist abyss of no return.

Sometimes I read the words of others who feel as I do and I feel lifted by knowing someone besides me is worried. When I find a person from the tinsel town of Hollywood, the liberal citadel of fantasy I am not only surprised but I'm elated to think someone with a firm grip on reality still exists in that environment.

I am going to reprint a letter here written by just such a Hollywood personality, Jerry Molen. Mister Molen is a producer and director of renown and what he says is so on target. I researched his letter and his position and found him to be legitimate and forthright in his assessment of our nation's path.

I submit Mr. Molen's letter to all of us below.

Subject: HE WILL DESTROY AMERICA

'The mark of a profound person is the ability to foresee consequences before one acts'

Obama HE WILL DESTROY AMERICA

read and weep if this guy takes over.
This is an e-mail from BGen James Cash, USAF, who has written some very good articles on the subject. Here he recommends someone else's e-mail that impressed him, and scared him.

General Cash Wrote:
Occasionally, I receive an email that I agree with so totally I want to pass to everyone on my list. This is one of those emails. I have approval from the writer to forward the attached, and feel free to post it on your websites, or forward to friends. The election of Obama as President of the United States will mark the apex, and beginning downslide of this Republic. The only question is the rate at which the downfall will occur.

The writer of this essay is Jerry Molen. Jerry is a great friend and an Academy Award winning Hollywood Producer. He did Jurassic Park , Hook, Rainman, and many more class movies. He won he Academy Award for Schindler's List. Jerry is one of the very few clear thinking conservatives that I know from Hollywood . We need to get this out to as many as possible to include liberal Democrats.. We are about to make the Mother-of-All-Mistakes, because the Republican Party gave us no reliable alternative. In my opinion, if the conservative movement does not rally behind the only alternative left to us, this country will become a true Socialist State within the next two Presidential terms. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the most grave situation this nation has faced in my lifetime.

Jim Cash B/G, USAF, Ret.
Jerry Molen wrote:
'Election woes defined by prose.....'

We just experienced an overhyped, positively outrageous primary election season that has left me cold and wondering where the heads of our citizens are hiding out. Must be someplace where the sun doesn't get to very often.

At one time in my life I was a determined, dedicated and ever loyal registered Democrat. Then something happened (Lyndon Baines Johnson) that turned my life around and gave me much pause as to the veracity of a party that dwelt on and fed off of the most unfortunate among us. Some of those unfortunates were in their positions in life by way of their own choosing and others were there by circumstance. But always, always with a door open to them to reach for new heights, achieve new goals, change their lives for the better. And also, always ever present were the bottom feeders doing everything they could to take advantage of those who had not or have not seen the light of better days and times nor realizing they were in fact the masters of their own destiny. They had come to believe that they were dependent on those in power in Washington and that they would look out for them and take care of their every need. They are still waiting and expecting all those promised freebies.

Most people aren't even aware that the Democrats ruled Washington for over 40 years. It wasn't until 1994 when the so called Gingrich Revolution changed that for a short period of time. Nor do people realize that it was the Dem's that created the failed policies of the many entitlement programs that are falling apart right before our eyes. Please do not think I find the Republicans blameless in all this. They too, suffer from ego inflation and greed motivators built into the system. It's just that the past few months I've listened to the rantings and railings of the left in America calling for more giveaways and better ways to obtain the proverbial 'free lunch'.

I think that to sum up my feelings and why I am so set apart from those within the circles of political power and influence can be illustrated best by a quote by noted basketball legend and talk show co-host Charles Barkley:

'Poor people have been voting for Democrats for the last fifty years....and they are still poor'.

And now with the election results comes the promises of 'change'. 'Change we can believe in.' 'Change for the future'. When in fact if you really, I mean REALLY listen to what the new messiah is asking for is not 'change of policy' or 'change for the better'. He is warning all of us that he wants our change all right, 'loose change', pocket change', social change and political change......So people wake up. For if you don't the change you get may not be the change you were expecting or the change you wanted.

To close my screed, I want to leave you with some JM predictions in the event the junior Senator from Illinois becomes President and especially if the House and Senate are veto proof.

