Saturday, January 30, 2010
Rule 22
"We will go through the gate. If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn't work, we will parachute in." So says Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi regarding her intent to pass Obamacare despite a majority of Americans dead set against it. When Democrats can't pass their trash onto the public through legislation, even when they have huge (or did) majorities to do so, they find other ways in which to try and succeed. Witness activist judges, college professors, teachers' unions, and now the assault on the rules of the U. S. Senate.
Rule 22 of the U. S. Senate was established in 1917 at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson wished to negate the effects of a handful of stubborn senators who did not wish to arm U. S. merchant ships in the lead up to America entering World War I. When first passed by the Senate, a supermajority of two-thirds or 67 votes were necessary to end debate and invoke cloture. This proved too difficult a number to attain even after post-Watergate victories left the Democrats with a 62 vote majority in 1975. Once again the Democrats changed the rules to require only three fifths of the Senate, or 60 votes to end debate. As Wikipedia explains, "This has considerably strengthened the power of the majority, and allowed it to pass many bills that would otherwise have been filibustered." Apparently 3/5's is still not strong enough for those brazen enough to try and pass defective legislation over the repeated wishes of their constituents.
With their numbers dwindling with each election, and a potential bloodbath ahead of them in November, the Democrats and their allies in the media are calling for a simple majority of 51 to be all that is necessary to shut down debate and pass a bill in the Senate. While a simple majority of 51% may seem fair to most of us in our everyday lives, in the Senate, the requirement of some kind of supermajority remains an important cog in our check and balance against extreme ideologies. It's terribly hypocritical of the Democrats to try, on the one hand, to advance the idea that a mere majority in the Senate is just, when on the other hand they repeatedly ignore the majority of Americans who oppose their plans. A change in Rule 22 could prove disastrous for the Democrats in the fall elections. And wait for their howls when they eventually lose their current majority and the Republicans need only 51 votes.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
What's That Smell?
Again the pundits are calling tonight's State of the Union speech by President Obama, the most important speech of his political life. Really? He's already had several do or die speeches, press conferences, etc., and he's just a quarter of the way through his presidency (hopefully). There's obviously a strong curiosity factor for tonight's speech. Will he admit his overreach on health care and perhaps other policy areas, pivot, then run to the center? Or will he take the more likely approach, admitting no false steps of his own, but continue to blame a poorly constructed footpath by Bush, Inc.? I think whatever the president says tonight will be largely irrelevant. Why? Because we already know he has a rocky relationship with the truth.
Whatever the president says tonight will have no more lasting impact or longevity than anything else the man has told us since arriving on the national scene. His words may be eloquent to some, but they are hollow, effervescent, and immaterial to what he might do tomorrow, next week, or a month from now. Whatever is politically expedient will be told to us. Whatever can buy him a few points in the polls (and they are extremely expensive today) will be passed on to us as pearls of wisdom and salve for our pain and suffering. Blather, blather, blah blah blah.
For those of us on the right, the best that we can hope for from tonight's SOTU is that the president leaves us with something tangible we can work with. Something easily discernible between moderate Democrats and conservative Republicans that can be crafted and utilized into making American lives better, not more expensive. Here is another opportunity for the president to communicate clearly where he wants to take America. Let's see if he has learned anything in the last week or two. If not, you can expect a popcorn fart of speech and a lingering odor of failure as he departs the podium.
Whatever the president says tonight will have no more lasting impact or longevity than anything else the man has told us since arriving on the national scene. His words may be eloquent to some, but they are hollow, effervescent, and immaterial to what he might do tomorrow, next week, or a month from now. Whatever is politically expedient will be told to us. Whatever can buy him a few points in the polls (and they are extremely expensive today) will be passed on to us as pearls of wisdom and salve for our pain and suffering. Blather, blather, blah blah blah.
For those of us on the right, the best that we can hope for from tonight's SOTU is that the president leaves us with something tangible we can work with. Something easily discernible between moderate Democrats and conservative Republicans that can be crafted and utilized into making American lives better, not more expensive. Here is another opportunity for the president to communicate clearly where he wants to take America. Let's see if he has learned anything in the last week or two. If not, you can expect a popcorn fart of speech and a lingering odor of failure as he departs the podium.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Exposed
My father used to have a reoccurring dream where he might find himself in a perilous situation and have to pretend to befriend an antagonist or a group of bad guys in order to buy time. At his first opportunity he would try and kill them, only to find that his bullets or whatever projectile he had at his disposal, would fall harmlessly to the ground well short of its intended target. This would immediately alert the bad guys to his betrayal and he would have hell to pay for these transgressions. Aside from the instant psychoanalysis of my fathers' perceived inadequacies, we all detest having our real intentions exposed if we have been trying to promote something entirely different all along. Such is the case with President Obama after a year in office. Whatever actions he takes from here on out, and I applaud his call for a freeze on some discretionary spending, his actions, to date, have exposed him as a partisan progressive hell bent on transforming America into something it is not and doesn't wish to become.
