Gateway Pundit reports that patriotic activists in the St. Louis area are sponsoring a "buycott" of their local Whole Foods grocery store on Tuesday, September 1. St. Louis area blogger Dana Lesch further reports that a Dallas buycott will also take place on September 1.
What is a buycott? Simply buy your groceries at Whole Foods to demonstrate support. Several weeks ago, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal that caused Leftwing Statists to call for a boycott of his chain. Since then, the call has gone out for Patriots to shop at Whole Foods to show support for a CEO who has ideas for creative, free market solutions to improve America's health care system.
Now, the National Tea Party Coalition has created a separate web site to promote Whole Foods Buycotts across the country. They encourage others to set up Whole Foods Buycotts. Hopefully, the month of September will be great for the company and a kick in the nether regions for the Leftist hordes who hoped to damage John Mackey because he supports individual liberty.
Unfortunately, there is no Whole Foods in my neck of the woods. I think the closest are two hours east and two hours south. If you are also out of range for a Whole Foods Buycott event, you can order a gift card and send it to a friend who lives in a Whole Foods city. That suggestion comes from the St. Louis Tea Party. Let's support this brave CEO and his company against the Leftist attack machine.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Nevada Newspaper Challenges Harry "The Bully" Reid
Sherman Frederick of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is my new hero. He is gaining national attention for a Sunday column in which he calls out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the shame of Nevada, for comments he made to the newspaper's advertising director.
But, it gets better. Sherman Frederick made it clear that he and his newspaper (and the citizens of Nevada) will not be pushed around by clownish clod like Reid.
These are words that ALL members of Congress need to hear. They work for us. Every elected official who speaks to or about their constituents as though they are subjects needs to be put in their place. One of the extra benefits of the Tea Party movement and the recess town halls is that many Congressmen, as well as President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama, have revealed the blatant disregard and disrespect they have for the American people.
Imbeciles like Reid provide an easy target when they attack Real Americans. However, it is time we remind them that the people are the source of all power. When Big BrObama starts a defense of his nationalized health care scheme with the words "you will be allowed to...", he should be cut off and handed a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Neither the President nor Congress have the authority to "allow" or "disallow" anything when it comes to an individual's health care. They are arrogant thugs who have more in common with Mussolini, Stalin, and Mao than Jefferson, Madison, and Adams. Bravo, Sherman Frederick! Real America is mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore!
On Wednesday, before he addressed a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Reid joined the chamber's board members for a meet-'n'-greet and a photo. One of the last in line was the Review-Journal's director of advertising, Bob Brown, a hard-working Nevadan who toils every day on behalf of advertisers. He has nothing to do with news coverage or the opinion pages of the Review-Journal.
Yet, as Bob shook hands with our senior U.S. senator in what should have been nothing but a gracious business setting, Reid said: "I hope you go out of business."
Later, in his public speech, Reid said he wanted to let everyone know that he wants the Review-Journal to continue selling advertising because the Las Vegas Sun is delivered inside the Review-Journal.
Such behavior cannot go unchallenged.
But, it gets better. Sherman Frederick made it clear that he and his newspaper (and the citizens of Nevada) will not be pushed around by clownish clod like Reid.
If he thinks he can push the state's largest newspaper around by exacting some kind of economic punishment in retaliation for not seeing eye to eye with him on matters of politics, I can only imagine how he pressures businesses and individuals who don't have the wherewithal of the Review-Journal.
For the sake of all who live and work in Nevada, we can't let this bully behavior pass without calling out Sen. Reid. If he'll try it with the Review-Journal, you can bet that he's tried it with others. So today, we serve notice on Sen. Reid that this creepy tactic will not be tolerated.We won't allow you to bully us. And if you try it with anyone else, count on going
through us first.
That's a promise, not a threat.
And it's a promise to our readers, not to you, Sen. Reid.
These are words that ALL members of Congress need to hear. They work for us. Every elected official who speaks to or about their constituents as though they are subjects needs to be put in their place. One of the extra benefits of the Tea Party movement and the recess town halls is that many Congressmen, as well as President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama, have revealed the blatant disregard and disrespect they have for the American people.
Imbeciles like Reid provide an easy target when they attack Real Americans. However, it is time we remind them that the people are the source of all power. When Big BrObama starts a defense of his nationalized health care scheme with the words "you will be allowed to...", he should be cut off and handed a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Neither the President nor Congress have the authority to "allow" or "disallow" anything when it comes to an individual's health care. They are arrogant thugs who have more in common with Mussolini, Stalin, and Mao than Jefferson, Madison, and Adams. Bravo, Sherman Frederick! Real America is mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Rasmussen Reports: 57% of Americans Would Replace Entire Congress
For years, I have joked that randomly selecting one person from the telephone books of each Congressional district would yield a better and more responsible Congress than the one that features the winners of the Democrat and Republican fraternity and sorority war. Today, a Rasmussen Report provided proof that I may not be alone.
The partisan breakdown of this poll question is particularly interesting:
The sudden increase in Democrat support for Congress is a bit curious. Last year, the Democrats held the majority, but still only 25% were willing to keep Congress in place as it was. This is likely the result of two years in which the majority party pretended to be in the majority. Democrat leaders spoke like a helpless minority under the thump of the evil Dubya. Big Media covered legislative action in Washington as though President Bush was pulling all the strings. If one landed in America from another planet last fall and watched the campaigns, they would have wrongly believed that Republicans were in the majority during 2007-2008.
It is also interesting that independents are running from Congress in large numbers. These are the folks who helped put President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama in the Oval Office. They are the folks who misconstrued what The One meant when he chattered on about "hope" and "change."
And Republicans? They are just as irritated with Congress as ever. Unlike Democrats whose view of big, intrusive government largely rests on which party is running the show, Conservative Republicans felt betrayed by GOP legislators who abandoned principle. Big Government is oppressive regardless of which party is in charge. The untold story of the Tea Party movement and Real America's patriotic awakening is that these rallies are not about Republicans vs. Democrats; the fight is liberty vs. fascism.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% would vote to replace the entire Congress and start all over again. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure how they would vote.
Overall, these numbers are little changed since last October. When Congress was passing the unpopular $700-billion bailout plan in the heat of a presidential campaign and a seeming financial industry meltdown, 59% wanted to throw them all out. At that time, just 17% wanted to keep them.
The partisan breakdown of this poll question is particularly interesting:
There has been a bit of a partisan shift since last fall. With Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, it's not surprising to find that the number of Democrats who would vote to keep the entire Congress has grown from 25% last fall to 43% today. In fact, a modest plurality of Democrats would now vote to keep the legislators. Last fall, a plurality of Democrats were ready to throw them all out.
While Democrats have become more supportive of the legislators, voters not affiliated with either major party have moved in the opposite direction. Today, 70% of those not affiliated with either major party would vote to replace all of the elected politicians in the House and Senate. That’s up from 62% last year.
Republicans, not surprisingly, overwhelmingly support replacing everyone in the Congress. Their views have not changed. But Republican voters are disenchanted with their team as much as the Congress itself: 69% of GOP Voters say Republicans in Congress are out of touch with
the party base.
The sudden increase in Democrat support for Congress is a bit curious. Last year, the Democrats held the majority, but still only 25% were willing to keep Congress in place as it was. This is likely the result of two years in which the majority party pretended to be in the majority. Democrat leaders spoke like a helpless minority under the thump of the evil Dubya. Big Media covered legislative action in Washington as though President Bush was pulling all the strings. If one landed in America from another planet last fall and watched the campaigns, they would have wrongly believed that Republicans were in the majority during 2007-2008.
It is also interesting that independents are running from Congress in large numbers. These are the folks who helped put President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama in the Oval Office. They are the folks who misconstrued what The One meant when he chattered on about "hope" and "change."
And Republicans? They are just as irritated with Congress as ever. Unlike Democrats whose view of big, intrusive government largely rests on which party is running the show, Conservative Republicans felt betrayed by GOP legislators who abandoned principle. Big Government is oppressive regardless of which party is in charge. The untold story of the Tea Party movement and Real America's patriotic awakening is that these rallies are not about Republicans vs. Democrats; the fight is liberty vs. fascism.
Why is Chris Dodd Hiding The Senate Health Bill?
Statist Democrats including President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama keep whining about Real Americans "lying" about what is in the nationalized health care proposals currently floating around both Houses of Congress. Of course, they can't point to any actual lies. Most of what the Leftists are calling "scare tactics" fall into one of two categories:
Even one of the most partisan Leftists in the Senate spoke out about the Keystone Kops process in the chamber:
Democrats want to ram a massive government takeover of the American health care industry down the throats of the citizens. Our job was to sit down, shut up, and take it. They reject every proposal that would encourage competition and lower costs without the federal government increasing its power. Their intentions are clear. Tea Partiers and other Real Americans need to keep pouring on the pressure.
- Placing "legal-ese" double-talk into plain language. No, words like "death panel" and "rationing" do not appear, but the provisions of the bill will clearly create such problems.
- The House bill creates over 50 new bureaucracies that will have the power to make their own rules. So, Statist Democrats are not technically lying when say this provision or that provision is not in the bill. However, the words and ideas that guide President Obama and his health care advisiors present a Draconian vision of America's health care future. Congress may not include these measures in a bill, but unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats will.
The Senate bill is even more of a mystery. The Wall Street Journal reports that Senator Christopher Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, is refusing to release the details of approximately 200 amendments that were added to the 790-page Senate version that is available. Reports have surfaced about a number of Republican amendments to clarify some of the vauge, but startling, elements of the bill were rejected. So, what is in the hidden 200? Why is Dodd, the man who helped craft policies directly responsible for the banking crisis, keeping these additions under wraps?
Even one of the most partisan Leftists in the Senate spoke out about the Keystone Kops process in the chamber:
The whole process was so haphazard that at one point during the committee mark-up Barbara Mikulski, the Democrat from Maryland, declared: "Giving me language on little pieces of paper on which I'm going to commit the sacred fortunes and honor of the United States for decades, this is not the way to go. We can't do this on the backs of envelopes."
Democrats want to ram a massive government takeover of the American health care industry down the throats of the citizens. Our job was to sit down, shut up, and take it. They reject every proposal that would encourage competition and lower costs without the federal government increasing its power. Their intentions are clear. Tea Partiers and other Real Americans need to keep pouring on the pressure.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Working For The Federal Government Pays Off Big
A report in Investors Business Daily shows an incredible increase in compensation for federal workers that far out-pace wages and benefits in the private sector.
More than double the compensation? When you look at the high-cost and woeful inefficiency of the federal government, these numbers are criminal. You can read more of Chris Edwards analysis for the Cato Institute here and his response to sensitive Statists whose panties bunched up over his article here.
Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, touched quite a nerve earlier this week when he relayed the latest wage data, categorized by industry, from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. "The new data show that average federal compensation is now more than double the average in the private sector," Edwards noted.
He added: "In 2008, the average wage for 1.9 million federal civilian workers was $79,197, which compared to an average $49,935 for the nation's 108 million private sector workers. The federal advantage is even more pronounced when worker benefits are included. In 2008, federal worker compensation averaged a remarkable $119,982, which was more than double the private sector average of $59,909."
More than double the compensation? When you look at the high-cost and woeful inefficiency of the federal government, these numbers are criminal. You can read more of Chris Edwards analysis for the Cato Institute here and his response to sensitive Statists whose panties bunched up over his article here.
Friday, August 28, 2009
"I Have A Dream": 46 Years Later
On August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands of Americans poured into Washington, D.C. to demonstrate support for congressional action to ensure the civil rights of Black Americans. The March on Washington is most remembered for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s stirring and inspirational "I Have A Dream" speech. Among the visions expressed by Dr. King on that momentous day was this:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
The United States of America is a very different country in 2009. Hardened racists no longer hold positions of power in government. They are a marginalized fringe that certainly still exist, but who occupy the outskirts of society.
White Americans who accepted the bigotry of the times and did nothing have evolved into a majority that has zero tolerance for such behavior and thoughts. Today, the term "racist" carries the strongest stigma of any label. In fact, I almost think most people would rather be accused of murder or rape than racism. The fear of the label leaves many paralyzed when it comes to criticizing a person of color, even when they deserve it.
Most Black Americans I have known hold no personal animus toward Whites in general. My experience with Blacks is no different than my experience with Whites. In day to day living, people are people and these things just do not matter.
However, there remains a serious problem with race in America. The source of that problem is a political, educational, and social elite whose rhetoric would have one believe that American in 2009 is no different than America in 1959. Political opportunists cry "racism" when their arguments have no power. Race hustlers make a living or build a power base by hyping phony charges of racism to alarm and anger folks into a group think mentality. These groups are generally sympathetic to the Liberal-Leftist-Progressive-Socialist Democrats and use variations of the race card to advance their causes.