1). Strict new gun laws will be enacted even though he promised he would not.
2). The phrase 'In God We Trust' will be removed from all currency.
3). He will back away from his pledge to Israel and leave them to the wolves of Islam.
4). Hillary Clinton will be named to the Supreme Court.
5). Tax rates will return to their highest levels in 30 years.
6). The capital gains tax will be at least double current levels.
7). Retired Army General Wesley Clark will be named Secretary of Defense.
8). The borders will be 'basically open' to all comers. Especially those from the Middle East and South America ..
9). Amnesty will be granted to all illegals now in the U.S regardless of status or even gang members (MS-13). and
10). The war in Iraq will be brought to an abrupt end and the results will be tragic and the consequences to our military will be devastating.

I realize that my predictions may not sit too well with some people and the best we could all hope for is that I am totally wrong. Any bets?

Jerry Molen

If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone...

YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM!
It is Time for Americans to Speak up!

2008-08-05T06:17:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

What is a windfall?

Help me: a windfall profit is a profit that is different than a profit, a sort of a profit-profit. Would that be right? Is it a return on investment, a margin above cost or is it simply something that depends upon who is earning it? Well, anyway it’s back in the news again.

High gasoline prices and campaigns have driven Obama to campaign for an “emergency” plan. He says his plan would take a reasonable share of oil companies profits to finance a plan to give rebates of one thousand dollars to families and five hundred dollars to individuals to help them over the hump in this scandalous mess created by “windfall profits”. He has an Illinois buddy who says, yep he is right, “oil companies have to know there is a limit”, says Mr. Durbin.

Facts will show that this absurd move would cause the oil economy to sail like a whiffle ball in the wind. If windfall profits are to be calculated by the Obama-Durbin team, many other U.S. corporations are bigger crooks than the oil industry. If these two are counting a percentage of sales that stacks up something like this. Exxon had a 10% for 2007, which is hardly out of line with the oil and gas industry average of 8.3%, or the 8.9% for U.S. manufacturing not counting the sinking auto makers. Aerospace and chemicals among others are basking in some of those “windfall profits” of 12% and more.

What are the consequences of such a cockamamie campaign ruse? If profits are high on oil companies they are already taxed heavily on their profits. The more they make the more they pay. It seems to me they already pay a windfall profits tax. If we take a bigger cut of corporate profits it will cause dividends to retired folks, union pension plans and college funds to return smaller dividends. But that should be no problem as those dividends are taxed as well. We seem to have all bases covered.

If dividends shrinking are not punishment enough for all of us, including the oil industry, let’s consider the lack of funds and incentive to explore for more oil or alternative fuels. Think you would stay on the job if the boss says; next week I am cutting your pay in half. You make more than the guy across the street?

The old law of supply and demand is still on the books and always will be. Violators of that law have failed miserably. The former Soviet Union being a shining example, supply was controlled by government and demand limited by regulated salaries. The result was a country whose people lived much below the standards of any developed nation. The system failed as we all know and now we see political opportunists advocating it right here in the good old U.S.A. Are you ready for it?

If demand will lower fuel costs or if supply will, then let’s do one or the other, but certainly not punish anyone for making a profit which is the fuel that runs the economy. Above all don’t let these hedgehopping cowboys twist you because of your lack of information or lack of familiarity with the subject. They both know better and hope you don’t.

Drive a little less and gasoline will come down, drill for more oil and gasoline prices will fall, send the greenies on a long vacation and gasoline will cost less. What ever we do let’s not punish oil companies and their stockholders for the sake of a vote.

2008-07-23T05:56:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BASICS
take this test

By today's standards this is truly impressive!
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895.

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could you have passed the 8th grade in 1895? This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley
Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS -1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of

"lie," "play," and "run."
5. Define case; Illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that

you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1:25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many

bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 0cts/bushel,

deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary

levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have

$104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20

per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of

which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn,

and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800,

1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) Do we even know what this is??
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography,
etymology, syllabication.

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph,

subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals.
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.'
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions

under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi,

dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name

the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd,
cell, rise,

blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane,

fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate
pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver,

Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and

Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same

latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the

sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the

earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

2008-07-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

Is there someplace else to find facts and explore new ideas?

I have often made the statement “the press creates public opinion, then reports on that opinion. This phenomenon has never been more obvious than it has been during this presidential campaign and as the battle rages between July and November, newspapers and television will crank up their unique method of “reporting”. Careful analysis of the news blitz will graphically demonstrate that volumes of “news” will simply be public reaction to an earlier discloser about the topic at hand.