Barack Obama came into office as the most liberal Senator ever, yet sold himself as a post-partisan, post-racial, post-imperial presidential candidate and defender of middle-class values. He spent a year tearing that whole facade apart with the legislation he backed, the people he defended, the policies he pursued and telling the world we are not a Christian nation. Talk about exposed. It was an Obama MRI! So pardon me for not immediately buying into whatever re-calibration or slight of hand he may employ to make us think otherwise. Been there, done that.
On the other hand, I hope Republicans in Congress choose to work with him rather than against him on additional spending cuts and real job creation. Findings from a recent study by Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna, two Harvard economists, show that between 1970 and 2007 in 21 countries, including the U.S., "fiscal stimuli based upon tax cuts are more likely to increase growth than those based on spending increases." Another finding which runs counter to current Obamanomics, is that "spending cuts are much more effective than tax increases in stabilizing the debt and avoiding economic downturns." In other words, stop growing government by taking money out of the private sector. Real job growth will come when business is convinced that the Obama administration's not out to destroy them with union expansionism, carbon taxes, and other punishing mechanisms that kill job growth.
Barack Obama came into office as the most liberal Senator ever, yet sold himself as a post-partisan, post-racial, post-imperial presidential candidate and defender of middle-class values. He spent a year tearing that whole facade apart with the legislation he backed, the people he defended, the policies he pursued and telling the world we are not a Christian nation. Talk about exposed. It was an Obama MRI! So pardon me for not immediately buying into whatever re-calibration or slight of hand he may employ to make us think otherwise. Been there, done that.
On the other hand, I hope Republicans in Congress choose to work with him rather than against him on additional spending cuts and real job creation. Findings from a recent study by Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna, two Harvard economists, show that between 1970 and 2007 in 21 countries, including the U.S., "fiscal stimuli based upon tax cuts are more likely to increase growth than those based on spending increases." Another finding which runs counter to current Obamanomics, is that "spending cuts are much more effective than tax increases in stabilizing the debt and avoiding economic downturns." In other words, stop growing government by taking money out of the private sector. Real job growth will come when business is convinced that the Obama administration's not out to destroy them with union expansionism, carbon taxes, and other punishing mechanisms that kill job growth.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Ten Letters
It's reported that President Obama reads 10 letters from ordinary citizens each night before going to bed. These letters, culled from the estimated 40,000 that the White House receives each week, supposedly keep him grounded and keenly aware of the real world outside his protective bubble. Given the policy disasters of his first year, and his repeated attempts to follow a path a majority of Americans wish he would abandon, the people responsible for choosing these letters should be fired. Forget Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers, or Tim Geithner. Someone at the U.S. Postal Service is gabbing mail intended for the North Pole and redirecting it to the White House.
While writing this post, it occurred to me that "Ten Letters" is made up of 10 letters. There are also ten letters in the words "Santa Claus", "the economy", and "George Bush." Perhaps the president should try 9 letters from constituents instead. Scratch that, "impeached" has nine letters.
While writing this post, it occurred to me that "Ten Letters" is made up of 10 letters. There are also ten letters in the words "Santa Claus", "the economy", and "George Bush." Perhaps the president should try 9 letters from constituents instead. Scratch that, "impeached" has nine letters.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Bits and Pieces
I caught this in this morning's New York Times editorial. "It is reported that he (Obama) seeks out dissenting views doggedly." Shouldn't the NYT know if the president doggedly seeks dissenting viewpoints? Don't they have their own reporters? I'm pretty sure the NYT has access to the White House.
The White House wants to go after the banks with heavy taxes, levies, fines, whatever. Won't the banks just pass those added costs on to the consumer? What the American people don't understand, and what has never been fully explained to them, is that if the banks were in such deep trouble that they needed hundreds of billions of our money to bail them out, then why is it that within months of us doing so, those same banks were recording record profits and doling out billions in bonuses? It just doesn't add up.
Poll results from the Scott Brown victory continue to show that national security/terrorism played a much bigger role in the election then many had thought. This is another case of Barack Obama being on the wrong side of an issue with regards to the American public. If Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, don't reverse course on their plans for a trial in New York City for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, this issue alone may be the Democrats undoing in November.