We have seen an incredible up-tick in this behavior in recent years. In fact, the more Americans reject notions of inherent racial differences, the more race hucksters try to paint every disagreement as a sign that American is a fundamentally racist country. Ironically, the only reason this has an effect is that America is NOT a racist wasteland and people have a tendency to accept the accusations as truth and ask questions later (i.e., the Duke lacrosse fiasco).
President Barack Obama has played a role in this increase in playing of the race card. For all the talk of him being a "post-racial" figure, he has never hesitated to exploit America's sensitivity to bigotry. During the 2008 campaign, again and again, Big Media and Leftist pundits accused those who did not support Obama of being racist. His policies, his background, his associations, and his radical ideology were not sufficient reasons.
Now, any opposition to Obama's policy goals are stamped "racist." This has been especially evident as Real Americans (of all races, by the way) have stood up and challenged President Obama and congressional Democrats in their rush to place all Americans under a program of nationalized health care. The more Real America protests, the more they are attacked as a group of closet Klansmen. Do these cynical cretins really believe that Americans would embrace socialized medicine if John Edwards were President? No one is whiter than John Edwards, but I can guarantee you that the reaction to this descent into fascism would have been just as strong, if not stronger. In reality, some Conservatives are more restrained in their criticism of President Obama because they fear being labeled.
I'm ready for the post-racial world we were promised would come with an Obama victory. However, for that to happen American Leftists have to begin fighting political battles on merit without the cowardly attacks on the motives and humanity of Conservatives. If President Obama is truly above this behavior, he should disavow those who play the race card. His vitriolic slam in the wake of the Henry Gates debacle tells where his heart is on this issue.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
The United States of America is a very different country in 2009. Hardened racists no longer hold positions of power in government. They are a marginalized fringe that certainly still exist, but who occupy the outskirts of society.
White Americans who accepted the bigotry of the times and did nothing have evolved into a majority that has zero tolerance for such behavior and thoughts. Today, the term "racist" carries the strongest stigma of any label. In fact, I almost think most people would rather be accused of murder or rape than racism. The fear of the label leaves many paralyzed when it comes to criticizing a person of color, even when they deserve it.
Most Black Americans I have known hold no personal animus toward Whites in general. My experience with Blacks is no different than my experience with Whites. In day to day living, people are people and these things just do not matter.
However, there remains a serious problem with race in America. The source of that problem is a political, educational, and social elite whose rhetoric would have one believe that American in 2009 is no different than America in 1959. Political opportunists cry "racism" when their arguments have no power. Race hustlers make a living or build a power base by hyping phony charges of racism to alarm and anger folks into a group think mentality. These groups are generally sympathetic to the Liberal-Leftist-Progressive-Socialist Democrats and use variations of the race card to advance their causes.
We have seen an incredible up-tick in this behavior in recent years. In fact, the more Americans reject notions of inherent racial differences, the more race hucksters try to paint every disagreement as a sign that American is a fundamentally racist country. Ironically, the only reason this has an effect is that America is NOT a racist wasteland and people have a tendency to accept the accusations as truth and ask questions later (i.e., the Duke lacrosse fiasco).
President Barack Obama has played a role in this increase in playing of the race card. For all the talk of him being a "post-racial" figure, he has never hesitated to exploit America's sensitivity to bigotry. During the 2008 campaign, again and again, Big Media and Leftist pundits accused those who did not support Obama of being racist. His policies, his background, his associations, and his radical ideology were not sufficient reasons.
Now, any opposition to Obama's policy goals are stamped "racist." This has been especially evident as Real Americans (of all races, by the way) have stood up and challenged President Obama and congressional Democrats in their rush to place all Americans under a program of nationalized health care. The more Real America protests, the more they are attacked as a group of closet Klansmen. Do these cynical cretins really believe that Americans would embrace socialized medicine if John Edwards were President? No one is whiter than John Edwards, but I can guarantee you that the reaction to this descent into fascism would have been just as strong, if not stronger. In reality, some Conservatives are more restrained in their criticism of President Obama because they fear being labeled.
I'm ready for the post-racial world we were promised would come with an Obama victory. However, for that to happen American Leftists have to begin fighting political battles on merit without the cowardly attacks on the motives and humanity of Conservatives. If President Obama is truly above this behavior, he should disavow those who play the race card. His vitriolic slam in the wake of the Henry Gates debacle tells where his heart is on this issue.
American Thinker: Fighting ObamaCare in the Spirit of Ted Kennedy
C. Edmund Wright uses the Left's desire to exploit the "spirit of Kennedy" expertly in the American Thinker. In a manner of minutes after Ted Kennedy's death, Big Media had turn him into a mild, but firm partisan who never made policy arguments personal. It is tough writing about Ted Kennedy because my first instinct is to avoid taking shots at someone who just died, even if I found them detestible. However, the cynical attempt by advocates of nationalized health care to use the Senator's death to resuscitate their fascist (yes, fascist) bill does not allow for the usual deferment. C. Edmund Wright's piece pokes some major holes in their argument.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Who Died? Mother Teresa of Calcutta or Ted Kennedy of Hyannis Port?
The all-Ted, all the time coverage is becoming sickening. Edward "Ted" Kennedy's death is a sad time for his friends and family. It is not a tragedy as he lived to age 77, slightly past average life expectancy.
The over-the-top Big Media coverage has passed disgraceful and is heading full steam for macabre. From listening to the dim-witted news readers, it would seem no American would possess a band-aid, a loaf or bread, or have a government school to send their children to without the incredible legislative talents of Ted Kennedy. He has single-handedly fed children, cured their chicken pox and taught them to read "My Two Daddies."
Bill Bennett said something to the effect of "I agree you should not speak ill of the dead, but you should not lie about them either." We are hearing what a wonderful statesman Kennedy was. We are told that he was a tough partisan, but never mean-spirited or vicious. Sorry, but tell that to Robert Bork. Tell that to Samuel Alito. Kennedy's most significant legacy is his role in assassinating the characters of good Conservative judges because of his radical Leftist ideology. Kennedy was the key player in turning any judicial nomination into a full-throttle attack on individuals who want to uphold the law rather than legislate from the bench. Sickening.
Kennedy was in the middle of the constant personal attacks on George W. Bush. He, like most of his party, was never satisfied to express a dissenting policy opinion. Teddy could never resist the urge to impugn the motives or the humanity of his political opponents. Honestly, I don't give a fig if he told jokes and yukked it up with Republicans in the cloak room. In order to advance his political ideology, he was willing to say and do anything.
Kennedy's hyper-partisanship was fully confirmed after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was discovered that Ted Kennedy negotiated with Soviet officials in an attempt to undermine President Ronald Reagan's Cold War policy and hopefully facilitate a Democrat victory in the 1984 election. In other words, Ted Kennedy was such a "great Patriot" that he tried to undermine his own country's foreign policy with its biggest enemy. This sort of behavior doesn't deserve medals. If anything, it deserves a rope (or whatever punishment traitors get these days).
Now, the Big Media jackals and soulless Democrat politicians are attempting to push their beloved nationalized health care scheme through in memory of Teddy. His dying wish was to force socialized medicine on all Americans and, by golly, it would be an insult to deny a dead man's desire. Can they be more cynical and opportunistic?
Last week, as Kennedy begged for a change in Massachusetts' laws for replacing a Senator, I predicted the behavior that would follow. Democrats and Big Media have been ghoulish in their naked attempts to turn the tide of the nationalized health care debate by attaching Kennedy's name to the bill. Republicans have bent over backwards to ignore Kennedy's history as a mean-spirited and dishonest partisan who consistently put party ahead of the Constitution. I fully expect that sleazy political hacks will turn a memorial service into an anti-Conservative hatefest a la the Paul Wellstone Memorial Service in 2002. Democrats behaved so contemptibly that Jesse Ventura was so disgusted he had to walk out.
Ted Kennedy is dead. Hopefully, he was right with God and is taking his place in heaven. However, he was who he was. Lying about his political behavior and his political tactics only cheapens his memory. Big Media and Leftists Democrats need to dial back and show a little class. Of course, that may be akin to asking a turtle to fly.
The over-the-top Big Media coverage has passed disgraceful and is heading full steam for macabre. From listening to the dim-witted news readers, it would seem no American would possess a band-aid, a loaf or bread, or have a government school to send their children to without the incredible legislative talents of Ted Kennedy. He has single-handedly fed children, cured their chicken pox and taught them to read "My Two Daddies."
Bill Bennett said something to the effect of "I agree you should not speak ill of the dead, but you should not lie about them either." We are hearing what a wonderful statesman Kennedy was. We are told that he was a tough partisan, but never mean-spirited or vicious. Sorry, but tell that to Robert Bork. Tell that to Samuel Alito. Kennedy's most significant legacy is his role in assassinating the characters of good Conservative judges because of his radical Leftist ideology. Kennedy was the key player in turning any judicial nomination into a full-throttle attack on individuals who want to uphold the law rather than legislate from the bench. Sickening.
Kennedy was in the middle of the constant personal attacks on George W. Bush. He, like most of his party, was never satisfied to express a dissenting policy opinion. Teddy could never resist the urge to impugn the motives or the humanity of his political opponents. Honestly, I don't give a fig if he told jokes and yukked it up with Republicans in the cloak room. In order to advance his political ideology, he was willing to say and do anything.
Kennedy's hyper-partisanship was fully confirmed after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was discovered that Ted Kennedy negotiated with Soviet officials in an attempt to undermine President Ronald Reagan's Cold War policy and hopefully facilitate a Democrat victory in the 1984 election. In other words, Ted Kennedy was such a "great Patriot" that he tried to undermine his own country's foreign policy with its biggest enemy. This sort of behavior doesn't deserve medals. If anything, it deserves a rope (or whatever punishment traitors get these days).
Now, the Big Media jackals and soulless Democrat politicians are attempting to push their beloved nationalized health care scheme through in memory of Teddy. His dying wish was to force socialized medicine on all Americans and, by golly, it would be an insult to deny a dead man's desire. Can they be more cynical and opportunistic?
Last week, as Kennedy begged for a change in Massachusetts' laws for replacing a Senator, I predicted the behavior that would follow. Democrats and Big Media have been ghoulish in their naked attempts to turn the tide of the nationalized health care debate by attaching Kennedy's name to the bill. Republicans have bent over backwards to ignore Kennedy's history as a mean-spirited and dishonest partisan who consistently put party ahead of the Constitution. I fully expect that sleazy political hacks will turn a memorial service into an anti-Conservative hatefest a la the Paul Wellstone Memorial Service in 2002. Democrats behaved so contemptibly that Jesse Ventura was so disgusted he had to walk out.
Ted Kennedy is dead. Hopefully, he was right with God and is taking his place in heaven. However, he was who he was. Lying about his political behavior and his political tactics only cheapens his memory. Big Media and Leftists Democrats need to dial back and show a little class. Of course, that may be akin to asking a turtle to fly.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Could The Cult of Obama Be Going The Way of Jonestown?
Fouad Ajami's Wall Street Journal piece is a terrific analysis of how a community agitator turned an undistinguished fraction of a career in the U.S. Senate into a reservation at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...and how his "Entertainment Tonight" meets "Camelot" campaign left him vulnerable for the backlash he is now experiencing over his attempt to expand fascism in America.
Obama ran on the amorphous words "hope" and "change." Those words said everything and nothing. Those who wanted to believe in the magic could fill in their own definitions and Obama would fulfill those hopes. Many saw through it last year and many more have wised up in the midst of the most rapid expansion of government power in history. Many bought his line that "hope" and "change" meant bringing America back to the values that made it great. Instead, Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama has set out to destroy all remnants of the Founders vision of a democratic republic with limited government.
We were led to this summer of discontent by the very nature of the coalition that brought Mr. Obama, and the political class around him, to power, and by the circumstances of his victory. The man was elected amid economic distress. Faith in the country's institutions, perhaps in the free-enterprise system itself, had given way. Mr. Obama had ridden that distress. His politics of charisma was reminiscent of the Third World. A leader steps forth, better yet someone with no discernible trail, someone hard to pin down to a specific political program, and the crowd could read into him what it wished, what it needed.
The leader would be different things to different people. The Obama coalition was the coming together of disparate groups: the white professional liberals seeking absolution for the country in the election of an African-American man, the opponents of the Iraq war who grew more strident as the project in Iraq was taking root, the African-American community that had been invested in the Clintons and then came around out of an understandable pride in one of its own.