Reporting news and editorializing are two distinct activities that we sometimes confuse and rightfully so. Editorializing is simply an expression of opinion by radio personalities, television personalities or the editorial comments in the paper. I simply express my opinions and that is editorializing. You know that right from the beginning, you may share my opinions now and then but it is not news, I do not report news.

A person who “reports” news is generally considered to be a source of information of a factual nature, describing what happened when, where and how. In some cases a reporter does exactly that, but more frequently they editorialize in the reported content. The reporting many times presents the reporter’s synopsis or outline of not only what, when, where or how, but why as well. Sometimes these outlines contain very subtle points or innuendos that are dynamite in fashioning public opinion. So subtle that you are being led when you least expect it.

I was made aware of such subtle public opinion forming while walking the streets of Portland Oregon one warm Saturday afternoon. As I ambled along a busy thoroughfare where traffic and shoppers were engaging in shopping and dining the scene was briefly interrupted by a parade of demonstrators being moved along the street by police. The group was a pathetic collection; including young, old, mothers and dads including some that had outgrown counter-culture but must have still been sniffing the weed. The group was not large; I would guess a hundred maximum. They passed by with little fanfare the crowds on the street were paying absolutely no attention to them at all and just as quickly as they appeared they vanished. What a waste of time for them, nobody noticed or seemed to care.

My afternoon walk took me to a beautiful park in downtown Portland located on the banks of the river. Approaching I realized I had stumbled into the midst of this bunch who had earlier been parading main street. It was evident that they were primarily opposed to nuclear power. They predicted the end of everything known to man but did have presence of mind enough to collect money. Maybe they were planning to buy space on a comet to a new location. Nevertheless it was a small group and really amounted to zero.

Later that evening while relaxing in my room and watching the news I was subjected to the subtle news reporting that I described earlier. The tube was filled with demonstrators and the cause “nuclear power” was being trumpeted. It would seem that all of Portland had joined the demonstration and disaster was imminent. I had been there and seen it all. I knew it was all hogwash but how many in the Portland viewing area had a different impression? This kind of reporting is the norm, it creates public opinion and I would assume the printed press picked it up the following morning and ran with it, further widening the chasm of fear being created by this ragtag smattering of losers.

The reporters, editors and sales departments have a vested interest in this sort of reporting. Fear and controversy are the fuel that brings readers and viewers, which in turn bring home advertising that makes it all run. Good news is not good news to them. As we proceed in this campaign year expect more public opinion being fabricated than you have ever seen in your life. It is estimated that as much as two billion, yes two billion will be spent on this campaign. He who spends most and is the cleverest at manipulating the news will win the election and the press will take home the prize.

It is true the public has a certain amount of skepticism about reports in the news but they seem at a loss for an alternate source. There are news sources and information avenues available that will give us a new slant on things purported to be fact. The internet is the most fertile ground for point and counter point I have ever found. If it weren’t a potent vehicle for information Barak Obama would not have been able to raise the vast amounts of cash he has. Yes, the internet is responsible for much of his war chest.

Blogs on the net provide a very interesting and varied source of information. What is a blog, I will quote from an internet encyclopedia. (A blog, an abridgment of the term web log, is a website usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video). This is a good place to begin your quest for other points of view.

I have a blog on the internet and my sources for information are many and varied. I try each day to scan many news sources around the world and here in the U.S. it is interesting and sometimes very enlightening to get the viewpoint of others.

That is my opinion, what is yours?

2008-07-16T06:28:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

The Lawyer's Party

The Democrat Party has become the Lawyers' Party. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are lawyers. Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama are lawyers. John Edwards, the other former Democrat candidate for president, is a lawyer, and so is his wife, Elizabeth. Every Democrat nominee since 1984 went to law school (although Gore did not graduate). Every Democrat vice presidential nominee since 1976, except for Lloyd Bentsen, went to law school. Look at the Democrat Party in Congress: the Majority Leader in each house is a lawyer.

The Republican Party is different. President Bush and VicePresident Cheney were not lawyers, but businessmen. The leaders of the Republican Revolution were not lawyers. NewtGingrich was a history professor; Tom Delay was an exterminator; and,Dick Armey was an economist. House Minority Leader Boehner was a plastic manufacturer, not a lawyer. The former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is a heart surgeon.

