Freedom of speech & freedom of assembly, indeed.
(Hmmm...I think I smell a rat...)
~~~
Showing posts with label capitalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label capitalism. Show all posts
Monday, October 10, 2011
Things that make you go hmmm...?
Why is it that recent 'Occupy' assemblies are being hailed with such respect & journalistic seriousness, lending them the legitimacy of the "Arab Spring." While...in a parallel galaxy, far, far away, 'Tea party' assemblies were & are lambasted, ridiculed, maligned, besmirched by all manner of media & high profile politicians alike.
Freedom of speech & freedom of assembly, indeed.
(Hmmm...I think I smell a rat...)
Freedom of speech & freedom of assembly, indeed.
(Hmmm...I think I smell a rat...)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Stand with Gov. Scott Walker.
I stand with Governor Scott Walker. Do you?
Calling For A National Protest
Fellow Patriots,
American Majority is calling for a national demonstration of support for Scott Walker and leaders across the country who have the courage to fight the public sector union bosses - on Wednesday, February 23rd. This is the moment and opportunity for the tea partiers, and those who want limited government and support the free market, to stand firm against the greed and dangerous statist philosophy of the public sector unions. Help us fight this battle and win for America by doing one or more of the below:
1. A public show of support: a rally in your city showing your support for Governor Walker, the state legislators, and other governors and state legislators who want to do the right thing. Governor Walker is demonstrating responsible government in an era where government has been wasteful and irresponsible. He and other courageous leaders must understand that we completely support them in their decisions.
2. If you cannot conduct a rally, consider holding a candlelight vigil or march that night. Many will be offering up speeches, song, and prayers on behalf of our nation and its future.
3. If you are unable to attend an event in your area, please consider writing an op-ed or blog post concerning the issue. Every voice matters and deserves to be heard.
4. Lastly, we are asking that everyone update their Facebook statuses and tweet their support of Governor Walker's efforts. We must show our politicians that we can make just as much noise when they are doing the right things as well.
Now is the time to fight.
Ned Ryun
President
American Majority
~~~
Calling For A National Protest
Fellow Patriots,
American Majority is calling for a national demonstration of support for Scott Walker and leaders across the country who have the courage to fight the public sector union bosses - on Wednesday, February 23rd. This is the moment and opportunity for the tea partiers, and those who want limited government and support the free market, to stand firm against the greed and dangerous statist philosophy of the public sector unions. Help us fight this battle and win for America by doing one or more of the below:
1. A public show of support: a rally in your city showing your support for Governor Walker, the state legislators, and other governors and state legislators who want to do the right thing. Governor Walker is demonstrating responsible government in an era where government has been wasteful and irresponsible. He and other courageous leaders must understand that we completely support them in their decisions.
2. If you cannot conduct a rally, consider holding a candlelight vigil or march that night. Many will be offering up speeches, song, and prayers on behalf of our nation and its future.
3. If you are unable to attend an event in your area, please consider writing an op-ed or blog post concerning the issue. Every voice matters and deserves to be heard.
4. Lastly, we are asking that everyone update their Facebook statuses and tweet their support of Governor Walker's efforts. We must show our politicians that we can make just as much noise when they are doing the right things as well.
Now is the time to fight.
Ned Ryun
President
American Majority
~~
Game on.
Game on.
~~~
Monday, November 8, 2010
Pamela Geller: We Won - Now What?
November 07, 2010
We Won - Now What?
By Pamela Geller
The Republican win on Tuesday was far larger than the historic takeback of 1994, the stunning rebuke of Bill Clinton that subsequently forced a chastised president to enact welfare reform (a flying-pig moment). On Tsunami Tuesday, the Republicans won more seats in the House than at any time since 1948 -- 65 seats, the biggest swing by either party in the 62 years since then, along with another six seats in the Senate. We changed the world at the state level, completely flipping 18 state legislatures, including North Carolina, which hasn't seen a Republican majority since 1870. The Republicans gained over 500 legislative seats. Republicans picked up at least 10 governorships, giving them more than 30. Think about that.
Even the sparse wins the subversive left managed to pull out on Tuesday were riddled with chicanery, cheating, union payoffs, and the buying of votes with "free lunches." Harry Reid's systemic corruption garnered a win funded by millions of dollars from public-sector unions. It was all in the game. Same for California -- a state from which decent, hardworking Americans (aka Republicans) have been fleeing, a state destroyed by a union choke hold.
The stakes could not have been higher or more serious in the triumph of the rational on Tuesday. But despite the voter fraud, the SEIU/ACORN thugocracy, and the illegitimate tactics, the people spoke, and the people won. Now what? We are done with big government. We are done with recklessly stealing huge private-sector wealth. We are done being taxed half to death, our future leveraged and our competitive edge destroyed.
Obama still doesn't get it. Obama's tone at his press conference on Wednesday was still contemptuous of the American people and shocking in terms of simple math. He had the audacity to say this: "We should be able to agree now that it makes no sense for China to have better rail systems than us, and Singapore having better airports than us. And we just learned that China now has the fastest supercomputer on Earth. That used to be us. They're making investments, because they know those investments will pay off over the long term."
Singapore and China are free-market economies -- laissez-faire capitalism (though the Chinese people are politically repressed, which is why China will ultimately fail). So here we have Obama whining about more successful countries that are successful because of capitalism while driving America to the failed European model of socialism, Marxism, and serfdom.
In Obama's big-government America, the conditions in which free men produce, invent, and prosper quickly deteriorate due to government taxation and regulation. Big government has been encroaching on our lives for decades now, and with Obama, the bottom falls out.
Higher taxes imposed on the rich (and the semi-rich) come out of their investment capital (i.e., their savings). These taxes mean less investment, i.e., less production, fewer jobs, higher prices, etc. By the time the "rich" lower their standard of living, those who work in their companies or subcontract with them will be gone, along with their savings and their spouses' jobs -- and no power in the world (no economic power) will be able to revive the dead industries. There will be no such power left. (In this I am paraphrasing Ayn Rand's words from decades ago.)
The Concorde was going to be the future of air travel, in which we'd bop from place to place in half the time. Now the Concorde is defunct. Kaput. Much like the environment for producers and businessmen, who are the "villains" of Democrats, statists, collectivists, moochers, and looters.
This is the price of force. This is the price of coercion. This is the price of statism. This is the price of big government. The very idea of America has been subsumed by an enslavement mentality.
Every dollar the government robs from business, from the individual people, is a dollar that won't be invested in the private sector. Wealth won't be created, jobs won't be created, entrepreneurs and businessmen will be deprived of capital, etc. The United States was founded on the principle of individual rights -- government was designed to be small. The objective of the government was defense -- protection of individual rights.
What has the government done with the untold wealth they looted from the American people other than suck much-needed capital out of our free society to pay off their thugs, crooks, corrupt organizations, and get-out-the-vote community organizations?
Government is not the answer -- it destroys everything it touches. We must take back the culture, because politics is merely a reflection of the culture. The left has the culture in a choke hold. They demonize the successful and hardworking and exalt failures, moochers, and looters -- an inverted moral priority.
We are done with lies. We are done with "It's Bush's fault." We are done with "Obama inherited the second Great Depression." No. Obama's policies led to a great coming depression. Obama talks about Bush spending? The utter gall. Bush was Jack Benny to Obama's profligate Mack Daddy Warbucks. The left can spin it any way they like, but the economic emergency of 2008 was a direct result of Democrat entitlement/financial policy: Carter's Community Investment Act (CIA), Clinton's sub-prime push, and the ensuing Barney Frank Freddie Mac/Fanny Mae plunder. I do not fault Bush war expenditures. We are at war with a ruthless, bloodthirsty, savage ideology that has no humanity. No expense can be spared in defeating jihad. Obama's sniveling like a little girl falls on deaf ears when you consider the trillions he stole from us for no reason but to pad the pockets of his shadow government.