The last segment of the electorate to flock to the Obama banners were the blue-collar workers who delivered him Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. He was not their man. They fully knew that he didn't share their culture. They were, by his portrait, clinging to their guns and religion, but the promise of economic help, and of protectionism, carried the day with them.
Obama ran on the amorphous words "hope" and "change." Those words said everything and nothing. Those who wanted to believe in the magic could fill in their own definitions and Obama would fulfill those hopes. Many saw through it last year and many more have wised up in the midst of the most rapid expansion of government power in history. Many bought his line that "hope" and "change" meant bringing America back to the values that made it great. Instead, Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama has set out to destroy all remnants of the Founders vision of a democratic republic with limited government.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Arnold's Economic Solution: The Great California Garage Sale
The People's Republik of Kalifornia has devised and utilized every possible tax scheme known to man and still the Golden State is an insolvent mess that has become America's Edsel. Now, that taxation and regulation have proven ineffective ways to build the economy (who woulda thunk it?), the Governator is going old school and having a garage sale. Not only that, but some of the better items will go on eBay and Craigslist including cars with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on the visor (no, seriously).
Following through on his promise to eliminate waste in state government, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that the Department of General Services has posted several surplus items - some signed by the Governor - for sale on eBay and Craigslist in preparation for the Great California Garage Sale.
I checked out the list of items for sale and found 8 bracelets, 22 calculators, 23 chair mats, 46 drill bits, 508 miscellaneous chairs and a money clip. However, nowhere among the burdens being lifted from Kalifornia's shoulders did I see any useless bureaucrats or inefficient departments being sold off for the best offer. Maybe they will be up for auction in the next Great Kalifornia Garage Sale.
Following through on his promise to eliminate waste in state government, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that the Department of General Services has posted several surplus items - some signed by the Governor - for sale on eBay and Craigslist in preparation for the Great California Garage Sale.
“By posting items online, Californians and people from other states and around the world can participate in the Great California Garage Sale,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This is a win-win for the state and for shoppers. Together we are eliminating waste and providing great deals in this tough economy. I encourage everyone to log on or attend this great event.”
I checked out the list of items for sale and found 8 bracelets, 22 calculators, 23 chair mats, 46 drill bits, 508 miscellaneous chairs and a money clip. However, nowhere among the burdens being lifted from Kalifornia's shoulders did I see any useless bureaucrats or inefficient departments being sold off for the best offer. Maybe they will be up for auction in the next Great Kalifornia Garage Sale.
Will We Ever Put An End To Racial Politics?
The recent declaration by New York's pathetic governor David Paterson that his low rating is due to his race is just the latest shot in the endless playing of the race card by Democrats. Accusing political opponents of "racism" is certainly easier than developing a rational and intelligent response when one is losing a political argument.
Jonah Goldberg wrote an excellent piece on National Review Online in which he examines the use of the race card by Obama sycophants.
Of course, Janeane Garofalo is about as sharp as a bowling ball, so her air-headed opinions cannot be taken seriously. However, seemingly "legitimate" corners also perpetuate the phony racism charges.
I think many of us saw this coming. When Barry Vladimir Hussein Obama first announced his candidacy in 2007, many Black leaders questioned whether or not he was "down with the struggle." After all, he was half-white and his "blackness" came from an African not an "African-American." They supported the "first Black First Lady" which I guess would have made her the first Black female President. Eventually, Obama's clever campaign picked up steam and many of those same folks switched political allegiance.
During the Democrat primaries, the Obama campaign intimated that Bill Clinton was using racism to aid his wife's campaign. Yes, the man author Toni Morrison called "the first Black President" was now Bull Connor trying to destroy a proud African man. Now, Slick Willie was just another angry, racist cracker.
Once the general election campaign was under way, Big Media and an All-Star cast of Leftist pundits, professors and politicians painted racial motives on every argument against Obama or his policy goals. If you questioned his life-long connections with radical socialists and communists, you were a racist. If you questioned his close 20-year relationship with a race-baiting, hate-filled "pastor", you were a racist. If you questioned his lack of experience, you were a racist. If you questioned his extreme views on abortion, you were a racist. If you questioned his big government solutions, you were a racist.
You see, Obama was "post-racial." As best I can tell, "post-racial" means if you disagree with his political ideology you are a racist. Obama is usually subtle, but the community-organizing, race-monger was unleashed when he attacked the Boston police officers involved in the Henry Gates incident. He knows he can stay above the fray because Big Media and his Leftists sycophants will happily cry "racist" when anyone stands up for individual liberty and the Constitution.
Governor Paterson's rants are so blatantly stupid that even Al Sharpton called him out. However, the race mongers are still using "white guilt" and racial intimidation to advance causes such as "cap-and-trade," nationalized health care, government takeovers of industry and other Leftists goals that have absolutely nothing to do with race. Conservatives don't care about the color of Obama's skin, but they are very concerned with the content of his character.
Jonah Goldberg wrote an excellent piece on National Review Online in which he examines the use of the race card by Obama sycophants.
From Day 1, Obama’s supporters have tirelessly cultivated the idea that anything inconvenient for the first black president just might be terribly, terribly racist.
This was always the nasty side of Obama’s implied hope for unity. Obama gave oxygen to the idea that disagreement with him amounted to obstructing his mission to “transcend race.” During the campaign, that meant anyone who got in his way was wittingly or unwittingly abetting racism (just ask Bill Clinton). A writer for Slate insisted journalists must not call attention to the fact that Obama is “skinny.” Such observations fuel racism by highlighting his physical appearance, and that in turn might suddenly alert racist American voters to the fact that Obama is . . . wait for it . . . black.
Now that he’s president, if you question his tax policies, energy plans, or health-care ambitions, you are “hoping he will fail” — and that, with the help of roundabout reasoning, is tantamount to hoping we cannot transcend race.
Loading the deck in such a way is a gift of Obama’s. Time and again, he pre-empts dissent by claiming he’s open-minded, pragmatic, and non-ideological, and therefore if you disagree with him, you must be some sort of zealot.
His shock troops make the same argument about race, sometimes with sophistication, sometimes with the kind of lucid clarity only profound stupidity can provide. For instance, actress Janeane Garofalo summed up the tea parties thusly: “This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up.”
Of course, Janeane Garofalo is about as sharp as a bowling ball, so her air-headed opinions cannot be taken seriously. However, seemingly "legitimate" corners also perpetuate the phony racism charges.
A more sophisticated version comes from Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell, who finds racism in complaints that socialized medicine would result in fewer Americans “taking responsibility” for their own health care. “What we know over the past 25 years,” she told NPR, “is that language of personal responsibility is often a code language used against poor and minority communities.” In an ABC News story about how racist white militias are somehow connected to town-hall protests, Mark Potok of the dismayingly left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center insists Obama has “triggered fears among fairly large numbers of white people in this country that they are somehow losing their country.”
Two weeks ago, town hallers were supposed to be members of the Brooks Brothers brigade, Astroturf division. Now they’re well-armed anti-government militias. At this rate, they’ll soon be android ninjas with laser vision. Wait, strike that. They’ll be really racist android ninjas with laser vision.
I think many of us saw this coming. When Barry Vladimir Hussein Obama first announced his candidacy in 2007, many Black leaders questioned whether or not he was "down with the struggle." After all, he was half-white and his "blackness" came from an African not an "African-American." They supported the "first Black First Lady" which I guess would have made her the first Black female President. Eventually, Obama's clever campaign picked up steam and many of those same folks switched political allegiance.
During the Democrat primaries, the Obama campaign intimated that Bill Clinton was using racism to aid his wife's campaign. Yes, the man author Toni Morrison called "the first Black President" was now Bull Connor trying to destroy a proud African man. Now, Slick Willie was just another angry, racist cracker.
Once the general election campaign was under way, Big Media and an All-Star cast of Leftist pundits, professors and politicians painted racial motives on every argument against Obama or his policy goals. If you questioned his life-long connections with radical socialists and communists, you were a racist. If you questioned his close 20-year relationship with a race-baiting, hate-filled "pastor", you were a racist. If you questioned his lack of experience, you were a racist. If you questioned his extreme views on abortion, you were a racist. If you questioned his big government solutions, you were a racist.
You see, Obama was "post-racial." As best I can tell, "post-racial" means if you disagree with his political ideology you are a racist. Obama is usually subtle, but the community-organizing, race-monger was unleashed when he attacked the Boston police officers involved in the Henry Gates incident. He knows he can stay above the fray because Big Media and his Leftists sycophants will happily cry "racist" when anyone stands up for individual liberty and the Constitution.
Governor Paterson's rants are so blatantly stupid that even Al Sharpton called him out. However, the race mongers are still using "white guilt" and racial intimidation to advance causes such as "cap-and-trade," nationalized health care, government takeovers of industry and other Leftists goals that have absolutely nothing to do with race. Conservatives don't care about the color of Obama's skin, but they are very concerned with the content of his character.
Alabama Congressman Questions Nancy Pelosi's Political Skills and Mental Health
The Huntsville Times reports that congressman Parker Griffith (D-Huntsville) stated he would not repeat his vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speakerette of the House. This revelation came during a health care town hall meeting in which the alleged "blue dog" tried to distance himself from the Speakerette.
Now, Alabamans seem to be divided on Griffith's "Blue Dog" street cred, but the point is that Griffith is representative of Democrats who represent districts in Real America who are not only concerned with the attempted hostile takeover of American health care, but also worried about the Leftist extremism that drives the party's leadership. Whether Griffith is a legitimate "conservative Democrat" is less important than the fact that the Democrats' plantation fences are crumbling. If there was any doubt, Griffith responded to a questioner who wondered if the congressman would face consequences in D.C. by saying
Everybody was jumping on the Obama-Pelosi-Reid ship last fall when it look like "The Love Boat" with smooth sailing ahead in a sea of hope and change. Now, they look more like the Titanic with arrogant, short-sighted and greedy leaders trying to move too far too fast and crashing into the solid rock known as Real America. At least they know Big Media will keep playing their tune until they are totally submerged.
Christie Carden, the 25-year-old organizer of the Huntsville Tea Party Movement,asked if he would vote for Pelosi for speaker again. Griffith said that if matter came up for a vote today, "I would not vote for her. Someone that divisive and that polarizing cannot bring us together."
Now, Alabamans seem to be divided on Griffith's "Blue Dog" street cred, but the point is that Griffith is representative of Democrats who represent districts in Real America who are not only concerned with the attempted hostile takeover of American health care, but also worried about the Leftist extremism that drives the party's leadership. Whether Griffith is a legitimate "conservative Democrat" is less important than the fact that the Democrats' plantation fences are crumbling. If there was any doubt, Griffith responded to a questioner who wondered if the congressman would face consequences in D.C. by saying
"If she doesn't like it, I've got a gift certificate to the mental health
center."
Everybody was jumping on the Obama-Pelosi-Reid ship last fall when it look like "The Love Boat" with smooth sailing ahead in a sea of hope and change. Now, they look more like the Titanic with arrogant, short-sighted and greedy leaders trying to move too far too fast and crashing into the solid rock known as Real America. At least they know Big Media will keep playing their tune until they are totally submerged.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Town Hall Constitutional Smackdown: David Hedrick vs. Brian Baird
Last week, Washington congressman Brian Baird got more than he bargained for when Marine veteran David Hedrick took the microphone.
Wow! Hedrick blasted from the hip with a heavy shot of reality. He was right on every point.
Wow! Hedrick blasted from the hip with a heavy shot of reality. He was right on every point.
- Members of Congress swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. They consistently violate that pledge by ignoring the Constitution's explicit limits on their power and seeking greater control over our lives.
- Government schools too often DO seek to indoctrinate rather than educate. That is how dopey concepts such as "global warming" and the "living Constitution" becomes ingrained in children's minds.
- It is not up to Brian Baird, Barack Obama, or any other arrogant blowhard to tell American citizens whether or not they can keep their current health insurance. They do not rule, they serve.
- The Nazis and Fascists were leftist movements. Comparing Real Americans who want nothing more than individual liberty to Brown Shirts is historically inaccurate and blatantly stupid. All of the murderous dictatorships were oriented toward state control, not individual freedom.
- Our soldiers risk their lives to defend the country and the Constitution from vicious enemies. When will the President and members of Congress begin taking their oath seriously and perform their job in a manner consistent with the U.S. Constitution and American values?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Chris Wallace Exposes Lies of VA's "Death Book" Denials
The spectre of government death panels was clarified with Jim Towey's piece in the Wall Street Journal about the "Your Life, Your Choice" program mandated by the Veterans Administration. Today, Towey appeared on "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace where Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Tammy Duckworth also appeared. Duckworth, by the way, wanted to be interviewed separately. Duckworth is one of our wounded warriors (she lost her legs in Iraq) and deserves to be honored as a hero for that. However, today she was simply a dishonest political hack who could not admit she was lying about the VA's use of the controversial materials. Kimberly Morin has been following the "Your Life, Your Choices" story for the Boston Conservative Independent Examiner and has extensive links to the relevant documents.