Who was the last Republican president who was a lawyer? GeraldFord, who left office 31 years ago and who barely won the Republican nomination as a sitting president, running against Ronald Reagan in 1976. The Republican Party is made up of real people doing real work. The Democrat Party is made up of lawyers. Democrats mock and scorn men who create wealth, like Bush and Cheney, or who heal the sick, like Frist, or who immerse themselves in history, like Gingrich.

The Lawyers' Party sees these sorts of people, who provide goods and services that people want, as the enemies of America. And, so we have seen the procession of official enemies, in the eyes of the Lawyers' Party, grow.

Against whom do Hillary and Obama rail? Pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, hospitals, manufacturers, fast food restaurant chains, large retail businesses, bankers, and anyone producing anything of value in our nation.

This is the natural consequence of viewing everything through the eyes of lawyers. Lawyers solve problems by successfully representing their clients, in this case the American people. Lawyers seek to have new laws passed, they seek to win lawsuits, they press appellate courts to overturn precedent, and lawyers always parse language to favor their side.

Confined to the narrow practice of law, that is fine. But it is an awful way to govern a great nation. When politicians as lawyers begin to view some Americans as clients and other Americans as opposing parties, then the role of the leg al system in our life becomes all-consuming. Some Americans become adverse parties' of our very government. We are not all litigants in some vast social class-action suit. We are citizens of a republic that promises us a great deal of freedom from laws, from courts, and from lawyers.

Today, we are drowning in laws; we are contorted by judicial decisions; we are driven to distraction byomnipresent lawyers in all parts of our once private lives.America has a place for laws and lawyers, but that place is modest and reasonable, not vast and unchecked. When the most important decision for our next president is whom he will appoint to the Supreme Court, the role of lawyers and the law in America is too big. When lawyers use criminal prosecution as a continuation of politics by other means, as happened in the lynching of Scooter Libby and Tom Delay, then the power of lawyers in America is too great. When House Democrats sue America in order to hamstring our efforts to learn what our enemies are planning to do to us, then the role of
litigation in America has become crushing.

We cannot expect the Lawyers' Party to provide real change, real reform, or real hope in America. Most Americans know that a republic in which every major government action must be blessed by nine unelected judges is not
what Washington intended in 1789. Most Americans grasp that we cannot fight a war when ACLU lawsuits snap at the heels of our defenders. Most Americans intuit that more lawyers and judges will not restore declining moral values or spark the spirit of enterprise in our economy.

Perhaps Americans will understand that change cannot be brought to our nation by those lawyers who already largely dictate American society and business. Perhaps Americans will see that hope does not come from the mouths of lawyers but from personal dreams nourished by hard work. Perhaps Americans will embrace the truth that more lawyers with more power will only make
our problems worse.

2008-07-03T17:36:00.001-05:00

milt jensen

What is all this ANWR business?

There is a lot of talk about drilling more of our own oil and reducing our reliance on Middle East sources. Good talk and good moves are not one and the same. Again the environmentalists are in charge and no way can we drill particularlly in the ANWr (Artic National Wildlife Refuge). I felt it was time to circulate some facts that are conveniently concealed in this important discussion. The following link will take you to my comparison page. Go To ANWR

Get another view from a native of the region. It may make you think again.

2008-07-01T11:16:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

In November let's remember

James Oschner, a member of a Special Forces intelligence group was killed in Afghanistan by a makeshift roadside explosive, which exploded, near his vehicle. Sergeant Oschner was killed in November of 2005, leaving a wife and two children. James’ entire family is rooted in our military.

Sgt. Oschner’s father Bob served in Vietnam and his brother Robert serves presently and a veteran of two tours in Iraq. Robert’s wife also a soldier is now stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina who has also served in Iraq.

Last week a group known as the Wounded Heroes Foundation dedicated a flagpole in memory of James Oschner in the yard of his parent’s home in Beach Park, I was proud to be among the large group that was there to honor not only James but also the entire family. The group in attendance included many veterans, neighbors, organizations and elected officials. It was a very moving ceremony in honor of a fallen hero and his patriotic family.