Our victory is the beginning of the forty years' war -- who is with me?
We will repeal national socialist ObamaCare.
We will destroy all old propaganda media. New media is steamrolling over the dead media walking.
We will repeal the financial reform bill that scapegoated business for the abject failures of the Fed.
We will take back the college campuses.
We will get on our children's school boards and, just like in Texas, change the whitewashed history books and review the syllabi.
Get government out of our lives. Dismantle big government. Piece by piece.
Deregulate business. Piece by piece. Sector by sector. Unshackle the motor of the country. Free the producer.
We will volunteer in homeschooling networks. We will donate and offer our services in our respective areas of expertise.
Unshackle America. Repeal "hate crime" legislation. All crime is hate. This is an attack on free speech. Islamic supremacists will invoke "hate speech" to kill free speech.
We will expose and prosecute the subversives like CAIR, ISNA, ICNA, ISNA, and all Muslim Brotherhood fronts whose stated aim is "eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within."
We will call our mortal enemy by its rightful name: Islamic jihad.
We will turn the Muslim Brotherhood into the Muslim Little-Girlhood.
We will stop funding Ground Zero Mosque Imam Rauf's fundraising junkets to the Middle East.
We will stop importing whole Muslim communities from Somalia under the "U.N.'s Resettlement Program."
We will ridicule, polarize, and render irrelevant the dogmatic, evil leftists.
We will crush them with our logic and reason and concrete facts.
We will demand reasoned discourse and laugh at their ad hominem attacks.
RINOs will not be tolerated. Leave the party, join the traitors. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, take note.
Drill, baby, drill.
We will raise the voting age to 21. Military excluded. If "children" are still on their parents health insurance at 26, maybe 21 is too low.
We will mandate trips for key liberals in leadership to Iran, Somalia, Darfur, et al., to see the results of clitorectomies, stonings, and gender apartheid.
We will arrange for youth summer camps in Somalia and Darfur for Obama's youth corps and tell them it's the Peace Corps for the lefties.
We will demand accountability from the United Nations or withdraw from it.
We will save Israel from Islamic anti-Semitism.
We will disqualify the Organization of the Islamic Conference at the U.N. until there is an Organization of the Christian Conference and Organization of the Jewish Conference.
This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. - Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
We Won - Now What?
By Pamela Geller
The Republican win on Tuesday was far larger than the historic takeback of 1994, the stunning rebuke of Bill Clinton that subsequently forced a chastised president to enact welfare reform (a flying-pig moment). On Tsunami Tuesday, the Republicans won more seats in the House than at any time since 1948 -- 65 seats, the biggest swing by either party in the 62 years since then, along with another six seats in the Senate. We changed the world at the state level, completely flipping 18 state legislatures, including North Carolina, which hasn't seen a Republican majority since 1870. The Republicans gained over 500 legislative seats. Republicans picked up at least 10 governorships, giving them more than 30. Think about that.
Even the sparse wins the subversive left managed to pull out on Tuesday were riddled with chicanery, cheating, union payoffs, and the buying of votes with "free lunches." Harry Reid's systemic corruption garnered a win funded by millions of dollars from public-sector unions. It was all in the game. Same for California -- a state from which decent, hardworking Americans (aka Republicans) have been fleeing, a state destroyed by a union choke hold.
The stakes could not have been higher or more serious in the triumph of the rational on Tuesday. But despite the voter fraud, the SEIU/ACORN thugocracy, and the illegitimate tactics, the people spoke, and the people won. Now what? We are done with big government. We are done with recklessly stealing huge private-sector wealth. We are done being taxed half to death, our future leveraged and our competitive edge destroyed.
Obama still doesn't get it. Obama's tone at his press conference on Wednesday was still contemptuous of the American people and shocking in terms of simple math. He had the audacity to say this: "We should be able to agree now that it makes no sense for China to have better rail systems than us, and Singapore having better airports than us. And we just learned that China now has the fastest supercomputer on Earth. That used to be us. They're making investments, because they know those investments will pay off over the long term."
Singapore and China are free-market economies -- laissez-faire capitalism (though the Chinese people are politically repressed, which is why China will ultimately fail). So here we have Obama whining about more successful countries that are successful because of capitalism while driving America to the failed European model of socialism, Marxism, and serfdom.
In Obama's big-government America, the conditions in which free men produce, invent, and prosper quickly deteriorate due to government taxation and regulation. Big government has been encroaching on our lives for decades now, and with Obama, the bottom falls out.
Higher taxes imposed on the rich (and the semi-rich) come out of their investment capital (i.e., their savings). These taxes mean less investment, i.e., less production, fewer jobs, higher prices, etc. By the time the "rich" lower their standard of living, those who work in their companies or subcontract with them will be gone, along with their savings and their spouses' jobs -- and no power in the world (no economic power) will be able to revive the dead industries. There will be no such power left. (In this I am paraphrasing Ayn Rand's words from decades ago.)
The Concorde was going to be the future of air travel, in which we'd bop from place to place in half the time. Now the Concorde is defunct. Kaput. Much like the environment for producers and businessmen, who are the "villains" of Democrats, statists, collectivists, moochers, and looters.
This is the price of force. This is the price of coercion. This is the price of statism. This is the price of big government. The very idea of America has been subsumed by an enslavement mentality.
Every dollar the government robs from business, from the individual people, is a dollar that won't be invested in the private sector. Wealth won't be created, jobs won't be created, entrepreneurs and businessmen will be deprived of capital, etc. The United States was founded on the principle of individual rights -- government was designed to be small. The objective of the government was defense -- protection of individual rights.
What has the government done with the untold wealth they looted from the American people other than suck much-needed capital out of our free society to pay off their thugs, crooks, corrupt organizations, and get-out-the-vote community organizations?
Government is not the answer -- it destroys everything it touches. We must take back the culture, because politics is merely a reflection of the culture. The left has the culture in a choke hold. They demonize the successful and hardworking and exalt failures, moochers, and looters -- an inverted moral priority.
We are done with lies. We are done with "It's Bush's fault." We are done with "Obama inherited the second Great Depression." No. Obama's policies led to a great coming depression. Obama talks about Bush spending? The utter gall. Bush was Jack Benny to Obama's profligate Mack Daddy Warbucks. The left can spin it any way they like, but the economic emergency of 2008 was a direct result of Democrat entitlement/financial policy: Carter's Community Investment Act (CIA), Clinton's sub-prime push, and the ensuing Barney Frank Freddie Mac/Fanny Mae plunder. I do not fault Bush war expenditures. We are at war with a ruthless, bloodthirsty, savage ideology that has no humanity. No expense can be spared in defeating jihad. Obama's sniveling like a little girl falls on deaf ears when you consider the trillions he stole from us for no reason but to pad the pockets of his shadow government.
Our victory is the beginning of the forty years' war -- who is with me?
We will repeal national socialist ObamaCare.
We will destroy all old propaganda media. New media is steamrolling over the dead media walking.
We will repeal the financial reform bill that scapegoated business for the abject failures of the Fed.
We will take back the college campuses.
We will get on our children's school boards and, just like in Texas, change the whitewashed history books and review the syllabi.
Get government out of our lives. Dismantle big government. Piece by piece.
Deregulate business. Piece by piece. Sector by sector. Unshackle the motor of the country. Free the producer.
We will volunteer in homeschooling networks. We will donate and offer our services in our respective areas of expertise.
Unshackle America. Repeal "hate crime" legislation. All crime is hate. This is an attack on free speech. Islamic supremacists will invoke "hate speech" to kill free speech.
We will expose and prosecute the subversives like CAIR, ISNA, ICNA, ISNA, and all Muslim Brotherhood fronts whose stated aim is "eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within."