You can read the transcript of the Fox News Sunday interview here.
In the following segment, Senator Arlen Specter announced his support for Towey in regard to the VA issue, but again attacked the "death panel" straw man. The Dems' strategy for fighting this is to pretend that Conservatives mean that there will literally be a committee that votes on whether or not people will live or die.
There are two very real issues that give meat to the "death panel" concept. First, is the undeniable reality that health care rationing will be a part of any government managed program. This is true in every country with socialized medicine. It is a concept endorsed by Tom Daschle, Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel and other health care advisors to President Obama, so why are they surprised that Real America is alarmed by the idea?
Secondly, a party with a financial stake in the outcome (the government) would be "advising" people on very serious and personal issues about health care outcomes and their options. Leftists are right when they argue that there is no language in HR3200 that specifically discusses how these choices would be presented to people. That is part of the problem! The American people are being asked to place their faith in the federal government to create an independent bureaucracy that will supply people with information without pressure or suggestion. Yeah, that's how government agencies usually operate, right? The exposure of the VA's use of an "end-of-life" program endorsed by the Hemlock Society rightfully concerns folks that such is the judgment of the government in life-and-death matters.
The lies told today by Mrs. Duckworth will only exascerbate the public trepidation about allowing the federal government to stick its nose in these decisions for all Americans. Our veterans deserve better than to have the usefulness of their life questioned by the government they fought to defend. This practice should not be used to advise our "heroes." And it certainly should not be expanded to included all our citizens at the most vulnerable times in their lives.
You can read the transcript of the Fox News Sunday interview here.
In the following segment, Senator Arlen Specter announced his support for Towey in regard to the VA issue, but again attacked the "death panel" straw man. The Dems' strategy for fighting this is to pretend that Conservatives mean that there will literally be a committee that votes on whether or not people will live or die.
There are two very real issues that give meat to the "death panel" concept. First, is the undeniable reality that health care rationing will be a part of any government managed program. This is true in every country with socialized medicine. It is a concept endorsed by Tom Daschle, Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel and other health care advisors to President Obama, so why are they surprised that Real America is alarmed by the idea?
Secondly, a party with a financial stake in the outcome (the government) would be "advising" people on very serious and personal issues about health care outcomes and their options. Leftists are right when they argue that there is no language in HR3200 that specifically discusses how these choices would be presented to people. That is part of the problem! The American people are being asked to place their faith in the federal government to create an independent bureaucracy that will supply people with information without pressure or suggestion. Yeah, that's how government agencies usually operate, right? The exposure of the VA's use of an "end-of-life" program endorsed by the Hemlock Society rightfully concerns folks that such is the judgment of the government in life-and-death matters.
The lies told today by Mrs. Duckworth will only exascerbate the public trepidation about allowing the federal government to stick its nose in these decisions for all Americans. Our veterans deserve better than to have the usefulness of their life questioned by the government they fought to defend. This practice should not be used to advise our "heroes." And it certainly should not be expanded to included all our citizens at the most vulnerable times in their lives.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
No Deal! Nationalized Health Care is Unconstitutional
Well, I don't feel quite so silly now. Actually, I never did feel silly because I am literate so the plain text of the United States Constitution makes sense to me. My objection to the Democrats'(and some Republicans') desire to increase the federal government's role in health care comes down to one thing: they do not have the authority.
Today's Washington Post features an article by David Rivkin and Lee Casey that analyzes the constitutionality of the schemes Congress is discussing and they arrive at the same conclusion: ObamaCare, PelosiCare, LibCare or whatever name you want to give this fascist crusade, is unconstitutional. Congress has tried to use the "commerce clause" in the same way they use the "necessary and proper" clause; to exert unlimited and unrestrained power on any activity they believe they can exploit for political gain. The Supreme Court has, on occasion, stood up for state sovereignty and individual liberty, but too often have given deference to the Kremlin on the Potomac in their never-ending quest to expand their power.
Rivkin and Casey, however, are wrong about one thing. Congress doesn't recognize the presence of constitutional restraints. While they make a strong and succinct argument that nationalized health care falls outside the powers granted in Article I of the Constitution, they assume that Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the congressional cretins give a rat's rump about their legitimate powers. If they want to do it, they will do it. Whenever questions of constitutionality are brought up by journalists or constituents the arrogant legislators simply laugh or snort. At this point, they simply argue that they have made similar laws and created similar programs for decades, so obviously they can. Much of the Republican party is little better as they argue over the nuts-and-bolts details rather than whether or not it is a legitimate function of government.
Hopefully, Americans are becoming reacquainted with that little thing called the U.S. Constitution. It seems many citizens now want to hold Congress, the President, and the federal courts to account for the oath they all take. They swear on a Bible to protect and uphold the Constitution. Maybe we should send recordings of the swearing-in ceremonies to Obama's Office of Speech and Thought Control as examples of misinformation and lies.
Today's Washington Post features an article by David Rivkin and Lee Casey that analyzes the constitutionality of the schemes Congress is discussing and they arrive at the same conclusion: ObamaCare, PelosiCare, LibCare or whatever name you want to give this fascist crusade, is unconstitutional. Congress has tried to use the "commerce clause" in the same way they use the "necessary and proper" clause; to exert unlimited and unrestrained power on any activity they believe they can exploit for political gain. The Supreme Court has, on occasion, stood up for state sovereignty and individual liberty, but too often have given deference to the Kremlin on the Potomac in their never-ending quest to expand their power.
Rivkin and Casey, however, are wrong about one thing. Congress doesn't recognize the presence of constitutional restraints. While they make a strong and succinct argument that nationalized health care falls outside the powers granted in Article I of the Constitution, they assume that Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the congressional cretins give a rat's rump about their legitimate powers. If they want to do it, they will do it. Whenever questions of constitutionality are brought up by journalists or constituents the arrogant legislators simply laugh or snort. At this point, they simply argue that they have made similar laws and created similar programs for decades, so obviously they can. Much of the Republican party is little better as they argue over the nuts-and-bolts details rather than whether or not it is a legitimate function of government.
Hopefully, Americans are becoming reacquainted with that little thing called the U.S. Constitution. It seems many citizens now want to hold Congress, the President, and the federal courts to account for the oath they all take. They swear on a Bible to protect and uphold the Constitution. Maybe we should send recordings of the swearing-in ceremonies to Obama's Office of Speech and Thought Control as examples of misinformation and lies.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Jim Towey Demonstrates The Death Panel Threat Is Plainly Real
Statist Democrats and their Big Media allies have been in full attack mode since Sarah Palin used the term "death panel" to describe government panels that will be involved with advising patients on end-of-life decisions under their version of ObamaCare. They have whined about the use of the term "death panel" and have claimed that opponents are claiming that euthanasia is written into the bill. The Leftist-Liberal-Progressive-Socialist-Democrats have constructed straw men and have diverted the argument in order to avoid discussing the very real implications of government involvement in such personal decisions.
An editorial by Jim Towey in the Wall Street Journal illustrated this threat. He writes about the "Your Life, Your Choices" program introduced by the Clinton-era Veterans Administration, suspended by President Bush, and recently reinstated by President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama.
No Conservative leader has suggested the bills being discussed include the word "euthanasia." Nor are they saying that the panel will sit around a table and decide whether each individual lives or dies. Those are the straw men constructed by Leftist ideologues who do not want to discuss the very real implications of government-mandated boards. The VA program pushes folks who have manageable issues to believe they are hopeless burdens on their families. The fear, and a legitimate one at that, is that the boards established under these bills will be able to steer folks toward an early check out.
Mr. Towey is not an opponent of advance directives. In fact, he created the widely used "Five Wishes" program for assisting folks with end-of-life decision making. His work in this field makes him particularly qualified to analyze the possible ills of ObamaCare's provisions.
Leftists and their Big Media cheerleaders do not want to have an honest discussion about the issue. The bill does not provide a lot of specific information, but it does open some very disturbing doors. That is part of the problem. We don't know what these end-of-life panels would look like. We do not know how they would present the information. The Left tries to use that vacuum in details to make the case that ObamaCare opponents are inventing bogeymen where none exist. In fact, it is this tabula rasa that rightfully scares thinking Americans.
We know that the VA is pushing our patriotic veterans through a program produced by the Hemlock Society. We know that in Oregon's state system, a board can offer to pay for euthanasia as they refuse to pay for care that they do not feel has a high enough probability for success. We know that Obama's health care advisors, including Tom Daschle and Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, are proponents of limiting the use of expensive treatments on elderly citizens because they don't have much left to offer society. We know that this is the one area of health care where the government could use its power to dramatically cut costs. We also know that rationing of care is the rule, not the exception in other countries that practice socialized medicine. We also know that, in the Senate, amendments to limit the ability of a government board to behave in this way were rejected by the Democrats.
Whether or not euthanasia or rationing are on the menu, the point is that government should not be in a position where they can influence the life and death decisions of citizens. Over 50 new bureacracies, most of which would be designed later, are included in the House bills. The American people are being told "trust us" by a class of people who are among the least trustworthy on the planet. Real America doesn't trust Congress, President Obama or the Big Government Media. Fear, intimidation, and misinformation will not silence a growing body of patriots.
An editorial by Jim Towey in the Wall Street Journal illustrated this threat. He writes about the "Your Life, Your Choices" program introduced by the Clinton-era Veterans Administration, suspended by President Bush, and recently reinstated by President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama.
"Your Life, Your Choices" presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political "push poll." For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be "not worth living."
The circumstances listed include ones common among the elderly and disabled: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and not being able to "shake the blues." There is a section which provocatively asks, "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'If I'm a vegetable, pull the plug'?" There also are guilt-inducing scenarios such as "I can no longer contribute to my family's well being," "I am a severe financial burden on my family" and that the vet's situation "causes severe emotional burden for my family."
When the government can steer vulnerable individuals to conclude for themselves that life is not worth living, who needs a death panel?
One can only imagine a soldier surviving the war in Iraq and returning without all of his limbs only to encounter a veteran's health-care system that seems intent on his surrender.
I was not surprised to learn that the VA panel of experts that sought to update "Your Life, Your Choices" between 2007-2008 did not include any representatives of faith groups or disability rights advocates. And as you might guess, only one organization was listed in the new version as a resource on advance directives: the Hemlock Society (now euphemistically known as "Compassion and choices").
No Conservative leader has suggested the bills being discussed include the word "euthanasia." Nor are they saying that the panel will sit around a table and decide whether each individual lives or dies. Those are the straw men constructed by Leftist ideologues who do not want to discuss the very real implications of government-mandated boards. The VA program pushes folks who have manageable issues to believe they are hopeless burdens on their families. The fear, and a legitimate one at that, is that the boards established under these bills will be able to steer folks toward an early check out.
Mr. Towey is not an opponent of advance directives. In fact, he created the widely used "Five Wishes" program for assisting folks with end-of-life decision making. His work in this field makes him particularly qualified to analyze the possible ills of ObamaCare's provisions.
If President Obama is sincere in stating that he is not trying to cut costs by pressuring the disabled to forgo critical care, one good way to show that commitment is to walk two blocks from the Oval Office and pull the plug on "Your Life, Your Choices." He should make sure in the future that VA decisions are guided by values that treat the lives of our veterans as gifts, not burdens.
Leftists and their Big Media cheerleaders do not want to have an honest discussion about the issue. The bill does not provide a lot of specific information, but it does open some very disturbing doors. That is part of the problem. We don't know what these end-of-life panels would look like. We do not know how they would present the information. The Left tries to use that vacuum in details to make the case that ObamaCare opponents are inventing bogeymen where none exist. In fact, it is this tabula rasa that rightfully scares thinking Americans.
We know that the VA is pushing our patriotic veterans through a program produced by the Hemlock Society. We know that in Oregon's state system, a board can offer to pay for euthanasia as they refuse to pay for care that they do not feel has a high enough probability for success. We know that Obama's health care advisors, including Tom Daschle and Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, are proponents of limiting the use of expensive treatments on elderly citizens because they don't have much left to offer society. We know that this is the one area of health care where the government could use its power to dramatically cut costs. We also know that rationing of care is the rule, not the exception in other countries that practice socialized medicine. We also know that, in the Senate, amendments to limit the ability of a government board to behave in this way were rejected by the Democrats.