Many thoughts crossed my mind as I stood there. I have stood at many such ceremonies in my lifetime and memories of those past, from World War Two until now, reminded me of how lucky we are to have those among us who are so dedicated as the family being honored on this day. I watched the flag rise on that pole and viewed a neighborhood where nearly every yard was covered in flags. I felt humbled that this flag we were raising represented a life given, so that we may still display this symbol of freedom over our land,

Throughout our history our people have harbored feelings of pride and concern about that symbol of freedom. Best reminded by the words penned by Francis Scott Key in our National Anthem. Through the darkest hours of night and during a raging battle the question was, is our flag still there? In the first light of dawn it was still there. I felt that surge of nostalgia on this day as our flag rose high in honor of a man and his family who preserved that cherished freedom.

I am concerned about the direction many of our countrymen have turned as we listen to the rhetoric in a campaign year. There are those who call our nation a world bully, a weakened power, led by morons and it’s time we change. We must chat and sup with our enemies, those who have dedicated their lives to eliminate ours. I don’t think so and on that day in Beach Park as I gazed up at Old Glory flying proudly over the home of a true American family I was reminded of these naysayers among us today.

This November let’s remember all of those families today and in the past that, as Lincoln said “gave their last measure of devotion” and support those who still believe in America.

2008-06-05T11:18:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

So many are challenging the indefinite mutterings of Obama one has to wonder not only who he is but what he is. Here is a copy of questions proposed to Obama by George Will. Certainly interesting to say the least. America, we have to watch very carefully. What we are hearing and what is being said are two different things.

May 5, 2008 issue of Newsweek
"Questions for Obama" by George F. Will

"Senator, concerning the criteria by which you will nominate judges, you said: "We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old." Such sensitivities might serve an admirable legislator, but what have they to do with judging? Should a judge side with whichever party in a controversy stirs his or her empathy? Is such personalization of the judicial function inimical to the rule of law?

• Voting against the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, you said: Deciding "truly difficult cases" should involve "one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy." Is that not essentially how Chief Justice Roger Taney decided the Dred Scott case? Should other factors—say, the language of the constitutional or statutory provision at issue—matter?

• You say, "The insurance companies, the drug companies, they're not going to give up their profits easily when it comes to health care." Why should they? Who will profit from making those industries unprofitable? When pharmaceutical companies have given up their profits, who will fund pharmaceutical innovations, without which there will be much preventable suffering and death? What other industries should "give up their profits"?

• ExxonMobil's 2007 profit of $40.6 billion annoys you. Do you know that its profit, relative to its revenue, was smaller than Microsoft's and many other corporations'? And that reducing ExxonMobil's profits will injure people who participate in mutual funds, index funds and pension funds that own 52 percent of the company?

• You say John McCain is content to "watch [Americans'] home prices decline." So, government should prop up housing prices generally? How? Why? Were prices ideal before the bubble popped? How does a senator know ideal prices? Have you explained to young couples straining to buy their first house that declining prices are a misfortune?

• Telling young people "don't go into corporate America ," your wife, Michelle, urged them to become social workers or others in "the helping industry," not "the moneymaking industry." Given that the moneymakers pay for 100 percent of American jobs, in both public and private sectors, is it not helpful?

• Michelle, who was born in 1964, says that most Americans' lives have "gotten progressively worse since I was a little girl." Since 1960, real per capita income has increased 143 percent, life expectancy has increased by seven years, infant mortality has declined 74 percent, deaths from heart disease have been halved, childhood leukemia has stopped being a death sentence, depression has become a treatable disease, air and water pollution have been drastically reduced, the number of women earning a bachelor's degree has more than doubled, the rate of home-ownership has increased 10.2 percent, the size of the average American home has doubled, the percentage of homes with air conditioning has risen from 12 to 77, the portion of Americans who own shares of stock has quintupled … Has your wife perhaps missed some pertinent developments in this country that she calls "just downright mean"?

• You favor raising the capital gains tax rate to "20 percent or 25 percent." You say this will not "distort" economic decision making. Your tax returns on your 2007 income of $4.2 million show that you and Michelle own few stocks. Are you sure you understand how investors make decisions?

• During the ABC debate, you acknowledged that when the capital gains rate was dropped first to 20 percent, then to 15 percent, government revenues from the tax increased and they declined in the 1980s when it was increased to 28 percent. Nevertheless, you said you would consider raising the rate "for purposes of fairness." How does decreasing the government's financial resources and punishing investors promote fairness? Are you aware that 20 percent of taxpayers reporting capital gains in 2006 had incomes of less than $50,000?