We will call our mortal enemy by its rightful name: Islamic jihad.
We will turn the Muslim Brotherhood into the Muslim Little-Girlhood.
We will stop funding Ground Zero Mosque Imam Rauf's fundraising junkets to the Middle East.
We will stop importing whole Muslim communities from Somalia under the "U.N.'s Resettlement Program."
We will ridicule, polarize, and render irrelevant the dogmatic, evil leftists.
We will crush them with our logic and reason and concrete facts.
We will demand reasoned discourse and laugh at their ad hominem attacks.
RINOs will not be tolerated. Leave the party, join the traitors. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, take note.
Drill, baby, drill.
We will raise the voting age to 21. Military excluded. If "children" are still on their parents health insurance at 26, maybe 21 is too low.
We will mandate trips for key liberals in leadership to Iran, Somalia, Darfur, et al., to see the results of clitorectomies, stonings, and gender apartheid.
We will arrange for youth summer camps in Somalia and Darfur for Obama's youth corps and tell them it's the Peace Corps for the lefties.
We will demand accountability from the United Nations or withdraw from it.
We will save Israel from Islamic anti-Semitism.
We will disqualify the Organization of the Islamic Conference at the U.N. until there is an Organization of the Christian Conference and Organization of the Jewish Conference.
This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. - Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
~~~
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
"Generation Zero" : a MUST see film
In history, there are 4 turnings:
The first is The Crisis,
Next comes The High,
Then, The Awakening,
Finally, The Unraveling
History Repeats itself...
...the trailer...
...and commentary (1st 3 min. most impactful)
Let us learn from history.
We must be people of courage, people of conviction.
We must have leadership willing to make excruciating financial decisions;
We must have leadership willing to make excruciating financial decisions;
Leadership that refuses to run from strenuous, austere, unpopular choices.
The time for a turning of heroes is now.
We need heroes.
Are you one?
~~~
Monday, March 22, 2010
Prelude to a Revolution
They say History repeats itself...
THIS DAY March 22, 1765 the British Parliment passed the Stamp Act, imposing an oppressive, direct tax against the American Colonies. They did it to offset the costs of the military endeavor of the King in the colonies.
Wicked offense was taken by the colonists, that taxation from the Crown was directly imposed on the people - not in order to simply provide a loose regulatory structure for commerce - but to raise money for the Crown, for something the People didn't want, didn't need, & certainly did not wish to pay for.
Some colonists fell to despair, believing that they had no recourse. But by May 30th of the same year, 4 of Patrick Henry's Stamp Act Resolutions were passed:
1) Demanding their rights as citizens be preserved, and
2) Insisting the people's voices against oppressive taxation be heard & acknowledged, lest their 'ancient constitution' be obliterated.
This courageous 'sedition' led to the Stamp Act's repeal on March 18th, 1766, less than a year later.
Oppression must seek the bursting of Springtime. And it can be fought. And it can be defeated. Will we cower & fall into despair, as some colonists did? Thank God they didn't. And thank God we have their same fighting spirit within us. Will we remember? Will we call upon it?
THIS DAY March 22, 1765 the British Parliment passed the Stamp Act, imposing an oppressive, direct tax against the American Colonies. They did it to offset the costs of the military endeavor of the King in the colonies.
Wicked offense was taken by the colonists, that taxation from the Crown was directly imposed on the people - not in order to simply provide a loose regulatory structure for commerce - but to raise money for the Crown, for something the People didn't want, didn't need, & certainly did not wish to pay for.
Some colonists fell to despair, believing that they had no recourse. But by May 30th of the same year, 4 of Patrick Henry's Stamp Act Resolutions were passed:
1) Demanding their rights as citizens be preserved, and
2) Insisting the people's voices against oppressive taxation be heard & acknowledged, lest their 'ancient constitution' be obliterated.
This courageous 'sedition' led to the Stamp Act's repeal on March 18th, 1766, less than a year later.
Oppression must seek the bursting of Springtime. And it can be fought. And it can be defeated. Will we cower & fall into despair, as some colonists did? Thank God they didn't. And thank God we have their same fighting spirit within us. Will we remember? Will we call upon it?
If not now, never.
We are in this place 'for such a time as this.'
Do not discount your efforts.
This is our time.
It is our imperative, toward our posterity.
We have received our calling.
Join me.
~~~
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Call Congress Now
My fellow Conservative Activists:
It's time to flood the phone banks & email accounts of Congress. The House is attempting to scrape up votes to pass the Senate's illegitimate ObamaCare bill. We must apply all the pressure at our disposal. CALL/EMAIL today:
Call these 30 congressmen below. They represent Swing Votes who can make a difference. They Voted Yes the first time, but they're from districts that went for McCain and Palin 2008. They are terrified about their chances in November!
They will know you're not from their district; don't worry. JUST TELL THEM IF THEY VOTE FOR THE HEALTH CARE BILL, YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS WILL DONATE MONEY $ TO WHOMEVER RUNS AGAINST THEM IN NOVEMBER!
The list below shows the number for their DC Office first then their local office, CALL BOTH. Call in the day so you get to talk to a live person, not a machine!
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 (925) 833-0643
John Salazar (202) 225-4761 (970) 245-7107
Jim Hines (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 (630) 406-1145
Baron Hill (202) 225 5315 (812) 288 3999
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 (702) 256-DINA (3462)
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150
Mike Arcuri (202) 225-3665 (315)793-8146
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657
Earl Pomneroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803) 327-1114
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954
From Reagan Conservatives group on Facebook
It's time to flood the phone banks & email accounts of Congress. The House is attempting to scrape up votes to pass the Senate's illegitimate ObamaCare bill. We must apply all the pressure at our disposal. CALL/EMAIL today:
Call these 30 congressmen below. They represent Swing Votes who can make a difference. They Voted Yes the first time, but they're from districts that went for McCain and Palin 2008. They are terrified about their chances in November!
They will know you're not from their district; don't worry. JUST TELL THEM IF THEY VOTE FOR THE HEALTH CARE BILL, YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS WILL DONATE MONEY $ TO WHOMEVER RUNS AGAINST THEM IN NOVEMBER!
The list below shows the number for their DC Office first then their local office, CALL BOTH. Call in the day so you get to talk to a live person, not a machine!
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 (925) 833-0643
John Salazar (202) 225-4761 (970) 245-7107
Jim Hines (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 (630) 406-1145
Baron Hill (202) 225 5315 (812) 288 3999
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 (702) 256-DINA (3462)
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150
Mike Arcuri (202) 225-3665 (315)793-8146
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657
Earl Pomneroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803) 327-1114
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954
From Reagan Conservatives group on Facebook
~~
Curtsy to 'Read my lipstick network' for this post. Great work!
~~~
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Fence Test: which side are you on?
Hi Friends! Here's a 'test' for you. Got this the other day through email. Read on & see on which 'side of the fence' you're sitting:
The Fence Test
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed, AND he makes you turn yours in to the Police.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, she doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, she wants meat products banned for everyone, & tries to guilt you into losing your appetite.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him, AND tries to make you feel guilty for your success.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, she switches stations.
The liberal demands that those they don't like be shut down; 1st Amendment is only for them, you see.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants to silence any mention of God or religion, unless it is practiced by a slim minority, of course.
If a conservative decides she needs health care, she shops for it, or chooses a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that all of us pay for hers.
If a conservative reads this, he'll smile a knowing smile & have a good laugh.
A liberal will click off in a huff, or post a snide comment it because he's "offended."
The Fence Test
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed, AND he makes you turn yours in to the Police.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, she doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, she wants meat products banned for everyone, & tries to guilt you into losing your appetite.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him, AND tries to make you feel guilty for your success.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, she switches stations.