President Obama insists that "the same anger that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office." Sorry Mr. President, it's not the same anger. Another swing and a miss. Let's tally his average so far. Chicago Olympics, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts....0 for 4. We either need a designated hitter or a new batter. I prefer the latter. How about you?
Kudos to President Obama for his presidential memorandum or directive aimed at stopping tax delinquents from receiving government contracts. Apparently the Government Accounting Office has identified tens of thousands of companies that continue to get paid to do work for the U. S. government, but owe the IRS $5 billion in back taxes. In his remarks he said, "You pay the taxes you owe because it's a fundamental responsibility of citizenship. And yet, somehow, it's become standard practice in Washington to give contracts to companies that don't pay their taxes." You mean like the contract you gave Timothy Geithner to run your Treasury Department?
The White House wants to go after the banks with heavy taxes, levies, fines, whatever. Won't the banks just pass those added costs on to the consumer? What the American people don't understand, and what has never been fully explained to them, is that if the banks were in such deep trouble that they needed hundreds of billions of our money to bail them out, then why is it that within months of us doing so, those same banks were recording record profits and doling out billions in bonuses? It just doesn't add up.
Poll results from the Scott Brown victory continue to show that national security/terrorism played a much bigger role in the election then many had thought. This is another case of Barack Obama being on the wrong side of an issue with regards to the American public. If Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, don't reverse course on their plans for a trial in New York City for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, this issue alone may be the Democrats undoing in November.
President Obama insists that "the same anger that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office." Sorry Mr. President, it's not the same anger. Another swing and a miss. Let's tally his average so far. Chicago Olympics, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts....0 for 4. We either need a designated hitter or a new batter. I prefer the latter. How about you?
Kudos to President Obama for his presidential memorandum or directive aimed at stopping tax delinquents from receiving government contracts. Apparently the Government Accounting Office has identified tens of thousands of companies that continue to get paid to do work for the U. S. government, but owe the IRS $5 billion in back taxes. In his remarks he said, "You pay the taxes you owe because it's a fundamental responsibility of citizenship. And yet, somehow, it's become standard practice in Washington to give contracts to companies that don't pay their taxes." You mean like the contract you gave Timothy Geithner to run your Treasury Department?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Senseless
It's clear from last night's election coverage and this morning's talkfests that Obama supporters have gone totally Helen Keller. They didn't hear nor heed the warnings from Virginia or New Jersey, and still don't understand what happened to them in Massachusetts. They are not just tone deaf, they are blind and may take leave of any remaining senses. Last night, uber progressive and historical footnote Howard Dean, remained steadfast that the only mistake Democrats have made is that they haven't been liberal enough. He even said that America remains a center-left nation. Center-left!? This morning David Axelrod, Obama's strategy guru, when asked if the White House should take some responsibility for the Democrats defeat in Massachusetts, said that "many things" were at play and that Scott Brown never even ran a commercial against health care reform. Brrrring..........brrrring..........brrrring......click. No one's answering, they must be getting their lessons down at the well again.
By all accounts Obama and his allies in Congress are still figuring ways in which to pass Obamacare. Should they do it before Scott Brown can be seated, use their simple majority in reconciliation, or just make the House swallow what's already been cooked up in the Senate. Big questions for even bigger egos. If they're dumb enough to do any of those things, and I think they are, then they haven't seen 'nothin yet. The anger that will pour forth from all corners of America will eventually bury them all under a sea of red come November.
Pollsters and aides for Scott Brown are beginning to tell their stories from the campaign trail. Seems that Mr. Brown's numbers began to rise after Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) cut their deals with Harry Reid in mid December. Mr. Brown's numbers surpassed Martha Coakley's after Obama decided to try the would-be Christmas bomber from Flight 253 in civil court and make American taxpayers pay for his defense. The price of Obamacare and the president's coddling of terrorists proved too much for Massachusetts voters.
All the pundits are suggesting that Obama can readjust his course just as Bill Clinton did after the 1994 Republican sweep of Congress. They offer that, like Clinton, Obama can gain a second term if he just slows the train down and becomes more bipartisan. On the contrary, I hope he doesn't and I don't think he will. I hope that he doesn't because what Obama and the Democrats have exposed, to those who were blind to it in the past, is their socialist roots and their desire to make America more like Europe. They wish to remove everything that makes America unique, competitive, powerful or superior. They seek a sameness so that no one could, should, or would ever feel the need to live better, freer, smarter or safer than we do here in the USA. And for that they must be purged from all offices of power and kept as far away as possible from all levers of authority and influence as possible.