Whether or not euthanasia or rationing are on the menu, the point is that government should not be in a position where they can influence the life and death decisions of citizens. Over 50 new bureacracies, most of which would be designed later, are included in the House bills. The American people are being told "trust us" by a class of people who are among the least trustworthy on the planet. Real America doesn't trust Congress, President Obama or the Big Government Media. Fear, intimidation, and misinformation will not silence a growing body of patriots.
Ted Kennedy Wants To Change Election Laws...Again
It is certainly sad that Massachusetts Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy seems to be failing fast in his fight against cancer. All signs point to a deteriorating physical condition. However, Kennedy found the strength to do what he does best one last time: cloak a self-serving, hyper-partisan demand in a shroud of sacrifice and service. Kennedy has asked the Massachusetts legislature to change the procedure for selecting replacement upon his death. Interestingly, the current state law concerning the replacement of a U.S. Senator was demanded by Senator Kennedy when he thought the state's junior senator, John Kerry, might become President in 2004.
Big Media swooned at word of Kennedy's "dying request." In their eyes, he is making one last push to ensure passage of the health care for all people he has pined for during his entire Senate career. Who can possibly reject the dying request of a self-less public servant?
In fact, this is typical Kennedy and Democrat hypocrisy. The rules do not apply to them. In 2004, they sought to change the law to keep a Republican governor from replacing Senator Lurch. Now, the governor is a Democrat so they want him to name a quick replacement. If course, this essentially summarizes his career. He was not old enough to replace brother John in 1961, so a Kennedy family sycophant agreed to hold the seat for two years and not run for re-election to clear the way for little Teddy, who had no accomplishments but the right name. Less than a decade later, he found that manslaughter laws do not apply to a rich and powerful Senator from the Camelot family. This set up a pattern that continues with his arrogant plea.
Tragedy does not faze Democrats. This isn't about Kennedy or his deadly disease. It is about partisan politics. When Kennedy does pass, I expect that Republicans will bend over backwards to be complimentary to a man who has worked hard to change America from a land of liberty to one of mass dependence. However, I have little doubt that the Paul Wellstone memorial service and hatefest will be re-enacted by the lunatic Left. If you don't remember that detestable gathering of psychotic loons, it was so vile that Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura walked out. If an event is too tasteless for Jesse Ventura, sleaze has been taken to historic levels.
Senator Ted Kennedy, who is gravely ill with brain cancer, has sent a
letter to Massachusetts lawmakers requesting a change in the state law that determines how his Senate seat would be filled if it became vacant before his
eighth full term ends in 2012. Current law mandates that a special election be held at least 145 days after the seat becomes available. Mr. Kennedy is concerned that such a delay could leave his fellow Democrats in the Senate one vote short of a filibuster-proof majority for months while a special election takes place.
"I therefore am writing to urge you to work together to amend the law through the normal legislative process to provide for a temporary gubernatorial appointment until the special election occurs," writes the Senator.
What Mr. Kennedy doesn't volunteer is that he orchestrated the 2004 succession law revision that now requires a special election, and for similarly partisan reasons. John Kerry, the other Senator from the state, was running for President in 2004, and Mr. Kennedy wanted the law changed so the Republican Governor at the time, Mitt Romney, could not name Mr. Kerry's replacement. "Prodded by a personal appeal from Senator Edward M. Kennedy," reported the Boston Globe in 2004, "Democratic legislative leaders have agreed to take up a stalled bill creating a special election process to replace U.S. Senator John F.Kerry if he wins the presidency." Now that the state has a Democratic Governor, Mr. Kennedy wants to revert to gubernatorial appointments.
Big Media swooned at word of Kennedy's "dying request." In their eyes, he is making one last push to ensure passage of the health care for all people he has pined for during his entire Senate career. Who can possibly reject the dying request of a self-less public servant?
In fact, this is typical Kennedy and Democrat hypocrisy. The rules do not apply to them. In 2004, they sought to change the law to keep a Republican governor from replacing Senator Lurch. Now, the governor is a Democrat so they want him to name a quick replacement. If course, this essentially summarizes his career. He was not old enough to replace brother John in 1961, so a Kennedy family sycophant agreed to hold the seat for two years and not run for re-election to clear the way for little Teddy, who had no accomplishments but the right name. Less than a decade later, he found that manslaughter laws do not apply to a rich and powerful Senator from the Camelot family. This set up a pattern that continues with his arrogant plea.
Tragedy does not faze Democrats. This isn't about Kennedy or his deadly disease. It is about partisan politics. When Kennedy does pass, I expect that Republicans will bend over backwards to be complimentary to a man who has worked hard to change America from a land of liberty to one of mass dependence. However, I have little doubt that the Paul Wellstone memorial service and hatefest will be re-enacted by the lunatic Left. If you don't remember that detestable gathering of psychotic loons, it was so vile that Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura walked out. If an event is too tasteless for Jesse Ventura, sleaze has been taken to historic levels.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Obama's Health Care Special Interests Outspending Free Market Supporters
Among the many myths (lies?) being perpetrated by Statist Democrats in regard to the debate over nationalized health care is the canard that the opposition is being propped up by a vast rightwing conspiracy of special interests. However, even that noted "conservative" newspaper The New York Times reported that the supporters of ObamaCare or some other big government reform have outspent free marketeers by a five-to-one margin. According to the Old Gray Lady, pro-government reform forces have spent $47 million on advertising to the $9 million paid for by the defenders of the free market. That doesn't even count the in-kind contributions of Big Media's slobbering, unprofessional shill work for their party.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Patriots Should Shop Whole Foods--Boycott the Boycotters
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, recently wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal in which he laid out some common sense free-market solutions for problems in the American health care industry. The key to his solution set is a free-market approach, as opposed to government imposed regulations. It seems that was an unpardonable sin that Liberal-Leftist-Progressive-Socialist-Statist Democrats cannot forgive. Leftwing loons are pushing a boycott of the Whole Foods grocery chain.
Mr. Mackey laid out an impressive and thoughtful set of reforms that would address a number of health care issues. They may not be a final answer to the problem, but they are a worthy addition to the debate. Of course, he isn't alone. Conservatives have suggested remedies for the problems that ail the industry for years, but have been blocked by Leftists who realize that legitimate reform would be a barrier to the nationalization they desire. The worldwide failures of socialized medicine do not deter Statist ideologues who have a Utopian vision that will not be shaken by facts or evidence.
The closest Whole Foods to my home is about two hours away and I doubt I will drive to Winston-Salem for a grocery run. However, if you live close to a Whole Foods I hope you will give them a visit and maybe buy your weekly stash from them to show support for John Mackey. In fact, while the DailyKos and Democrat Underground lunatic asylums are championing Facebook-based boycott sites, there is also a pro-Mackey and Whole Foods group on Facebook.
It is obvious that we have an element of our population that has an insatiable desire for government involvement in their lives (unless they want to kill a baby or marry someone who uses the same public restroom). These folks do not desire solutions; they only seek to advance a failed ideology. It is increasingly important for the sane, liberty-loving element of American society (which is the vast majority, by the way) to raise our voices and throw our support behind those who take risks to fight back against the Amerikan Bolsheviks.
Mr. Mackey laid out an impressive and thoughtful set of reforms that would address a number of health care issues. They may not be a final answer to the problem, but they are a worthy addition to the debate. Of course, he isn't alone. Conservatives have suggested remedies for the problems that ail the industry for years, but have been blocked by Leftists who realize that legitimate reform would be a barrier to the nationalization they desire. The worldwide failures of socialized medicine do not deter Statist ideologues who have a Utopian vision that will not be shaken by facts or evidence.
The closest Whole Foods to my home is about two hours away and I doubt I will drive to Winston-Salem for a grocery run. However, if you live close to a Whole Foods I hope you will give them a visit and maybe buy your weekly stash from them to show support for John Mackey. In fact, while the DailyKos and Democrat Underground lunatic asylums are championing Facebook-based boycott sites, there is also a pro-Mackey and Whole Foods group on Facebook.
It is obvious that we have an element of our population that has an insatiable desire for government involvement in their lives (unless they want to kill a baby or marry someone who uses the same public restroom). These folks do not desire solutions; they only seek to advance a failed ideology. It is increasingly important for the sane, liberty-loving element of American society (which is the vast majority, by the way) to raise our voices and throw our support behind those who take risks to fight back against the Amerikan Bolsheviks.
President Obama To Fund Offshore Drilling--For Brazil!
While President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama waits for the fall to try to push his cap-and-tax energy bill through the Senate, the United States is set to lend $2 billion (as a start with more to come) to Brazil for off-shore oil exploration. That's right, the same administration that wants us to ride to work in cars that run on cotton candy and happy thoughts is willing to send billions to South America for oil discovery while he tells the American people to pound sand.
The Drill Brazil deal demonstrates the phony nature of the "global warming/global climate change" nonsense. First, if the Democrats are so concerned about the "menace" of "global climate change" then why are they sending billions to South America to discover and produce even more evil of the fossil fuels that are destroying Mother Earth? On the other hand, if Brazil drilling for oil will not cause the planet to explode why not allow private American companies develop the rich resources below the ocean's floor off the American coastline? Is there something about American-produced oil that is inherently more evil than oil pumped by Brazilians?
When the cap-and-tax debate re-ignites this fall, remember President Obama is paying for foreigners to develop their natural resources while he wants you using the bike path.
The Drill Brazil deal demonstrates the phony nature of the "global warming/global climate change" nonsense. First, if the Democrats are so concerned about the "menace" of "global climate change" then why are they sending billions to South America to discover and produce even more evil of the fossil fuels that are destroying Mother Earth? On the other hand, if Brazil drilling for oil will not cause the planet to explode why not allow private American companies develop the rich resources below the ocean's floor off the American coastline? Is there something about American-produced oil that is inherently more evil than oil pumped by Brazilians?
When the cap-and-tax debate re-ignites this fall, remember President Obama is paying for foreigners to develop their natural resources while he wants you using the bike path.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Beware The Trojan Horse of "Compromise" Health Care Cooperatives
Recent talk that President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama and Senate Democrats are willing to forego the socialist "public option" for health care cooperatives is nothing more than a political shell game. They want you to think this idea is similar to your local hippie food co-op. However, there is a big problem. The co-ops most folks envision are totally private and voluntary entities. The government "co-op" would be managed by the government, with insurers approved by the government, paid for by the government (i.e., tax payers), and operate under rules set by the federal government. Yeah, there's your private sector solution.
The idea of health care cooperatives has potential if done correctly. Correctly, of course, meaning individuals and businesses acting in a free and open market without government mandates. Earlier in the summer, the Heritage Foundation wrote about the co-op concept as a way to reform elements of the health care industry without a government takeover.
Reform ideas that increase consumer choice and that facilitate competition have been defeated by Leftist Democrats for years. They do not want genuine reform. The only firm goal of Liberal-Leftist-Progressive-Socialist-Democrats is power. They want the government to control your life from womb to tomb and any reform that does not provide that authority will not be sufficient. Beware of the "co-op compromise"; its a socialist wolf in a free-market sheep's clothing.
The idea of health care cooperatives has potential if done correctly. Correctly, of course, meaning individuals and businesses acting in a free and open market without government mandates. Earlier in the summer, the Heritage Foundation wrote about the co-op concept as a way to reform elements of the health care industry without a government takeover.
Reform ideas that increase consumer choice and that facilitate competition have been defeated by Leftist Democrats for years. They do not want genuine reform. The only firm goal of Liberal-Leftist-Progressive-Socialist-Democrats is power. They want the government to control your life from womb to tomb and any reform that does not provide that authority will not be sufficient. Beware of the "co-op compromise"; its a socialist wolf in a free-market sheep's clothing.
Has Anyone Seen Mark Warner?
SWAC Girl posted a call for Virginia Senator Mark Warner to face voters in the Shenandoah Valley to discuss his party's desire to take over American health care (you have to check it out just for the milk carton). For over a week, Warner's Senate website has stated that he will be announcing town hall meetings around the state. Today, I called his Roanoke office and they knew nothing, but said an announcement should be made any day now. It is August 18, so the August recess is ticking away. Of course, Warner has set up a place on his website where you can send your comments or questions concerning the health care issue.
Mark Warner seems a lot like President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama. He likes to talk at people rather than with them. He wants to orchestrate events that give the impression he wants to hear the will of the people. In the end, he is a partisan hack. Check out Warner's Senate web site where he tows the party line and dismisses any concerns about the proposals currently in Congress.