The liberal demands that those they don't like be shut down; 1st Amendment is only for them, you see.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants to silence any mention of God or religion, unless it is practiced by a slim minority, of course.
If a conservative decides she needs health care, she shops for it, or chooses a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that all of us pay for hers.
If a conservative reads this, he'll smile a knowing smile & have a good laugh.
A liberal will click off in a huff, or post a snide comment it because he's "offended."
So, there's the fence. Which side are you on?
~~~
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
In which salient HealthCare talk ensues...
Cruising around the blogs, I landed at an interesting discussion @ Left Coast Rebel. His brief post is a solid effort to tell Conservatives to buck up, put on our thinking caps & keep fighting against ObamaCare. Good thoughts & good timing. Nice appetizer. The main course came in the comment section (as it so often does @ Get the Big Idea).
After much volley, one commenter says:
"You have already determined, since no one here ever says otherwise, that universal health care is an obligation of society for those who are young, poor, disabled, seniors, or veterans..."
...um, excuse me. But I couldn't let that stand. My response:
"I'll beg to differ with ya. Disabled, Seniors, Veterans absolutely!!
But the young? That's a PARENT's/FAMILY's responsibility. Do I sound crass? Perhaps. Would I allow an indigent child to go untreated? No, but there MUST be some consequence for PARENTS FAILING their RESPONSIBILITIES!! Trust me. I've worked with the indigent population [in several places] & here's what I heard, "I'll have as many kids as I want to. The gov'ment will take care of me. They can't tell me to stop!" Ver batim from a former client.
...I AM that parent who chooses NOT to purchase, go, play, do things in order that we fulfill OUR OBLIGATION to our own children & provide for them...We buy independent insurance, paying dearly for it (it's like a second house payment). Got that? It's MY OBLIGATION!!!! [Not society's.]
Nanny state mentality is partly what has gotten us into this mess - & this [HealthCare] bill wants to give us more of it...Give me a break, & pass the buck."
Then, the salient voice of a new friend elucidates the issue for all:
"There is no social contract to pay other people's bills. Obamacare is a government mandated system that is supposed to help less than 10% of our population by pushing us down the road to not only socialized medicine, but socialism in general. Unwanted obligations amount to indentured servitude. That is what you condemn us to, all for a small percentage of the population.
This is the same religious fervor that espouses the end of the world due to anthropogenic climate change [Global Warming]. We now know that is a hoax.
As usual, socialists pitch to the lowest common denominator with emotion rather than rationale. Most people in this country oppose this plan...Under the current legislation proposed, this would change just about everything in an effort to get people on the government dole. It's ludicrous...
...Traditionally people got medical insurance to protect against bankruptcy and destitution from a catastrophic illness or injury. It wasn't meant to pay for every little hang nail and stubbed toe. Medical insurance has in fact impeded the free market that we used have and has driven costs up.
Lastly, you cannot insure health. All of us will die eventually, no matter what care one has. The insurance only mitigates financial risk...at the expense of others. Spreading the risks out further, through one plan, will only serve to cause even more restrictions on service and quality in an effort to contain costs.
That is why you see in countries with a single payer system, after a certain age, the wait for services grows arithmetically and in some cases is infinite. The end result of Obamacare, if it passes, is that the fabian socialists finally push the cart of capitalism over the edge of the cliff, and they know it, too.
The end game is to reduce humans to the same level as farm animals."
The end.
How could I presume to say more?
~~~
Friday, November 20, 2009
Being Paul Revere: Defeat ObamaCare II
Remember what I said in the Defeat ObamaCare piece?
Look what I found in my email just now...
A message to all members of Team Sarah
Our Team Sarah Health Care Review Board is busy reading Reid's 2074 pg bill. We need all hands on deck to help tweet findings. Please go to 'Twitter Fans For Sarah' for list of findings to tweet.
Come on Twitter Storm Group, Let's Storm Twitter With Findings!!
Visit Twitter Fans For Sarah at:
Cool, Huh?
Looks like others are moving from Teaparty to Paul Revere too...
If you use Twitter, join us. Be sure to tweet to hashtag groups (#gop #tcot #tlot #politics #liberals #hannity #maddow #rnc #dnc, etc., etc. ) to be sure your tweets are reaching the most people.
Go get em!
We can still win this fight!
Friends, we are part of the American internet/information Revolution!Use your voice to “reduce public support for the bill” by outing the Devil in the details. It’s a Trojan Horse they don’t want us to see. The good news is that we do. There's still time to sound the alarm!
Been to a Tea Party this year?
Friends, we are part of the American internet/information Revolution!Use your voice to “reduce public support for the bill” by outing the Devil in the details. It’s a Trojan Horse they don’t want us to see. The good news is that we do. There's still time to sound the alarm!
Been to a Tea Party this year?
Okay. Now: Be Paul Revere.
Look what I found in my email just now...
A message to all members of Team Sarah
Our Team Sarah Health Care Review Board is busy reading Reid's 2074 pg bill. We need all hands on deck to help tweet findings. Please go to 'Twitter Fans For Sarah' for list of findings to tweet.
Come on Twitter Storm Group, Let's Storm Twitter With Findings!!
Visit Twitter Fans For Sarah at:
Cool, Huh?
Looks like others are moving from Teaparty to Paul Revere too...
If you use Twitter, join us. Be sure to tweet to hashtag groups (#gop #tcot #tlot #politics #liberals #hannity #maddow #rnc #dnc, etc., etc. ) to be sure your tweets are reaching the most people.
Go get em!
~~~
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Of Bailouts, HealthCare & Prostitution
BAIL'EM OUT!!! ???? Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it.
They failed and it closed.
Now, we are trusting the economy of our country, our banking system, our auto industry and possibly our health plans to the same nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey?!
What are we thinking?
~~~
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sticky web: Copenhagen, Cap&Trade & Globalization
" 'Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,' President-elect Obama said of global warming last November. 'Delay is no longer an option.' It turns out that delay really is an option—the only one that has world-wide support."
Or so says the Wall Street Journal -- Copenhagen’s Collapse: the climate change sequel is a bust . This is welcome news to those of us who wish to remain a sovereign, self-directed nation.
(Pause for editorial gasp: I cannot believe I just typed those words… )
A few weeks ago, I anxiously posted a piece about the dangers of that Copenhagen summit, & followed it with a Part II . Apparently, you & I were not the only ones anxious about the potential for extortion that Copenhagen threatens. The WSJ says, "Mr. Obama bowed to reality and admitted that little of substance will come of the climate-change summit in Copenhagen next month."
That's good news! But don’t close your eyes just yet. One battle down, a philosophical war yet to wage.
Read on: "The environmental lobby is blaming Copenhagen's pre-emptive collapse on the Senate's failure to ram through a cap-and-trade scheme like the House did in June, arguing that 'the world' won't make commitments until the U.S. does... [though] China and India will never be masochistic enough to subject their economies to the West's climate neuroses…The pointlessness of Copenhagen will now become part of Mr. Obama's argument that the Senate must inflict cap and tax on the U.S., as well as a justification for the EPA's nondemocratic carbon crackdown via clean-air regulation. If he and we are lucky, however, the Senate will fail to act too...and the economy will recover faster without the looming burden of higher energy taxes."
Bear with me: Cap & Trade hasn’t gotten much press lately, for all the HealthCare talk. But just wait, friends, it’s coming. One only has to read pieces like Black Star News’ to realize that all these issues are woven together: national sovereignty, climate change, carbon emissions, 'going green,' to effect one overarching outcome: Globalization.
Sound benign enough?
Please. Read the Black Star article. The disdain, envy & utter disgust that the author holds for developed countries is striking. Friends, ‘Globalization’ means binding the West's hands (esp. the U.S.) & siphoning wealth to the Third World. All done through an entity out of our sight & beyond our control -- New World Order orWorld Government. 'Globalization' is code for massive Wealth Redistribution.