• You favor eliminating the cap on earnings subject to the 12.4 percent Social Security tax, which now covers only the first $102,000. A Chicago police officer married to a Chicago public-school teacher, each with 20 years on the job, have a household income of $147,501, so you would take another $5,642 from them. Are they under taxed? Are they rich?

• This November, electorates in four states will vote on essentially this language: "The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting." Three states— California , Washington and Michigan —have enacted such language. You made a radio ad opposing the Michigan initiative. Why? Are those states' voters racists?

• You denounce President Bush for arrogance toward other nations. Yet you vow to use a metaphorical "hammer" to force revisions of trade agreements unless certain weaker nations adjust their labor, environmental and other domestic policies to suit you. Can you define cognitive dissonance?

• You want "to reduce money in politics." In February and March you raised $95 million. See prior question.

2008-06-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

Points to ponder on the price of gasoline

A reprint of a letter I received and I think is would be enlightening to review it and also to view the links.

Gas at $4.00 a gallon. Who's to blame?

Thanks to the environmentalists lobby and its influence on Democratic legislators in Congress, the U.S. has, for decades, been prohibited from drilling for oil in places that we know contain billions of barrels of proven reserves.

Check out this map:

All of the "NO" zones are places where the U.S., thanks to the Democratic Party, is prohibited from drilling for oil.

But wait ... it gets better.

***China, Cuba, Canada and others continue to drill off our shores where US companies are not allowed to drill because of Democratic policies!

<http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_L6pDyjqqsvY/SBfoVYWcIyI/AAAAAAAANQM/sbwHkEqH6d0/s1600-h/china+drilling.jpg >
Yes, that's right ... China and Cuba are actively exploring oil fields 50 miles from Key West, Florida while U.S. companies are barred from working in this area because of U.S. policy . So, instead of allowing the most environmentally responsible companies to operate there and increase our domestic supply, China, who has a dismal environmental record, is preparing to suck our close, lucrative oil reserves dry.

Unbelievable.

Investor's Business Daily <http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/080429/issues.html?.v=1 > recently explained how irresponsible the Democrats have been on the energy crisis. They lay into what they consider to be the worst Congress ever <http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/2007/07/18/worst-congress-ever/ > for .....
~ Failing to allow drilling in ANWR. We have, as President Bush noted, estimated capacity of a million barrels of oil a day from this source alone -- enough for 27 million gallons of gas and diesel. But Congress won't touch it, fearful of the clout of the environmental lobby. As a result, you pay through the nose at the pump so your representative can raise campaign cash.

~ Refusing to build new refineries. The U.S. hasn't built one since 1976, yet the EPA requires at least 15 unique 'boutique' fuel blends that can be sold in different areas around the nation. This means that U.S. refinery capacity is stretched so tight that even the slightest problem at a refinery causes enormous supply problems and price spikes. Congress has done nothing about this.

~ Turning its back on nuclear power. It's safe and, with advances in nuclear reprocessing technology, waste problems have been minimized. Still, we have just 104 nuclear plants -- the same as a decade ago -- producing just 19% of our total energy. (Many European nations produce 40% or more of their power with nuclear.) Granted, nuclear power plants are expensive -- about $3 billion each. But they produce energy at $1.72/kilowatt-hour vs. $2.37 for coal and $6.35 for natural gas.

~ Raising taxes on energy producers. This is where a basic understanding of economics would help: Higher taxes and needless regulation lead to less production of a commodity. So by proposing 'windfall' and other taxes on energy companies plus tough new rules, Congress only makes our energy situation worse.

These are just a few of Congress' sins of omission -- all while India, China, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are adding more than a million barrels of new demand each and every year. New Energy Department forecasts see world oil demand growing 40% by 2030, including a 28% increase in the U.S.

Americans who are worried about the direction of their country, including runaway energy and food prices, should keep in mind the upcoming election isn't just about choosing a new president. We'll also pick a new Congress.

If you agree with the need to let the American people know who's REALLY responsible for the sky-high gasoline prices we're seeing today, please forward this e-mail on to everyone you know. If we elect a liberal Democrat as president in the Fall and keep the same Democrat-controlled Congress, nothing will change .... except gasoline prices, which will keep going up.

2008-06-04T12:24:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

The science of Climatology

This is a letter that appeared in my mail box ... I thought you may be interested in taking a look at the source. Google it.