If you want to check on the status of Mark Warner's town hall meetings you can contact him at:
Mark Warner seems a lot like President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama. He likes to talk at people rather than with them. He wants to orchestrate events that give the impression he wants to hear the will of the people. In the end, he is a partisan hack. Check out Warner's Senate web site where he tows the party line and dismisses any concerns about the proposals currently in Congress.
If you want to check on the status of Mark Warner's town hall meetings you can contact him at:
Washington, D.C. office: 202-224-2023
Abingdon office: 276-628-8158
Norfolk office: 757-441-3079
Roanoke office: 540-857-2676
Richmond office: 804-739-0247
Monday, August 17, 2009
White House Gives Up Health Care Snitch Site
President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama has backed down on his "turn-in-your-neighbor" email address. The White House was skewered by the alternative media and Real Americans from sea to shining sea for asking Americans to report those who had actually read the House and Senate nationalized health care bills. Late last week, it was announced the Senate had taken out the "death panel" provisions that they had previously claimed were nonexistent. Over the weekend, talk began that the White House may be willing to forego the so-called "public option" in favor of co-ops that would be based on free market principles. Now, it seems they are admitting the folly of their "Big Brother" web site.
Patriots should not let these signs of wavering dupe them into believing the socialist ideologues in the White House and Congress have given in to Real Americans who have objected loudly and clearly to socialized medicine. This simply means they will have to be even sneakier. Keep up the pressure on Comrade Obama and the rest of the Leftist stormtroopers. They have been embarrassed, but they are not defeated. Yet.
Patriots should not let these signs of wavering dupe them into believing the socialist ideologues in the White House and Congress have given in to Real Americans who have objected loudly and clearly to socialized medicine. This simply means they will have to be even sneakier. Keep up the pressure on Comrade Obama and the rest of the Leftist stormtroopers. They have been embarrassed, but they are not defeated. Yet.
"Rise Up America": A Tea Party Anthem By Roanoke's Jenice and Pete Pearl
During the organizational meeting for the Roanoke Tea Party group on August 15, Roanoke couple Jenice and Pete Pearl performed a very inspirational original song for the Patriots in attendance. Jenice has some serious pipes! The song is timely and relevant and could be the anthem for the Tea Party movement across the country. Enjoy!
Canada Looks To Privatize Health Care While Obama Seeks To Nationalize
This really reflects what many of us have said along. President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama and the increasingly radical Leftist Democrats are hell-bent on condemning the United States to the type of health care system that has collapsed under its own weight throughout the world (not to mention the bankrupt Medicare program we are already supporting). In the rest of the world, socialist countries have discovered the dysfunction of nationalized medicine the hard way. Now, Canada is looking at free market solutions to the crisis of a broken system.
The tremendous irony in this entire debate is that Obama and the Left bleat on about how revolutionary their ideas are. They accuse opponents of standing in the way of progress. In truth, the Statist Democrats are pursuing policies that are already proven failures. Expanding government is not a new concept and certainly does not represent "hope" and "change." Just ask Canada.
The tremendous irony in this entire debate is that Obama and the Left bleat on about how revolutionary their ideas are. They accuse opponents of standing in the way of progress. In truth, the Statist Democrats are pursuing policies that are already proven failures. Expanding government is not a new concept and certainly does not represent "hope" and "change." Just ask Canada.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Roanoke Tea Party Organizational Meeting Draws Close to 500 Patriots
I attended Tax Day and Independence Day Tea Parties in Roanoke and I've followed the developments of the local movement. When it was announced that the Roanoke Tea Party organization was going to hold a planning meeting on August 15, I set my calendar and figured I would run into another 50-60 like-minded folks. After all, this was a planning meeting not a protest rally. When my son and I arrived at the Roanoke Civic Center, we found ourselves in a crowd of approximately 500 patriots of all ages. Wow!
The leaders of the group are just regular folks who stood up and took the initiative to stop yelling at the television and do something to try to stop the ever-encroaching government from intruding further in our lives. There were retirees and young people. There were couples and singles. There were established businessmen and wide-eyed young entrepreneurs. No swastikas, pointy hoods or hateful symbols of any kind. Just regular people who understand that the long, slow march to socialism and dependence has picked up significant speed and it is time for Real Americans to fight back.
Without going into great detail, there is one thing everyone should understand: the Tea Party movement is about much more than rallies on special occasions and protests over certain issues. The principles on which this nation was founded are under attack and citizens are fed up and ready to do what it takes to roll back creeping statism. These are folks who will not put their faith in parties or politicians; instead, cherished and proven ideals will be the guide.
In his book Liberty and Tyranny, Mark Levin reminds us that the current state of our government and our culture did not happen over night. It has been a century or more of incremental attacks on America's underpinnings. We will not defeat statism with one rally or one defeated bill or one removed incumbent. The fight to restore America's heart and soul will require a steady and sustained effort by modern-day Patriots. If you are in southwest or central Virginia check out the Roanoke Tea Party and see where you can join the fight. If you are reading this from another part of the United States, go to the American Liberty Alliance or the Tea Party Patriots and look for a group of Real Americans in your area. America is worth fighting for and the time to start is now.
The leaders of the group are just regular folks who stood up and took the initiative to stop yelling at the television and do something to try to stop the ever-encroaching government from intruding further in our lives. There were retirees and young people. There were couples and singles. There were established businessmen and wide-eyed young entrepreneurs. No swastikas, pointy hoods or hateful symbols of any kind. Just regular people who understand that the long, slow march to socialism and dependence has picked up significant speed and it is time for Real Americans to fight back.
Without going into great detail, there is one thing everyone should understand: the Tea Party movement is about much more than rallies on special occasions and protests over certain issues. The principles on which this nation was founded are under attack and citizens are fed up and ready to do what it takes to roll back creeping statism. These are folks who will not put their faith in parties or politicians; instead, cherished and proven ideals will be the guide.
In his book Liberty and Tyranny, Mark Levin reminds us that the current state of our government and our culture did not happen over night. It has been a century or more of incremental attacks on America's underpinnings. We will not defeat statism with one rally or one defeated bill or one removed incumbent. The fight to restore America's heart and soul will require a steady and sustained effort by modern-day Patriots. If you are in southwest or central Virginia check out the Roanoke Tea Party and see where you can join the fight. If you are reading this from another part of the United States, go to the American Liberty Alliance or the Tea Party Patriots and look for a group of Real Americans in your area. America is worth fighting for and the time to start is now.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Camille Paglia Smacks Obama and Leftist Thugs With A Reality Check
The modern liberal has become a hyper-partisan animal that is largely devoid of any capacity for rational discussion. Camille Paglia is an exception. If I sat down with Ms. Paglia, I have a feeling we would not find a lot of common ground on most issues. However, she has the capacity to admonish thuggish Progressives when they cross the line. This week, she wrote a great piece admonishing Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama and his gang of thieves for their tactics in the health care debate.
Paglia remains an Obama fan, but she had some strong words for the administration's behavior in the current debate over nationalized health care:
Paglia went on to blast Obama's "spy on your neighbor" email address and to endorse Sarah Palin's concern about "death panels"...
Paglia showed a deeper understanding of the practical problems with the various versions of ObamaCare floating around Capitol Hill than the President, Nancy Pelosi or any of the feckless Congressman bumbling through town hall meetings across the country.
The blind trust in government displayed by so many people is the scariest part of the current discussion. Public opinion is definitely against the bills currently being debated, but there are still 30-40% of Americans who are willing to sign off on this turdburger, no questions asked. Obama and Democrat congressmen do not want to discuss specifics. They want the 85% of Americans who are happy with their health care to believe the rest of the population is facing death and pestilence at the hands of an unfeeling system. America isn't buying it.
Paglia remains an Obama fan, but she had some strong words for the administration's behavior in the current debate over nationalized health care:
But who would have thought that the sober, deliberative Barack Obama would have nothing to propose but vague and slippery promises -- or that he would so
easily cede the leadership clout of the executive branch to a chaotic, rapacious, solipsistic Congress? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom I used to admire for her smooth aplomb under pressure, has clearly gone off the deep end with her bizarre rants about legitimate town-hall protests by American citizens. She is doing grievous damage to the party and should immediately step down.
There is plenty of blame to go around. Obama's aggressive endorsement of a healthcare plan that does not even exist yet, except in five competing, fluctuating drafts, makes Washington seem like Cloud Cuckoo Land. The president is promoting the most colossal, brazen bait-and-switch operation since the Bush administration snookered the country into invading Iraq with apocalyptic visions of mushroom clouds over American cities.
You can keep your doctor; you can keep your insurance, if you're happy with it, Obama keeps assuring us in soothing, lullaby tones. Oh, really? And what if my doctor is not the one appointed by the new government medical boards for ruling on my access to tests and specialists? And what if my insurance company goes belly up because of undercutting by its government-bankrolled competitor? Face it: Virtually all nationalized health systems, neither nourished nor updated by profit-driven private investment, eventually lead to rationing.
I just don't get it. Why the insane rush to pass a bill, any bill, in three weeks? And why such an abject failure by the Obama administration to present the issues to the public in a rational, detailed, informational way? The U.S. is gigantic; many of our states are bigger than whole European nations. The bureaucracy required to institute and manage a nationalized health system here would be Byzantine beyond belief and would vampirically absorb whatever savings Obama thinks could be made. And the transition period would be a nightmare of red tape and mammoth screw-ups, which we can ill afford with a faltering economy.
As with the massive boondoggle of the stimulus package, which Obama foolishly let Congress turn into a pork rut, too much has been attempted all at once; focused, targeted initiatives would, instead, have won wide public support. How is it possible that Democrats, through their own clumsiness and arrogance, have sabotaged healthcare reform yet again? Blaming obstructionist Republicans is nonsensical, because Democrats control the White House and both Houses of Congress. It isn't conservative rumors or lies that are stopping healthcare legislation; it's the justifiable alarm of an electorate that has been cut out of the loop and is watching its representatives construct a tangled labyrinth for others but not for themselves. No, the airheads of Congress will keep their own plush healthcare plan -- it's the rest of us guinea pigs who will be thrown to the wolves...
Paglia went on to blast Obama's "spy on your neighbor" email address and to endorse Sarah Palin's concern about "death panels"...
But somehow liberals have drifted into a strange servility toward big government, which they revere as a godlike foster father-mother who can dispense all bounty and magically heal all ills. The ethical collapse of the left was nowhere more evident than in the near total silence of liberal media and Web sites at the Obama administration's outrageous solicitation to private citizens to report unacceptable "casual conversations" to the White House. If Republicans had done this, there would have been an angry explosion by Democrats from coast to coast. I was stunned at the failure of liberals to see the blatant totalitarianism in this incident, which the president should have immediately denounced. His failure to do so implicates him in it.
As a libertarian and refugee from the authoritarian Roman Catholic church of my youth, I simply do not understand the drift of my party toward a soulless collectivism. This is in fact what Sarah Palin hit on in her shocking image of a "death panel" under Obamacare that would make irrevocable decisions about the disabled and elderly. When I first saw that phrase, headlined on the Drudge Report, I burst out laughing. It seemed so over the top! But on reflection, I realized that Palin's shrewdly timed metaphor spoke directly to the electorate's unease with the prospect of shadowy, unelected government figures controlling our lives. A death panel not only has the power of life and death but is itself a symptom of a Kafkaesque brave new world where authority has become remote, arbitrary and spectral. And as in the Spanish Inquisition, dissidence is heresy, persecuted and punished.
Surely, the basic rule in comprehensive legislation should be: First, do no harm. The present proposals are full of noble aims, but the biggest danger always comes from unforeseen and unintended consequences. Example: the American incursion into Iraq, which destabilized the region by neutralizing Iran's rival and thus enormously enhancing Iran's power and nuclear ambitions.
What was needed for reform was an in-depth analysis, buttressed by documentary evidence, of waste, fraud and profiteering in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and insurance industries. Instead what we've gotten is a series of facile, vulgar innuendos about how doctors conduct their practice, as if their primary motive is money. Quite frankly, the president gives little sense of direct knowledge of medical protocols; it's as if his views are a tissue of hearsay and scattershot worst-case scenarios.
Paglia showed a deeper understanding of the practical problems with the various versions of ObamaCare floating around Capitol Hill than the President, Nancy Pelosi or any of the feckless Congressman bumbling through town hall meetings across the country.
The blind trust in government displayed by so many people is the scariest part of the current discussion. Public opinion is definitely against the bills currently being debated, but there are still 30-40% of Americans who are willing to sign off on this turdburger, no questions asked. Obama and Democrat congressmen do not want to discuss specifics. They want the 85% of Americans who are happy with their health care to believe the rest of the population is facing death and pestilence at the hands of an unfeeling system. America isn't buying it.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Roanoke Tea Party Organizational Meeting on Saturday August 15
All southwest Virginia patriots are welcome to come out to meet with other regular citizens who want to make a difference.