Sound familiar?
Climate change, 'going green,' & wealth redistribution are woven together, alright. It’s no accident our political culture has been softening our ear to these phrases for some time. (Makes me think there’s a larger spider weaving the web than we realize…)
No matter. We’re waking up, & I think, hope, pray it’s just in the nick of time. As I said in the close of Part II:
"We have not been 'standing watch.'
Or so says the Wall Street Journal -- Copenhagen’s Collapse: the climate change sequel is a bust . This is welcome news to those of us who wish to remain a sovereign, self-directed nation.
(Pause for editorial gasp: I cannot believe I just typed those words… )
A few weeks ago, I anxiously posted a piece about the dangers of that Copenhagen summit, & followed it with a Part II . Apparently, you & I were not the only ones anxious about the potential for extortion that Copenhagen threatens. The WSJ says, "Mr. Obama bowed to reality and admitted that little of substance will come of the climate-change summit in Copenhagen next month."
That's good news! But don’t close your eyes just yet. One battle down, a philosophical war yet to wage.
Read on: "The environmental lobby is blaming Copenhagen's pre-emptive collapse on the Senate's failure to ram through a cap-and-trade scheme like the House did in June, arguing that 'the world' won't make commitments until the U.S. does... [though] China and India will never be masochistic enough to subject their economies to the West's climate neuroses…The pointlessness of Copenhagen will now become part of Mr. Obama's argument that the Senate must inflict cap and tax on the U.S., as well as a justification for the EPA's nondemocratic carbon crackdown via clean-air regulation. If he and we are lucky, however, the Senate will fail to act too...and the economy will recover faster without the looming burden of higher energy taxes."
Bear with me: Cap & Trade hasn’t gotten much press lately, for all the HealthCare talk. But just wait, friends, it’s coming. One only has to read pieces like Black Star News’ to realize that all these issues are woven together: national sovereignty, climate change, carbon emissions, 'going green,' to effect one overarching outcome: Globalization.
Sound benign enough?
Please. Read the Black Star article. The disdain, envy & utter disgust that the author holds for developed countries is striking. Friends, ‘Globalization’ means binding the West's hands (esp. the U.S.) & siphoning wealth to the Third World. All done through an entity out of our sight & beyond our control -- New World Order orWorld Government. 'Globalization' is code for massive Wealth Redistribution.
Sound familiar?
Climate change, 'going green,' & wealth redistribution are woven together, alright. It’s no accident our political culture has been softening our ear to these phrases for some time. (Makes me think there’s a larger spider weaving the web than we realize…)
No matter. We’re waking up, & I think, hope, pray it’s just in the nick of time. As I said in the close of Part II:
"We have not been 'standing watch.'
And now we know better. It's time to live better.
For it's not only our own pulse at risk,
but the heartbeat of our very Nation that depends on it."
~~~
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Defeat ObamaCare: Devil's in the Details
Do you wonder how ObamaCare can be defeated before it kills our country? Me too.
Do you feel powerless to stop it, save badgering your Congressional leaders? Me too.
An excellent article by Fox News analyst Dick Morris gives us hope, friends, AND INSTRUCTIONS!
If you’re reading this, you’re part of the blogging world. If you’re a blogger, you have a certain amount of power in this fight, believe it or not. We each have a sphere of influence to affect the outcome of this process, & insure the defeat of the monstrosity that is Government overhaul & Socializing our Healthcare system.
Dick Morris tells us the Devil’s in the details, & tells us how to use them:
Our task is to reduce public support for the bill by publicizing its provisions, notably:
1. The $400 billion cut in Medicare.
2. The inevitable scarcity that will result from the addition of 35 million new patients with no new doctors or nurses.
3. The fine on the uninsured of 2.5 percent of their income if they don't buy insurance.
4. The high cost of these mandatory insurance policies ($15,000 per family).
5. The low level of subsidy available for the uninsured (only after they pay 8-12% of their incomes).
6. The likelihood of a $1,700 increase in the average family's premiums.
7. The possibility of up to five years in prison for failing to buy insurance or pay the fine.
8. The taxation of medical devices like pacemakers, wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, etc.
9. The tax on sick people (increasing the threshold for deducting medical expenses from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of income.
10. The additional fiscal burden on the states of the increase in Medicaid eligibility.
11. The 40 percent tax on health insurance premiums that will effect households earning more than $75,000 by the fifth year of the plan.
We can still win this fight!
Friends, we are part of the American internet/information Revolution!
Use your voice to “reduce public support for the bill” by outing the Devil in the details. It’s a Trojan Horse they don’t want us to see. The good news is that we do. There's still time to sound the alarm!
Use your voice to “reduce public support for the bill” by outing the Devil in the details. It’s a Trojan Horse they don’t want us to see. The good news is that we do. There's still time to sound the alarm!
Been to a Tea Party this year? Okay. Now: Be Paul Revere.
~~~
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Logistical Troubles II: Call to Action
Okay so this week, I got a little revved (okay, a lot revved) about this UN Climate Change Treaty thing, & what BHO's signing it would do to our nation's sovereignty. My heart was racing & I had to go into my yoga breathing. One of my sweet friends, who is on my blog-send email list, apparently got revved too & shared it w/ her husband. He's a student (& teacher) of history, & the closest thing to a Constitutional Scholar that I rub elbows with!
While I still don't trust BHO (or his administration) to not send me into cardiac arrest, I'm somewhat more secure that our Nation is not on 'the brink.' The following is my friend's husband's response to 10-20-09's post:
Su-girl:
Don't worry too greatly about the treaty - other than its implications for those who have never read closely our beloved Constitution. Yes, our bundle of sticks - which I commonly refer to as liberty - is made smaller by any small foray into international meddling.
In two different places in the Constitution, there is outright argument for there being NO LAW higher than the Constitution. The first and most obvious is the SENTENCE of the Article that begins with something to the effect, "This Constitution...shall be the supreme Law of the Land." The other occurs in an earlier Article and lists, in order, that the Supreme Court and its lower Courts behave "under the Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made under them."
So, the Brit [Lord Monckton] first of all, doesn't seem to understand OUR Constitution. He further assumes that the President's signature is the end of the game. Two-thirds of the Senate - after its "advice and consent" on any treaty negotiated by a president - must vote in favor of Ratification of said Treaty. Let's recall that it was a Republican president - the younger Bush - who wanted to be able to fast track trade negotiations like the FTAA. Has the FTAA landed yet? No, thanks to John Birch Society grass roots efforts. Bush did get through CAFTA to extend NAFTA, so shame on the Senate for not speaking up! Shame on us for not standing watch!
So, screw Obama, let's re-take Congress, one house at a time.
Write BURR and HAGAN [NC Senators] to get their input on how they will vote, write letters to newspapers exposing their view, then start the letter writing campaign to both...
emphasis mine
Godspeed,
[Your sweet friend's Husband]*
So, for now my pulse can slow; I can breathe easier. But our friend admonishes us with good reason. We have not been "standing watch." And now we know better. It's time to live better. For it's not only our own pulse at risk, but the heartbeat of our very Nation that depends on it.
While I still don't trust BHO (or his administration) to not send me into cardiac arrest, I'm somewhat more secure that our Nation is not on 'the brink.' The following is my friend's husband's response to 10-20-09's post:
Su-girl:
Don't worry too greatly about the treaty - other than its implications for those who have never read closely our beloved Constitution. Yes, our bundle of sticks - which I commonly refer to as liberty - is made smaller by any small foray into international meddling.
In two different places in the Constitution, there is outright argument for there being NO LAW higher than the Constitution. The first and most obvious is the SENTENCE of the Article that begins with something to the effect, "This Constitution...shall be the supreme Law of the Land." The other occurs in an earlier Article and lists, in order, that the Supreme Court and its lower Courts behave "under the Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made under them."