By all accounts Obama and his allies in Congress are still figuring ways in which to pass Obamacare. Should they do it before Scott Brown can be seated, use their simple majority in reconciliation, or just make the House swallow what's already been cooked up in the Senate. Big questions for even bigger egos. If they're dumb enough to do any of those things, and I think they are, then they haven't seen 'nothin yet. The anger that will pour forth from all corners of America will eventually bury them all under a sea of red come November.
Pollsters and aides for Scott Brown are beginning to tell their stories from the campaign trail. Seems that Mr. Brown's numbers began to rise after Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) cut their deals with Harry Reid in mid December. Mr. Brown's numbers surpassed Martha Coakley's after Obama decided to try the would-be Christmas bomber from Flight 253 in civil court and make American taxpayers pay for his defense. The price of Obamacare and the president's coddling of terrorists proved too much for Massachusetts voters.
All the pundits are suggesting that Obama can readjust his course just as Bill Clinton did after the 1994 Republican sweep of Congress. They offer that, like Clinton, Obama can gain a second term if he just slows the train down and becomes more bipartisan. On the contrary, I hope he doesn't and I don't think he will. I hope that he doesn't because what Obama and the Democrats have exposed, to those who were blind to it in the past, is their socialist roots and their desire to make America more like Europe. They wish to remove everything that makes America unique, competitive, powerful or superior. They seek a sameness so that no one could, should, or would ever feel the need to live better, freer, smarter or safer than we do here in the USA. And for that they must be purged from all offices of power and kept as far away as possible from all levers of authority and influence as possible.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Karma, Irony, and Truthiness in Massachusetts
We awaken today on the cusp of an historic election in Massachusetts. Republican candidate Scott Brown is poised to defeat Democrat candidate Martha Coakley to fill the senate seat left vacant by the late Edward M. Kennedy. The Bay State hasn't elected a Republican to the U. S. Senate since 1972. How did we ever get to this place?
Karma is catching up with the Democrats in Massachusetts. My computer dictionary defines karma as "the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding the fate in future existences." Several years ago in Massachusetts, when Republican Mitt Romney was governor, Democrats took away his authority to appoint a replacement in the event that a U. S. Senate seat became vacant. Remember that in 2004, MA Senator John Kerry was supposed to defeat President George Bush. That of course did not happen, but when Teddy Kennedy died last year leaving a U. S. Senate seat vacant and Democrat Governor Deval Patrick unable to name a replacement, Democrats changed the law once again. Karma exacts a heavy price for dirty deeds done dirt cheap.
Irony runs as thick as a Southie accent in Massachusetts. Once again, my computer tells me that irony is "a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing." In 1972, Massachusetts was the only state in the country that did not participate in Richard Nixon's landslide victory, voting for Democrat presidential candidate George McGovern instead. They did however re-elect Edward Brooke, the first African American ever elected to the U. S. Senate, and the last Republican from Massachusetts to sit in that august body. Fast forward to today where there exists the very real chance that a Scott Brown victory will kill any chance of Obamacare ever becoming a reality. The irony of an iconic senator's lifetime pursuit, health care reform, being passed in his memory and then defeated, again due to his death, is remarkable. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
Truth is a hard thing to swallow. Stephen Colbert coined his phase truthiness, as "a truth that a person claims to know intuitively 'from the gut' without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts." The truthiness of Obamacare, cap and trade, private industry bailouts, big government and big labor, indeed the entire progressive agenda, as demonstrated by President Obama and Governor Patrick, or any other Democrat that wishes to follow same, is a recipe for disaster and quickly becoming an anathema to a growing majority of Americans.
Karma is catching up with the Democrats in Massachusetts. My computer dictionary defines karma as "the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding the fate in future existences." Several years ago in Massachusetts, when Republican Mitt Romney was governor, Democrats took away his authority to appoint a replacement in the event that a U. S. Senate seat became vacant. Remember that in 2004, MA Senator John Kerry was supposed to defeat President George Bush. That of course did not happen, but when Teddy Kennedy died last year leaving a U. S. Senate seat vacant and Democrat Governor Deval Patrick unable to name a replacement, Democrats changed the law once again. Karma exacts a heavy price for dirty deeds done dirt cheap.