For more details visit: Roanoketeaparty.com.
ROANOKE TEA PARTY ANNOUNCES ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
On August 15, 2009, Roanoke Tea Party is holding a mass meeting at the Roanoke Civic Center in the Special Events Building at 1:00 P.M.
Event Organizer, Christy Bowles, is asking patriots from across the valley to come together to develop strategies to help counter the fiscally irresponsible and constitutionally questionable policies espoused by Washington. Programs like Cap and Trade and Socialized Medicine violate the basic tenets of the Constitution and we must oppose these assaults on our country.
The purpose of the up-coming meeting is to gather together citizens from across the area to educate neighbors, mobilize for rallies, hold voter registration drives and other efforts to hold our elected officials accountable for their policy decisions.
Chip Tarbutton stated, “The level of frustration amongst my neighbors and friends has reached a boiling point! We bristle at the assertion that a political party funds us, or that we represent a special interest group. The Roanoke Tea Party is a non-partisan group and does not support any political party. Few of us have ever been actively involved in politics but we fear the way our nation is headed and feel obligated to act now to protect our country.”
No matter your political affiliation; no matter what party you represent, we need your involvement if you agree with the core principles of The Roanoke Tea Party:
1. Rule of Constitutional Law & National Sovereignty
2. Limited Government based on 10th Amendment Federalism
3. Private Property & Free Market Economics
4. Individual Liberties
Bowles states that she is “excited about the opportunity to harness the energy and passion of local citizens to make a real impact on the political situation. This organizational meeting will be the springboard that will allow this movement to have a broader affect on local, state and federal issues.”
For more details visit: Roanoketeaparty.com.
Professor Carolina Heldman Denigrates Real Americans on "The O'Reilly Factor"
In the first segment of tonight's "O'Reilly Factor", Bill O'Reilly attempted to hold a discussion concerning President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's sinking popularity numbers. The guests were pollster Scott Rasmussen and Professorette Caroline Heldman from Occidental College. Rasmussen opened with an analysis of the numbers and what they may mean down the road.
Professorette Heldman's well-reasoned evaluation of Obama's approval ratings? "Those idiots out in Flyover Country are stifling democratic debate and don't know anything about health care. If they weren't so stupid they would jump aboard the O-Train. " Ok, that isn't a direct quote, but it is a pretty accurate summary of her soliloquy. However, this alleged expert in the field of political science did not even attempt to participate in a discussion of the issue at hand. Instead, she conducted a filibuster on how horrible American health care is and how socialized medicine is the answer. If possible, I will add the video later. The "expert" simply dismissed the opposition as being too ignorant to understand the issue.
Whether the Obama supporter is a media hack, a sleazy politician, or an arrogant academic the theme is the same: Real America is a cesspool of imbeciles and idiots who don't understand that they would be better served if they turned their lives over to the government. We know that members of Congress laugh at the idea of actually reading bills; I would wager that Dr. Heldman has much less familiarity with the contents of the bills floating around Congress than the housewives, contractors, and restaurant owners who are standing up for themselves.
The professorette made another statement that was totally asinine. She accused the folks who are attending town hall meetings to express their displeasure with the attempted government encroachment of suppressing democratic debate. This is one of those cases where arrogance smothers intellect. Slobbering Leftists and Obama sycophants suffer from such severe tunnel vision as they seek Utopia that they do not recognize that the protesters ARE the democracy.
They ARE the debate. Remember, Nancy Pelosi sent her flying monkeys back to their home districts to "educate" the dumb masses on the wonders on socialized medicine. They did not anticipate or welcome the idea of their constituents expressing their own ideas. And, now we are finding out just what they think of the people they represent.
Professorette Heldman's well-reasoned evaluation of Obama's approval ratings? "Those idiots out in Flyover Country are stifling democratic debate and don't know anything about health care. If they weren't so stupid they would jump aboard the O-Train. " Ok, that isn't a direct quote, but it is a pretty accurate summary of her soliloquy. However, this alleged expert in the field of political science did not even attempt to participate in a discussion of the issue at hand. Instead, she conducted a filibuster on how horrible American health care is and how socialized medicine is the answer. If possible, I will add the video later. The "expert" simply dismissed the opposition as being too ignorant to understand the issue.
Whether the Obama supporter is a media hack, a sleazy politician, or an arrogant academic the theme is the same: Real America is a cesspool of imbeciles and idiots who don't understand that they would be better served if they turned their lives over to the government. We know that members of Congress laugh at the idea of actually reading bills; I would wager that Dr. Heldman has much less familiarity with the contents of the bills floating around Congress than the housewives, contractors, and restaurant owners who are standing up for themselves.
The professorette made another statement that was totally asinine. She accused the folks who are attending town hall meetings to express their displeasure with the attempted government encroachment of suppressing democratic debate. This is one of those cases where arrogance smothers intellect. Slobbering Leftists and Obama sycophants suffer from such severe tunnel vision as they seek Utopia that they do not recognize that the protesters ARE the democracy.
They ARE the debate. Remember, Nancy Pelosi sent her flying monkeys back to their home districts to "educate" the dumb masses on the wonders on socialized medicine. They did not anticipate or welcome the idea of their constituents expressing their own ideas. And, now we are finding out just what they think of the people they represent.
Sheila Jackson Lee's Fake Doctor Symbolic of Democrat Lies
Patterico.com exposed Dr. Roxana Mayer, a medical authority in favor of health care reform, as just plain ol Roxana Mayer, Obama hack and fraud. Big Media in the form of The Houston Chronicle celebrated the credentials of the "doctor" as though her comment carried special weight. It turns out Mayer is a grad student in social work and an Obama delegate. After the original expose', Patterico conducted an email interview with Mayer.
Sheila Jackson Lee may be the dumbest woman in the Congress. In 2003, she asked if the Mars probe got pictures of the flag Neil Armstrong placed there. Just a few weeks ago, this half-wit called on the U.S. to pass an Equal Rights Amendment, so that American women would have the same guarantees as those in Rwanda, Afghanistan, and China. During the same meeting that produced the fake doctor, Queen LaSheila was caught talking on her cell phone while a constituent, a cancer-survivor, was speaking. Now, this arrogant waste of oxygen is claiming that video of her talking on her cell phone was doctored. Yep, the vast right wing conspiracy doctored the video.
Roxana Mayer is a true-believer and useful idiot for Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama and his velvet Marxist revolution. That begs the question: how many more phony endorsements for ObamaCare are out there? We know the Big B-O himself lied about the AARP endorsement. He lied about Georgia congressman Johnny Isakson's involvement in the death committee component of ObamaCare. The President continues to lie about individuals being able to keep their own health care if they are happy with it. He and his stooge Robert Gibbs lie about the polls. They lie about the Real Americans who don't want the government to control their lives from womb to tomb. I believe the allegations of death threats are lies (or at least greatly exaggerated).
The Sheila Jackson-Lee/phony doctor flap is symbolic of the entire Democratic posse's attempt to steal control of American health care. On one hand, they are comically stupid, dishonest, and inept. On the other, they have a large number of useful idiots who support them and they have the power to make your life miserable--and possible end it.
Sheila Jackson Lee may be the dumbest woman in the Congress. In 2003, she asked if the Mars probe got pictures of the flag Neil Armstrong placed there. Just a few weeks ago, this half-wit called on the U.S. to pass an Equal Rights Amendment, so that American women would have the same guarantees as those in Rwanda, Afghanistan, and China. During the same meeting that produced the fake doctor, Queen LaSheila was caught talking on her cell phone while a constituent, a cancer-survivor, was speaking. Now, this arrogant waste of oxygen is claiming that video of her talking on her cell phone was doctored. Yep, the vast right wing conspiracy doctored the video.
Roxana Mayer is a true-believer and useful idiot for Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama and his velvet Marxist revolution. That begs the question: how many more phony endorsements for ObamaCare are out there? We know the Big B-O himself lied about the AARP endorsement. He lied about Georgia congressman Johnny Isakson's involvement in the death committee component of ObamaCare. The President continues to lie about individuals being able to keep their own health care if they are happy with it. He and his stooge Robert Gibbs lie about the polls. They lie about the Real Americans who don't want the government to control their lives from womb to tomb. I believe the allegations of death threats are lies (or at least greatly exaggerated).
The Sheila Jackson-Lee/phony doctor flap is symbolic of the entire Democratic posse's attempt to steal control of American health care. On one hand, they are comically stupid, dishonest, and inept. On the other, they have a large number of useful idiots who support them and they have the power to make your life miserable--and possible end it.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Obama Wants To Give You Post Office Quality Health Care
In defending the idea that government can be just another competitor in the health care industry, President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama made this bizarre statement:
"UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right?" the president said. "It's the Post
Office that's always having problems."
There is so much in that brief statement. There are the obvious non-sequitors in his comparison:
- The government does not allow competition in the mailing of first class letters.
- The government does not fine citizens who choose not to ship packages with anyone.
- The government does not set a different set of regulations especially to make FedEx and UPS non-competitive.
- If you choose to send a letter or package via a friend traveling to the corresponding destination, you and the friend are not subject to criminal charges.
- Taxpaying citizens are not compelled to mail packages for non-taxpaying citizens.
- People who are not currently customers of FedEx and UPS can use their services at any time, unlike government health care which explicitly outlaws new private plans.
But, the topper was his own admission that the U.S. Postal Service is a train wreck. Despite being propped up by the taxpayers, ever-rising rates, and ever-shrinking services USPS is $2 billion in the hole. It can do that because the profit motive is irrelevant. Yes, I know it's a for-profit corporation, but it never turns a profit. Its management collects hefty bonuses. They know, even if they fail, the tax payers will be forced to float them another loan.
FedEx and UPS have to compete in a free market. They must be profitable or risk extinction. The federal government will not bail them out. They cannot demand that taxpayers underwrite their mistakes. Therefore, they outperform the USPS.
So, in his own words, President Obama told us he wants to create an inefficient and inferior product to what we currently have. What a salesman!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
John Dingell, the Ku Klux Klan and Civilized Debate
Michigan congressman John Dingell, who has been in the Congress so long he called Henry Clay "whippersnapper," demonstrated the calm and reasonable debate we expect from the Liberal-Leftist-Progressive-Socialist-Democrat party.
The Statists are executing a classic game plan of divide and conquer. Half of them are pleading for rational debate and professing ignorance at what has Real America pissed off while the President tells the opposition to sit down and shut up, Nancy Pelosi calls them "un-American" and "Nazis" and John Dingell compares opponents of nationalized healthcare to the Ku Klux Klan. Ahhhh, civilized debate, Democrat-style. The Leftist base and airheads like David Frum and David Brooks will absorb this nonsense, but Real America will have none of it.
Don't tell me to be civil while you are telling me to keep my opinions to myself, President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama!
Don't accuse me of spreading hate while you call me a Nazi, Nancy Pelosi!
Don't tell me to calm down while you call me "un-American", Steny Hoyer!
And don't tell me to dress up the tone of the debate, while you are comparing me to the Ku Klux Klan, John Dingell!
If you want reasonable debate, don't threaten to pass the bill through backdoor channels, Chuckie Schumer!
The Democrats don't want to debate this issue. They have demonized insurance companies and doctors and scared people to death that, while they currently have adequate care, they won't if this health care scheme does not become law. Then, they accuse those who want answers to difficult questions of spreading hate.
They can play their 1984 "Newspeak" language games for their kook base. But, Real America is much smarter than they realize. Democrat leaders are trying to intimidate ordinary Americans. This tactic is rapidly blowing up in their face. We are not afraid of them.
The Statists are executing a classic game plan of divide and conquer. Half of them are pleading for rational debate and professing ignorance at what has Real America pissed off while the President tells the opposition to sit down and shut up, Nancy Pelosi calls them "un-American" and "Nazis" and John Dingell compares opponents of nationalized healthcare to the Ku Klux Klan. Ahhhh, civilized debate, Democrat-style. The Leftist base and airheads like David Frum and David Brooks will absorb this nonsense, but Real America will have none of it.
Don't tell me to be civil while you are telling me to keep my opinions to myself, President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama!
Don't accuse me of spreading hate while you call me a Nazi, Nancy Pelosi!
Don't tell me to calm down while you call me "un-American", Steny Hoyer!
And don't tell me to dress up the tone of the debate, while you are comparing me to the Ku Klux Klan, John Dingell!
If you want reasonable debate, don't threaten to pass the bill through backdoor channels, Chuckie Schumer!