So, the Brit [Lord Monckton] first of all, doesn't seem to understand OUR Constitution. He further assumes that the President's signature is the end of the game. Two-thirds of the Senate - after its "advice and consent" on any treaty negotiated by a president - must vote in favor of Ratification of said Treaty. Let's recall that it was a Republican president - the younger Bush - who wanted to be able to fast track trade negotiations like the FTAA. Has the FTAA landed yet? No, thanks to John Birch Society grass roots efforts. Bush did get through CAFTA to extend NAFTA, so shame on the Senate for not speaking up! Shame on us for not standing watch!
So, screw Obama, let's re-take Congress, one house at a time.
Write BURR and HAGAN [NC Senators] to get their input on how they will vote, write letters to newspapers exposing their view, then start the letter writing campaign to both...
emphasis mine
Godspeed,
[Your sweet friend's Husband]*
So, for now my pulse can slow; I can breathe easier. But our friend admonishes us with good reason. We have not been "standing watch." And now we know better. It's time to live better. For it's not only our own pulse at risk, but the heartbeat of our very Nation that depends on it.
~~~
*Many thanks to 'my sweet friend's husband' for the response, & for the necessary permission to post it here.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Logistical troubles...individual & international
Hi friends.
Last night, Annie sent me a video that I want EVERY AMERICAN to see: conservative, liberal, apolitical; religious, atheist, apathetic; black, white, pink, green; canine, feline, bovine - I don't really care - just LISTEN TO THIS!!
On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton (policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher) gave a presentation in St. Paul, MN on the subject of global warming. In this 4-minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty that is scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.
**Debate has been raised about Monckton's conclusion that the Copenhagen Treaty would cede US sovereignty. His comments are based upon The Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution (Article VI, paragraph 2). This clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. TREATIES as the supreme law of the land. Concerns have been raised in the past that a particularly ambitious treaty may supersede the US Constitution. In the 1950s, a constitutional amendment, known as the Bricker Amendment, was proposed in response to such fears, but it failed to pass.
PLEASE watch this video! It is crucially important to international relations (logistics, as it were).
*Many, many thanks to my friend, BetteJo for emailing me the embed code for the video - which wasn't included in the earlier draft of this post, but appears in this edition!
And to the others who emailed, the tips are MOST appreciated! (Just goes to show what my Mama always says, "It ain't what you know, it's WHO you know!")
Last night, Annie sent me a video that I want EVERY AMERICAN to see: conservative, liberal, apolitical; religious, atheist, apathetic; black, white, pink, green; canine, feline, bovine - I don't really care - just LISTEN TO THIS!!
On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton (policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher) gave a presentation in St. Paul, MN on the subject of global warming. In this 4-minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty that is scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.
**Debate has been raised about Monckton's conclusion that the Copenhagen Treaty would cede US sovereignty. His comments are based upon The Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution (Article VI, paragraph 2). This clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. TREATIES as the supreme law of the land. Concerns have been raised in the past that a particularly ambitious treaty may supersede the US Constitution. In the 1950s, a constitutional amendment, known as the Bricker Amendment, was proposed in response to such fears, but it failed to pass.
PLEASE watch this video! It is crucially important to international relations (logistics, as it were).
*Many, many thanks to my friend, BetteJo for emailing me the embed code for the video - which wasn't included in the earlier draft of this post, but appears in this edition!
And to the others who emailed, the tips are MOST appreciated! (Just goes to show what my Mama always says, "It ain't what you know, it's WHO you know!")
She also said, "It's great to have all kinds of friends."
Thanks all.
~~~
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Ant & the Grasshopper: revisionist fable-telling
THE ANT & THE GRASSHOPPER
Here's an old allegory told in a fresh way, updated for the times we're in...OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.'
Rev. Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing the last bits of ant's food while the government house he's in (the ant's old house), crumbles around him for lack of care.
The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident.
The house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.
~~~
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Fall of the Republic?
There's so much going on in our country, with our media, with our people (who are trying to be heard & are being fiendishly maligned/laughed at for simply speaking) that I can't seem to wrap words around it today. The only thing I can think to say is
NO.
STOP.
DON'T DESTROY MY COUNTRY.
NO!
(Unfortunately, that's not a profoundly articulate thing to say.)
(Unfortunately, that's not a profoundly articulate thing to say.)
I would very much like to hear what you all have to say, & I found a terrific piece @ Bungalow Bill's site. Friends, would you please visit Bills' post, watch the video (as much as you can take of it) & join me in mulling this over? You may comment here or @ Bungalow Bill's site, or both.
I fear that which stands before us has the face of calamity, perhaps of Biblical proportion. From my perspective, she ain't pretty...
Let me know what you think. And, thanks.
~~~
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Enough of the mob? Not yet.
Did you know that you’re now being sarcastically & dismissively referred to as the Right-wing extremist Republican base? Did you know that your voices – legitimately expressing earnest concerns – are being accused of mob activity? That’s right. You’re now THE MOB…watch:
You. Me. Tax Paying, law-abiding citizens who are DEEPLY & INCREDIBLY CONCERNED about the Democratically controlled Congress’ attempt to force us into socialized medicine.
The White House (BHO) & Congressional Democrats say that scenes of vigorous dissent among voters @ town hall meetings & health care forums are an orchestrated, “manufactured” effort by Republicans & special interest groups.
Sorry, but my children & I passed one of those forums 2 days ago, on our way to buy football cleats. We stopped, signed petitions, grabbed a few for friends, took part in a few head-to-heads, then went home. I ASSURE you, these episodes are not orchestrated.
WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today, with a chortle in his throat & perma-grin on his lips, “There are groups that are, uh, have spread out people across the country to go to these things & to specifically generate videos that can be posted on internet sites…”
Jay Rockefeller (D) WV, said of the dissent “It disrupts the message. The story becomes the disruption, not the message.”
What a GENIUS!! He has gotten ‘the message’, but notice how he’s tell us to shut up, sit down & be obedient; that WE’VE gotten it all wrong.
Guess what, J. Rockefeller…THE STORY IS THE DISRUPTION!!! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO ISN’T GETTING THE MESSAGE!!!
We. Do. NOT. Want. This.
We. Do. NOT. Want. This.
Get it? I don’t know what it’s gonna take, folks, but PLEASE KEEP IT UP!!
BE the MOB you wish to see!!!
You. Me. Tax Paying, law-abiding citizens who are DEEPLY & INCREDIBLY CONCERNED about the Democratically controlled Congress’ attempt to force us into socialized medicine.
The White House (BHO) & Congressional Democrats say that scenes of vigorous dissent among voters @ town hall meetings & health care forums are an orchestrated, “manufactured” effort by Republicans & special interest groups.
Sorry, but my children & I passed one of those forums 2 days ago, on our way to buy football cleats. We stopped, signed petitions, grabbed a few for friends, took part in a few head-to-heads, then went home. I ASSURE you, these episodes are not orchestrated.
WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today, with a chortle in his throat & perma-grin on his lips, “There are groups that are, uh, have spread out people across the country to go to these things & to specifically generate videos that can be posted on internet sites…”
Jay Rockefeller (D) WV, said of the dissent “It disrupts the message. The story becomes the disruption, not the message.”
What a GENIUS!! He has gotten ‘the message’, but notice how he’s tell us to shut up, sit down & be obedient; that WE’VE gotten it all wrong.
Guess what, J. Rockefeller…THE STORY IS THE DISRUPTION!!! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO ISN’T GETTING THE MESSAGE!!!
We. Do. NOT. Want. This.
We. Do. NOT. Want. This.