Hi Everybody: I am finishing up a short 182 page book entitled CLIMATE CONFUSION by Dr. Roy Spencer(no relation)who earned his PhD in Meteorology at the University of Wisconsin. It is an intellectually honest discussion of the physics behind the world's weather and climate system. It is written for laymen and even I could follow most of it. He doesn't make a case either for or against global warming. He lets the reader decide. If you read this book it is highly likely that you will know more about the subject than most
Congressman and those journalists that write about it. My take on it is that the climate system is incredibly complex with an almost infinite number of variables. Anyone that thinks an accurate, predictive model can be developed out of all these unpredictable variables missed freshman statistics.
Modeling the U.S. Stock Market, the U.S. Economy, the World Energy Market, etc, etc, etc. would be child's play by comparison. You all know how
accurate those models are.

Cheers, Roger

2008-06-04T06:06:00.000-05:00

Green Terrorism

Times are tougher than those we are used to and as we attempt to cope with rising costs and the shrinking dollar we look to place the blame for our dilemma on someone. There is no one direction we can point to place that blame and we generally miss the mark when we do.

I am not an economist but fortunately I have the opportunity to talk directly to those who are and what I learn is very interesting. The high price of oil is certainly a factor that affects the cost of every thing else. Farmers use oil to plow and cultivate and oil products to fertilize the field. Transportation of the product to market requires oil and we use it to go to the store to purchase the product. That is the scenario that fits everything we buy. Yes oil is no doubt one of the culprits in this dizzying spiral of higher costs and less money.

Who is to blame? I think we all are and there is enough blame to go around. In the past we were industrious, innovative and promoted the creation of wealth. Gradually we slipped from producing wealth to living on it. Our factories produced less at higher costs and we lost the competitive edge in manufacturing. We relaxed and lived the life of Riley and we should have, we earned it. Unfortunately we thought the ride would never end and now we find ourselves winding down and we are having trouble coping with it.

In a nutshell, we have to get back on-board, the vacation is over. We must once again go to work and not expect we can make a living trading hats. We have to produce, to be innovative and make our nation the market place of the world it once was. We need to look long and hard at our leadership and demand action and not just listen to their canned political rhetoric. We must produce energy and we can. We have oil reserves, coal reserves and the world’s greatest nuclear capability. Yet we are not exploiting our resources and allowing foreign energy producers to strangle our economy. The question is why?

Supply and demand is one factor in the debate over high oil prices but not the only one. We are held hostage Middle East oil producers and we are impacted by a religion of environmentalism that is strangling our nation and prohibiting expansion. We have not built a new refinery since the late seventies and yet have had to close some for environmental reasons. These renegades from reality have been very effective. We do not open new oil fields in our country and do not refine any heavy crude. We are being fed environmental hogwash that says our “excesses” are ruining the planet. We listen and suffer while former and current politicians along with Hollywood addicts and trash dictate social change to “save the planet”. Come on folks we must change this and we can. Make noise and be heard. Remember the Jews in Nazi Germany? They were all quiet and said nothing as they began to take one at a time and look at what happened.

The social changes of communism collapsed and have been replaced by the new social order. The chains of the environmental movement are designed to do exactly what communism was to do for the working class in the past. Dissident scientists, the Al Gores and even present candidates for public office are the pigeons making the drops for the environmental movement. One presidential candidate recently said that it would be necessary for us to give up some of the things we have that we will have to learn to live differently. If a candidate for president of the United States is singing that refrain, how far are we from living in the “green commune”?

Next time you purchase gasoline, groceries or pay your taxes, don’t feel depressed, don’t feel down, be excited, be proud because you know you are doing the green thing.

2008-05-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

And you call this school?

One or more of the kids in our family have been a student at Zion Benton High School since 1968. Our seven kids started the parade, followed by eleven grandkids and now two more in the wings. The combined experience of this tribe has been good, that is, it started out that way but time has changed all of that.

This story began in 1968 when our first carried his books to ZBTHS on his first day, wide eyed and somewhat intimidated. That trepidation quickly turned to excitement as his high school experience began to take shape. He was excited about his new adventure. The studies were just what studies are for a boy, they were a pain but the extra curricular activities and school spirit made the drudgery of studying seem worth it.

During all these years we have witnessed vast deterioration in this institution. Highlights of the school experience have been dampened or eliminated until all that is left it seems it that they are sent to a holding pen and herded through without the benefit of tradition.