The Democrats don't want to debate this issue. They have demonized insurance companies and doctors and scared people to death that, while they currently have adequate care, they won't if this health care scheme does not become law. Then, they accuse those who want answers to difficult questions of spreading hate.
They can play their 1984 "Newspeak" language games for their kook base. But, Real America is much smarter than they realize. Democrat leaders are trying to intimidate ordinary Americans. This tactic is rapidly blowing up in their face. We are not afraid of them.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Linda Douglas Helps You Identify The Angry Mobster In Your Neighborhood.
Ok, its really a blogger named Iowahawk at Breitbart's Big Hollywood, but his "Know Your Town Hall Agitators" piece is a spot on description of how the Leftist-Socialist elites see Real America. No American President has ever been this blatant in attempting to squash free political speech. Douglas was a Leftwing hack as a journalist, so it is appropriate she cut out the middle man and began collecting a paycheck from Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama. With the recent tirades by various Democrat congressmen, Big Media Obamatrons, Nancy Pelosi, and the Big B-O himself, this piece of satire could easily be mistaken as an actual press release from the Office of Anti-Amerikan Disinformation.
"Astro Turf" Democrats On Video At Florida Town Hall
Florida Leftist-Liberal-Progressive-Socialist-Democrat Kathy Castor's town hall meeting last week caught attention for its level of tension and the violence outside. Newbusters has posted some video taken last week that shows what went on in the room BEFORE the meeting started. It seems members of Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's personal brownshirts, Organizing For America, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) were passing out signs and leaflets to people inside the room prior to the meeting. It is also at that point that only certain people are being allowed into the room. I'm sorry, which side of the debate does Big Media claim is being propped up by special interests?
Yes, the tone of the protesters was loud and abrasive. But, Congressman Castor chose to make a long speech of Leftist-Socialist talking points rather than listen to the people. Folks don't go to town halls to be lectured (i.e., lied to) by some arrogant legislator. They show up to be heard. Castor wants to tell people what they want and how she is going to deliver it.
For those on the Left who genuinely want to improve the tone of the debate I have a few suggestions: read the bill, don't lie about what is in the bill, and treat your constituents like intelligent individuals. You might actually learn something.
Yes, the tone of the protesters was loud and abrasive. But, Congressman Castor chose to make a long speech of Leftist-Socialist talking points rather than listen to the people. Folks don't go to town halls to be lectured (i.e., lied to) by some arrogant legislator. They show up to be heard. Castor wants to tell people what they want and how she is going to deliver it.
For those on the Left who genuinely want to improve the tone of the debate I have a few suggestions: read the bill, don't lie about what is in the bill, and treat your constituents like intelligent individuals. You might actually learn something.
Nancy Pelosi Declares Health Care Protesters Are "Un-American"
The woman who happens to be two hearbeats away from being President of the United States has declared free speech to be "un-American" if it dissents from the desires of The Party. In an op-ed piece in today's USA Today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer declared that Americans have been begging for nationalized health care for a century and that those show up at town hall meetings to dispute the scheme are "un-American." Just last week, Pelosi compared protesters to Nazis.
The Heritage Foundation debunks Pelosi and Hoyer's opinion piece along with Comrade Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's most recent dog squeeze-laced radio address.
Real America is more alive and alert than it has ever been. Pelosi, Hoyer, ObamAlinsky, Harry Reid and Big Media believe that the American subjects should just sit down and nod politely as they are being stuffed full of garbage. I would love to sit down and discuss the U.S. Constitution and American history with any of these weasels. It is they who cross their fingers while taking an oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution while spending every waking moment concocting new ways to expand their power and weaken the country's foundations.
The Heritage Foundation debunks Pelosi and Hoyer's opinion piece along with Comrade Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's most recent dog squeeze-laced radio address.
Real America is more alive and alert than it has ever been. Pelosi, Hoyer, ObamAlinsky, Harry Reid and Big Media believe that the American subjects should just sit down and nod politely as they are being stuffed full of garbage. I would love to sit down and discuss the U.S. Constitution and American history with any of these weasels. It is they who cross their fingers while taking an oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution while spending every waking moment concocting new ways to expand their power and weaken the country's foundations.
Georgia Congressman David Scott Screams At Constituent For Asking Health Care Question
An "angry mob" of one sent Georgia Congressman David Scott into a meltodwn. The citizen, a doctor, asked a simple and straightforward question which the legislator did not want to discuss. RedState blogger James Richardson pointed out this wasn't Scott's first rodeo as an angry and incompetent ward boss for the Democrat party.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
GOP Congressman Bob Inglis Shows Republican Legislators Are As Clueless As Democrats
South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis angered some constituents this past week when he verbally attacked talk show host Glenn Beck during a town hall meeting. Inglis accused Beck of being a fear monger after a member of the crowd told Inglis he should watch Beck's program. The audience responded by resoundingly booing the Republican.
Later, South Carolina blogger Jason Spencer spoke with the Congressman who did not back down from his words about Beck and he then threw Lou Dobbs into the mix of agitators. Spencer's discussion with Inglis was enlightening. In fact, this whole dust up brings up a couple very important points.
First, the nonsensical claim that folks are coming to the town halls because of partisan loyalties or because they are out to get Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama loses some steam when a Republican Congressman is grilled by Real Americans. The tea parties I have attended demonstrated a lot of anger with the GOP for not standing on principle. Most of the reactions out there in Flyover Country involve folks who are drawing a line in the sand when it comes to government encroachment in their lives. They don't care whether the violators have a "D" or an "R" after their name. We The People are no longer going to swallow some soothing words and then allow these clowns to go back to Washington and do as they please. That includes Republicans. If they want Real Americans to believe them, they will act not talk.
Secondly, the more Inglis talked to Spencer the more apparent it became that this guy just does not get it. From the interview:
Look, I'm not a huge Glenn Beck fan. I generally agree with most things he says, but his style and overwrought emotionalism is not my cup of tea. I find guys like Mark Levin and Mike Church to be smarter thinkers and better communicators.
That being said, Inglis is missing the point. I don't think Beck or anyone else is arguing that there is no hope. However, they are saying that if the people do not become active citizens and fight the entrenched powers the the liberties and freedoms we have known are in grave danger. Guess what? They are right. The pioneers Inglis tried to use in his broken analogy were individualists not statists. Today, standing up to arrogant legislators is our fight for progress.
It is "hope" that is causing construction workers, housewives, small businessmen, nurses, salespeople, teachers, and other regular folk to crowd into town hall meetings when they could be sitting home watching "Scrubs." The expression of anger over a bill that Mr. Inglis has probably not even read is the "hope." You see, unlike ObamaBots who place their hope in government, these folks are taking the bull by the balls. If Inglis believes Real America should comfortably sit back and wait for the Republican party to rescue us from ObamaCare, he is living in Never Never Land. The GOP has failed to uphold principle in the past, so the folks are going to be in your face, as well as the Democrats, to make their voices heard.
Final proof that Bob Inglis is an out-of-touch politician who just doesn't get it. This is not a matter of "disagree with." Inglis' own analysis demonstrates that he sees this fight only in terms of a partisan squabble. This isn't Clinton vs. Bush or Bush vs. Obama. This is the powerful vs. the people.
The Constitution? The Framers? Checks and balances? Yeah, many of us in Flyover Country believe in these things and agree that using them would be best for our republic. However, Inglis and the rest of the jackals in Washington do not value any of those things. Many pay lip service to those ideals, but outside of a handful of Republicans there is little respect for limited government among the Beltway crowd.
If the Constitution mattered, we would not be talking about nationalized health care, cap-and-trade, and 90% of what Congress does. The Constitution is eroding because the den of thieves called Congress does not give a damn about its limits. The only "confidence" members of Congress have about the Constitution is that most of the population doesn't have a clue what is in it. They are confident they can do as they damn well please and get away with it.
We The People have hope because we are letting our voices be heard and will continue to demand that Congressmen recognize the limits of their authority and stay within their boundaries. Maybe Congressman Bob Inglis and others of his ilk need to spend some time with the "angry mob." Maybe they will rediscover the Constitution and the principles of individual liberty on which this nation was founded. You see, Real Americans believe in the Constitution; they just don't trust the nation's elites to faithfully execute it.
Later, South Carolina blogger Jason Spencer spoke with the Congressman who did not back down from his words about Beck and he then threw Lou Dobbs into the mix of agitators. Spencer's discussion with Inglis was enlightening. In fact, this whole dust up brings up a couple very important points.
First, the nonsensical claim that folks are coming to the town halls because of partisan loyalties or because they are out to get Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama loses some steam when a Republican Congressman is grilled by Real Americans. The tea parties I have attended demonstrated a lot of anger with the GOP for not standing on principle. Most of the reactions out there in Flyover Country involve folks who are drawing a line in the sand when it comes to government encroachment in their lives. They don't care whether the violators have a "D" or an "R" after their name. We The People are no longer going to swallow some soothing words and then allow these clowns to go back to Washington and do as they please. That includes Republicans. If they want Real Americans to believe them, they will act not talk.
Secondly, the more Inglis talked to Spencer the more apparent it became that this guy just does not get it. From the interview:
“I don’t listen often to Glenn Beck, but when I have, I’ve come away just so disappointed with the negativity… the ‘We’ve just gone to pot as a country,’ and ‘All is lost’ and ‘There is no hope.’ It’s not consistent with the America that I know. The America I know was founded by people who took tiny boats across a big ocean, and pushed west in tiny wagons, and landed on the moon. That’s the America I heard on the streets of Boiling Springs.”
He continued: “The America that Glenn Beck seems to see is a place where we all should be fearful, thinking that our best days are behind us. It sure does sell soap, but it sure does a disservice to America.”
Look, I'm not a huge Glenn Beck fan. I generally agree with most things he says, but his style and overwrought emotionalism is not my cup of tea. I find guys like Mark Levin and Mike Church to be smarter thinkers and better communicators.
That being said, Inglis is missing the point. I don't think Beck or anyone else is arguing that there is no hope. However, they are saying that if the people do not become active citizens and fight the entrenched powers the the liberties and freedoms we have known are in grave danger. Guess what? They are right. The pioneers Inglis tried to use in his broken analogy were individualists not statists. Today, standing up to arrogant legislators is our fight for progress.
He continued: “There is every reason to oppose President Obama’s health care
package. It’s the wrong prescription. It needs to be stopped. But that doesn’t mean we need to abandon hope in America, and say the end is near, and people are going to force us to have immunizations. There’s no reason to go to that extreme.”
It is "hope" that is causing construction workers, housewives, small businessmen, nurses, salespeople, teachers, and other regular folk to crowd into town hall meetings when they could be sitting home watching "Scrubs." The expression of anger over a bill that Mr. Inglis has probably not even read is the "hope." You see, unlike ObamaBots who place their hope in government, these folks are taking the bull by the balls. If Inglis believes Real America should comfortably sit back and wait for the Republican party to rescue us from ObamaCare, he is living in Never Never Land. The GOP has failed to uphold principle in the past, so the folks are going to be in your face, as well as the Democrats, to make their voices heard.
“This is a constitutional republic that can withstand any president I disagree with,” Inglis said. “It withstood Bill Clinton. And if you were a George Bush-hater, it withstood George Bush. And it will withstand Barack Obama. And that’s just because there’s such confidence in the Constitution and the framers, who set up such an incredible system of checks and balances. …It’s inspiring to me to think about that.”
Final proof that Bob Inglis is an out-of-touch politician who just doesn't get it. This is not a matter of "disagree with." Inglis' own analysis demonstrates that he sees this fight only in terms of a partisan squabble. This isn't Clinton vs. Bush or Bush vs. Obama. This is the powerful vs. the people.
The Constitution? The Framers? Checks and balances? Yeah, many of us in Flyover Country believe in these things and agree that using them would be best for our republic. However, Inglis and the rest of the jackals in Washington do not value any of those things. Many pay lip service to those ideals, but outside of a handful of Republicans there is little respect for limited government among the Beltway crowd.
If the Constitution mattered, we would not be talking about nationalized health care, cap-and-trade, and 90% of what Congress does. The Constitution is eroding because the den of thieves called Congress does not give a damn about its limits. The only "confidence" members of Congress have about the Constitution is that most of the population doesn't have a clue what is in it. They are confident they can do as they damn well please and get away with it.
We The People have hope because we are letting our voices be heard and will continue to demand that Congressmen recognize the limits of their authority and stay within their boundaries. Maybe Congressman Bob Inglis and others of his ilk need to spend some time with the "angry mob." Maybe they will rediscover the Constitution and the principles of individual liberty on which this nation was founded. You see, Real Americans believe in the Constitution; they just don't trust the nation's elites to faithfully execute it.
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