Get it? I don’t know what it’s gonna take, folks, but PLEASE KEEP IT UP!!
BE the MOB you wish to see!!!
~~~
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Capitalism vs. Socialism - reprise
It seems I’m on a tear of reprising themes. This one I said once with “Joe”, then took another look with “Memo to DCCC," & then again with my most recent post.
Sometimes, though, somebody puts an argument “just so,” & it’s such a jewel that it’s worth the risk of redundancy just to share the beauty.
Wikipedia describes the two gentlemen in the following video as follows: (but we all pretty much know who they are)
Here they’re engaging a discussion on Capitalism vs. Socialism.
Interesting. Enjoy.
...and good day.
Sometimes, though, somebody puts an argument “just so,” & it’s such a jewel that it’s worth the risk of redundancy just to share the beauty.
Wikipedia describes the two gentlemen in the following video as follows: (but we all pretty much know who they are)
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician and public intellectual,
and a recipient of the Nobel
Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Phillip John "Phil" Donahue is an Emmy award winning American
media personality and writer, best known as the creator
and star of The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, the first tabloid talk show.
Here they’re engaging a discussion on Capitalism vs. Socialism.
Interesting. Enjoy.
...and good day.
~~~
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Community Reinvestment Act - revisited
Did you ever have to revisit a thing that seems like old news ? I hate to put y’all through this, but I can’t help it…
Perusing a dear follower’s blog, I found a provocative piece (here’s hoping a link will draw her some traffic!). After enunciating my response on her comment form, & hitting ‘publish’, my comment frustrated by controls that only allow input from ‘members’ – which I am not, unfortunately. Not being one to let sleeping dogs lie, I’m bringing my ‘comment’ back home, to share with whoever traipses across this path. (Lucky you, & here goes…)
Oh dear, oh dear…Friend, you must get a hold of yourself!
Breathe. Just breathe...
You say, ‘Move on & let Obama do what he has to do to get this country back in shape. Back to the shape it was in before Bush got his hands on it. You conservatives that can't stand the truth, get out of the kitchen.’
Dear friend, you then iterated the tired accusation, ‘We inherited a trillion dollar deficit and a depression from Bush and the Republicans…’
It’s true we’re in a pickle, & there’s plenty of blame to go around. But, if folks would stop yelling talking points long enough to think about where the crisis started, they may find its roots tapping back to 1977 (only a few years after you & I were born). It started with the CARTER Admin. & the Community Reinvestment Act - a warm & fuzzy social program designed to get more lower income families into home ownership. Fair enough.
But then, in 1993 the CLINTON Admin. ‘substantially revised’ the program to force mortgage lenders to give loans to even more high risk buyers (i.e., people who couldn't afford it) under threat of FEDERAL PENALTY :
In other words, the Fed. Govt. (Clinton) forced private businesses - free markets - to make BAD decisions, or risk being pinched out of business.
Perusing a dear follower’s blog, I found a provocative piece (here’s hoping a link will draw her some traffic!). After enunciating my response on her comment form, & hitting ‘publish’, my comment frustrated by controls that only allow input from ‘members’ – which I am not, unfortunately. Not being one to let sleeping dogs lie, I’m bringing my ‘comment’ back home, to share with whoever traipses across this path. (Lucky you, & here goes…)
Oh dear, oh dear…Friend, you must get a hold of yourself!
Breathe. Just breathe...
You say, ‘Move on & let Obama do what he has to do to get this country back in shape. Back to the shape it was in before Bush got his hands on it. You conservatives that can't stand the truth, get out of the kitchen.’
Dear friend, you then iterated the tired accusation, ‘We inherited a trillion dollar deficit and a depression from Bush and the Republicans…’
It’s true we’re in a pickle, & there’s plenty of blame to go around. But, if folks would stop yelling talking points long enough to think about where the crisis started, they may find its roots tapping back to 1977 (only a few years after you & I were born). It started with the CARTER Admin. & the Community Reinvestment Act - a warm & fuzzy social program designed to get more lower income families into home ownership. Fair enough.
But then, in 1993 the CLINTON Admin. ‘substantially revised’ the program to force mortgage lenders to give loans to even more high risk buyers (i.e., people who couldn't afford it) under threat of FEDERAL PENALTY :
“In a more aggressive pursuit of "social justice,"Etc., etc., etc.
the Clinton administration revised the CRA in April 1995 to mandate that banks
pass lending tests in "underserved" communities and suffer tough new sanctions
for failing to make enough loans there.
According to the language of the new
Clinton regs, banks that used "innovative or flexible lending practices" to
address the credit needs of low-income borrowers passed the test. Banks with
poor CRA ratings were hit with stiff fines and blocked from expanding their
operations. Soon, "flexible" lending became the norm, and banks used subprime
loans, which charge higher interest rates, to cover the added risk.
But it
wasn't enough. So Clinton ordered HUD to pressure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to
buy the higher-risk loans from private banks and lenders, while adopting the
same "flexible" credit standards.
In other words, the Fed. Govt. (Clinton) forced private businesses - free markets - to make BAD decisions, or risk being pinched out of business.
- Vehicles Fannie & Freddie grew by leaps & bounds in the '90s (Clinton), until the situation was such a risk to our economy that President BUSH in 2001 issued a firm warning for Congress to clean it up. Congress did nothing.
- President BUSH warned again in Spring/Fall of 2003. Congress did nothing.
- What's more, Congressional Democrats Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, et.al, mocked the President Bush for claiming ‘the sky was falling’, insisting that Fannie & Freddie were just fine. Legislation for increased regulation of these vehicles was blocked by these Democratic leaders.
- In Feb. 2005, Fed. Chairman Greenspan urged that if BUSH’s warnings were not heeded, "we are placing the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk." Congress did nothing.
- In April 2005, Greenspan said, "If we fail to strengthen [regulation] then we increase possibility of insolvency and crisis." DEMOCRAT Chuck Schumer countered the warning, defending the loan vehicles. Congress did nothing.
- May 25, 2006, JOHN McCAIN co-sponsored a bill to increase regulation of Fan & Fred. Not even one Democrat voted for the bill in committee. SENATOR OBAMA DID NOT VOTE. HE DID NOTHING. (Oh, sorry. He must have been busy, out campaigning for Hope.) The Bill died. Congress did nothing.
In a 9-26-08 article , Kurt Schulzke commented, "Yesterday's soft & cuddly gov't program is today's financial chainsaw massacre." And, "far from...free-market dysfunction, today's mortgage mess is a classic case of socialistic gov't intervention gone awry."
With access to a different ‘truth’ before you, dear blogging friend, it seems that the “loser” you call Mrs. Palin called the 'Do-nothing Congress' exactly right. They did NOTHING except stifle each other as this volcano boiled toward eruption. And as for "Ronnie Raygun's song & dance” about 'Government being the problem'… Well, he just about hit the nail on the head, now didn't he?
Here we find ourselves, through myriad twists & turns, in a real financial sling. And what’s the current Administration’s answer to the fiasco that GOVERNMENT caused? Why, more Government, of course!!
We’re sliding down the muddy, slimy, slippery slope into a pit called Socialism, where Government declares itself more entitled to direct people’s money, businesses & lives than the people themselves.
Newsflash folks: Socialism isn't what allowed America to rise to her current place in the world. A free market system (among other factors) did. Forcing Socialism on a Capitalist system will not work. Absolving people of personal responsibility (on any level - private or corporate) will not create a better society. It will create a culture of dependency & learned helplessness, leading to collective weakness, frustration, & ultimately collective failure. (Just look @ Fannie & Freddie.)
I, for one, am not game for collective failure. You may be wondering, am I hoping for the failure of The One whose agenda will lead us to just that? In the words of one who really gives me something to HOPE for , “You Betcha!”