The return to school in the fall was an exciting time as the kids returned from their summer break and were back in the harness. The big bonfire, the parade and the rallies and community involvement made it so. Homecoming time was the first round of excitement and school spirit that drew them all back into the harness after a summer of fun. The bonfire, the parade and pep rallies drummed up excitement, not only in the school but the whole community. Every business was rooting for the team and the town was alive with the excitement. This was a big event. As the school year wore on other activities followed that drew the kids and community together, activities that made memories these students would carry with them long after they departed. Not so true any more.

Recently the “prank” of 11 seniors doing a harmless stunt made headlines, the students were suspended for seven days. The prank consisted of one student dressed in a gorilla suit chasing others dressed as bananas through the building. Seniors, yes seniors, the kids who are good students, the kids who made it all the way are about to take another major step in their lives and were jubilant because of it. The administration it seems has taken a turn that dampened the spirits of those seniors and at the same time brought the worst notoriety down upon the school, the community and the students.

News services across the nation now know of ZBTHS, they have learned that the traditional activities and the antics of seniors are not permitted. The notoriety they gained is not the kind a good school would relish. I have no idea what the rationale of the administration was but whatever it was it was handled poorly, in my opinion. That “prank” could have been turned into a community plus, like they were decades ago. A writer associated with UPI had this to say about the incident, “UPI reports that a high school in Illinois "has suspended 11 seniors involved in a prank that featured a student in a gorilla costume chasing banana-clad seniors in the hallways."

The students were suspended for 7 days. How sad to punish seniors about to graduate for doing something harmless and delightful. If I were the principal, I would have given them gold stars and a letter-grade boost in the class of their choice.”

If the administration has been backed into a corner by students they can’t handle and feel they must tighten the noose on the good students then it may be time to turn out the bums and let our kids have a good education and the lifelong experiences of excitement they once had there. These who would disrupt the system are not an educational problem they are a law enforcement problem.

2008-04-22T07:48:00.000-05:00

milt jensen

PAINT IT GREEN

The religion of global warming is sweeping its followers right off their feet. Never has a movement taken such proportions in such a short time and from such flimsy beginnings. The Hollywood tribe and Michael Moore found a real standard bearer in the form of a former Washington bozo and has managed to propel a “fictitious truth “ into a religion. If you disagree, or want to debate the question of global warming you are tagged a denier, an enemy of humanity and a destroyer of the planet.

Scientists around the globe are joining in unison to challenge the whole concept of man inducing climate change, however the half-truth and lack of scientific research by the Hollywood crowd has become the darling of the press. It has spread worldwide and is taking otherwise solid citizens along with the movers and shakers of our economy and the world over the top. There is a parallel here to the outcry of heretic as Copernicus dared to say the earth orbited the sun and not visa versa.

The movie “Inconvenient Truth” that fed this global warming mania has been a real manna from the pockets of moviegoers and believers. While Gore and Moore revel in their newfound fountain of money what may happen to our economy and that of the world is another story

Going green is the catch phrase of an economic revolution, a world wide socialist movement. Those encouraging this movement make no bones about their goal, as one writer in Time Magazine said, the failure of the free market to provide and our (United States) over use of the world’s resources is the cause of global warming and those starving in the world.

They have plans for us to “correct our mistakes” and that includes reducing our use of energy and offering credits to third world countries, allowing them to introduce carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in order to expand their economy. Simply put we will expend our wealth and energies on another nation on the name of saving the planet. Nobody in his or her right mind can equate this socialist one world economy with global warming. It is simply a socialist religion with roots firmly planted in a so-called scientific truth.

This is the kind of malarkey you expect to come from Hollywood but to see a nation buy it is astonishing.

Just paint something “green” and let this fiasco blow over.

Let's remember September 11, 2001

2008-04-20T07:14:00.002-05:00

A reader of this blog wrote me asking if I could insert the following slide show to just serve as a reminder of the terrible day the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists. I agreed that the writer was right and that we were forgetting.

During this campaign time we hear so much about making peace in the Middle East and that is soothing rhetoric and serves to hide the blemish of this horrendous inhumane act by those in the Middle East that still feel as strongly about those of us "infidels" of the West. For our sake and for the memories of those thousands who died we must NEVER forget.

Let's not ever let this happen again.