~~~
Monday, October 27, 2008
It really is all about Joe.
I ran into, by accident, another blogger who posted a piece about socialism. She waxes eloquent about the societal improvements that have evolved throughout the 19th & 20th centuries, which she attributes to socialist principles (don't have permission for a link, but comment & I'll show you). About each advancement, she says, “If you like --- having your weekends off, not stepping over sick homeless people, etc. ---, you can thank a socialist.” Being fair, in some regard she may have a point. However, on balance, I think we’ve got it licked:
If you like early detection & treatment of breast, uterine & cervical cancers, you can thank a capitalist.
If you’ve needed an emergency C-section (as I have three times), & had medical equipment on hand for the job, you can thank a capitalist.
If you’re relieved because of the advances in dental sciences, you can thank a capitalist.
If you’re thankful that vaccinations are available to keep your children safe from horrible, tragic diseases, you can thank a capitalist…
If you have the chance to save for your own rainy day? To provide for your family with enough to spare, you can thank a capitalist…
We are that “shining city upon a hill,” whether we realize it/want to admit it or not; & it’s not because we’ve followed Karl Marx. We are a hero to the world (a fallen one, for the moment, but a hero nonetheless), and the world is drawn to heroes. That’s why they come. The world needs a hero.
Be thankful. For the moment, the world still has one.
If you like early detection & treatment of breast, uterine & cervical cancers, you can thank a capitalist.
If you’ve needed an emergency C-section (as I have three times), & had medical equipment on hand for the job, you can thank a capitalist.
If you’re relieved because of the advances in dental sciences, you can thank a capitalist.
If you’re thankful that vaccinations are available to keep your children safe from horrible, tragic diseases, you can thank a capitalist…
If you have the chance to save for your own rainy day? To provide for your family with enough to spare, you can thank a capitalist…
If you even know there’s something called a ‘Gamma Knife’ for exquisitely delicate brain tumor surgery…
If you like your computer for the blogging that’s so easily accessible to your fingertips…
If you’re glad you have contact lenses…
If you’re thankful for car seats that keep your children safe…
If you’re thankful for the car you drive…
If you’ve ever considered the advancement of home electricity, refrigeration, heating/cooling, indoor plumbing…
…you can thank people like Joe – yes, the Plumber – a capitalist.
Human nature doesn’t go out of its way to innovate, engineer, produce, improve, advance, compete - without incentive. Folks like Dr. Phil call it “secondary gain.” It’s the ‘what’s in it for me?’ factor that drives human nature forward. It compels productivity. Innovation & invention is the fruit of its toil.
Face it. We are selfish creatures. We want ours; & we want it better. Voila the capitalist society: teeming with advancements, opportunity for personal wealth; a place where the rising tide really does – eventually – lift all boats. (There are holes in this analysis; I agree. That’s for another post. I’ve got so much to say – you’d run ‘screaming into the night’ if I tried to fold it all in now.)
Is it perfect? No. It’s a human enterprise. There are bad apples in every barrel. On this point alone, some urge that the answer is socialism: an even-playing-field-utopia. I argue that socialism removes the playing field, changes the rules & kills the game.
You may say, “Look at the Swedes. They’re socialist & they’ve got Volvo.” Yeah, they’ve got Volvo. Just Volvo; & they bring it over here to make it really sing.
I also argue that socialism would neuter American innovation. Punishing success by revoking ‘profit’ (by confiscatory taxation, or punitive regulation) from those who strive to compete freely. It would dis-incentivize innovation, suffocate ingenuity, squelch productivity, & strangle the American dream. Look at history. Do you see any society advance by leaps & bounds like ours, as a result of socialist principles?
If you look for capitalist ills, you’ll find them in spades. (Heck, we’ve seen the whole deck in the past month.) Slow down, though… We’ve also seen the malignancy grown by forcing ‘socialist principles’ on the free market, too. Can anyone say Community Reinvestment Act of 1977? Can you say government-forcing-banks-to-supply-Sub-prime-loans-since-then to those who couldn’t shoulder them?
If you think it’s time to throw the baby out with the bathwater because of AIG, Lehman Bros., etc. you must first confront this: why do people from all over the world risk their lives to come here? Why do people cross deserts, swim across oceans on the strength of their own arms & legs, to wash up on our shore? Ask them & I guarantee you’ll hear something like this, “Freedom from tyrannical government, a chance to make it…opportunity.”
If you think it’s time to chuck it all & head for that utopian playing field, I ask you to ponder: what innovations will we miss? What advances will we thwart by tossing a system that “capitalizes” on some of the most ingenious qualities of the human mind & spirit? What greater good will we stunt: autism treatments? Cancer advances? Alzheimer’s therapies? Energy development? Scientific progress?
If you like your computer for the blogging that’s so easily accessible to your fingertips…
If you’re glad you have contact lenses…
If you’re thankful for car seats that keep your children safe…
If you’re thankful for the car you drive…
If you’ve ever considered the advancement of home electricity, refrigeration, heating/cooling, indoor plumbing…
…you can thank people like Joe – yes, the Plumber – a capitalist.
Human nature doesn’t go out of its way to innovate, engineer, produce, improve, advance, compete - without incentive. Folks like Dr. Phil call it “secondary gain.” It’s the ‘what’s in it for me?’ factor that drives human nature forward. It compels productivity. Innovation & invention is the fruit of its toil.
Face it. We are selfish creatures. We want ours; & we want it better. Voila the capitalist society: teeming with advancements, opportunity for personal wealth; a place where the rising tide really does – eventually – lift all boats. (There are holes in this analysis; I agree. That’s for another post. I’ve got so much to say – you’d run ‘screaming into the night’ if I tried to fold it all in now.)
Is it perfect? No. It’s a human enterprise. There are bad apples in every barrel. On this point alone, some urge that the answer is socialism: an even-playing-field-utopia. I argue that socialism removes the playing field, changes the rules & kills the game.
You may say, “Look at the Swedes. They’re socialist & they’ve got Volvo.” Yeah, they’ve got Volvo. Just Volvo; & they bring it over here to make it really sing.
I also argue that socialism would neuter American innovation. Punishing success by revoking ‘profit’ (by confiscatory taxation, or punitive regulation) from those who strive to compete freely. It would dis-incentivize innovation, suffocate ingenuity, squelch productivity, & strangle the American dream. Look at history. Do you see any society advance by leaps & bounds like ours, as a result of socialist principles?
If you look for capitalist ills, you’ll find them in spades. (Heck, we’ve seen the whole deck in the past month.) Slow down, though… We’ve also seen the malignancy grown by forcing ‘socialist principles’ on the free market, too. Can anyone say Community Reinvestment Act of 1977? Can you say government-forcing-banks-to-supply-Sub-prime-loans-since-then to those who couldn’t shoulder them?
If you think it’s time to throw the baby out with the bathwater because of AIG, Lehman Bros., etc. you must first confront this: why do people from all over the world risk their lives to come here? Why do people cross deserts, swim across oceans on the strength of their own arms & legs, to wash up on our shore? Ask them & I guarantee you’ll hear something like this, “Freedom from tyrannical government, a chance to make it…opportunity.”
If you think it’s time to chuck it all & head for that utopian playing field, I ask you to ponder: what innovations will we miss? What advances will we thwart by tossing a system that “capitalizes” on some of the most ingenious qualities of the human mind & spirit? What greater good will we stunt: autism treatments? Cancer advances? Alzheimer’s therapies? Energy development? Scientific progress?
We are that “shining city upon a hill,” whether we realize it/want to admit it or not; & it’s not because we’ve followed Karl Marx. We are a hero to the world (a fallen one, for the moment, but a hero nonetheless), and the world is drawn to heroes. That’s why they come. The world needs a hero.
Be thankful. For the moment, the world still has one.
~~~
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