Irony runs as thick as a Southie accent in Massachusetts. Once again, my computer tells me that irony is "a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing." In 1972, Massachusetts was the only state in the country that did not participate in Richard Nixon's landslide victory, voting for Democrat presidential candidate George McGovern instead. They did however re-elect Edward Brooke, the first African American ever elected to the U. S. Senate, and the last Republican from Massachusetts to sit in that august body. Fast forward to today where there exists the very real chance that a Scott Brown victory will kill any chance of Obamacare ever becoming a reality. The irony of an iconic senator's lifetime pursuit, health care reform, being passed in his memory and then defeated, again due to his death, is remarkable. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
Truth is a hard thing to swallow. Stephen Colbert coined his phase truthiness, as "a truth that a person claims to know intuitively 'from the gut' without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts." The truthiness of Obamacare, cap and trade, private industry bailouts, big government and big labor, indeed the entire progressive agenda, as demonstrated by President Obama and Governor Patrick, or any other Democrat that wishes to follow same, is a recipe for disaster and quickly becoming an anathema to a growing majority of Americans.
Friday, January 15, 2010
40 Acres And A Mule Redux
The picture at right, by artist Bryan Christie, from a story in Fortune magazine, I plucked from an internet site called Treehugger.com, depicts a vision of urban farming in the city of Detroit. For the last several years, ever since the automobile industry began to implode, scores of entrepreneurs, urban planners, envirogeeks, and any other category of scallywag you can think of, has been trying to determine a suitable and sustainable future for the Motor City. Farming, it turns out, just might be the answer.
Today, Detroit is an extremely large vestige of its former self. For a city that once boasted 2 million inhabitants, less than half of that remains, spread across 139 square miles. It's footprint is larger than San Francisco, Boston, and Manhattan combined. Unfortunately almost 30% of it, or about 40 square miles, is absolutely vacant. Barren. Bereft of anything that generates income, pays taxes, or contributes much of anything in making Detroit a desirable place to live. The unemployment rate is nearly 30%, although everyone including the new mayor, Dave Bing, believes it's really closer to 50%. 48 buildings in downtown sit empty. The average price of a home is $15,000. No major brand grocery store exists to serve the cities' residents. Hard to imagine then, given those statistics and what passes for adequate resources, that Detroit can ever be anything like the "arsenal of democracy" it once was.
Yet Detroit could very well return to its roots as an agricultural center. A hundred years ago, before Henry Ford, large narrow farms grew inward from the river maintained by German, Polish, and French-Canadian immigrants. Although those tracts of land were replaced by large automobile manufacturing plants and their supportive industries last century, today over 900 urban gardens have begun to repurpose that land once again for agricultural use. Although many of these gardens are community-based and no bigger than a quarter of an acre, larger enterprises, like Hantz Farms, are gobbling up vast swaths of blight at $3,000 per acre. John Hantz, who made his fortune in financing, wants to invest $30 million in an agricultural makeover for Detroit. "This is like buying a penthouse in New York in 1940," he says. "No one should be able to afford to do this ever again."
I hope, for the future of Detroit, that Hantz Farms is successful and that entrepreneurs like Mr. Hantz continue to dream up ways of making Michigan profitable once again and providing much needed jobs for the people in Detroit. I also recognize the irony of hundreds of thousands of African Americans, whose ancestors fled the cotton fields of the Deep South, for Henry Fords' five dollars a day wages over a century ago, contemplating the prospects of providing for their families through farming once again. And for that they can thank the excesses of labor unions, liberal urban policies, and corrupt politicians who've run roughshod over their community for decades.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Promise Keepers
We didn't need to hear from President Obama to know that America would immediately step up to the plate and do what America always does in helping to ameliorate pain and suffering when disaster strikes throughout the world. Yes, I suppose it's comforting to a hear an American president try and reassure the victims and remind us all, that has human beings, we have an obligation to care for and help one another. But in light of past promises made, and broken, by Barack Obama, i.e., no lobbyists in my administration, my administration will be the most open and transparent, won't sign any congressional earmarks into law, don't want to be in the car business, health care debate will air on C-SPAN, Obamacare will not increase the deficit, taxes will not go up on families making less than $250,000, allow five days of public comment before bills are signed, well you get the picture. I don't wish to make light of a serious situation, but if I were a Haitian awaiting relief on the tarmac in Port-au-Prince, I would be consoled knowing the spirit and generosity of the Americans people were on its way, rather than rely on the politically expedient and fleeting words of Barack Obama.
I don't know about you, but I'm already tired of the way some in the media are portraying the White House response to the Haitian earthquake as somehow unique or extraordinary for the United States. Just because Hurricane Katrina temporarily overwhelmed the capacities and the resources of an inept mayor and governor, followed quickly by a bungled response from federal authorities through FEMA, doesn't mean that we don't know how to do disaster response. The United States of America is king of disaster and humanitarian relief. This is what we do best of all. We will spend more, send more, and do more than any other country on the planet to help Haiti recover, and we would have done so, and will continue to do so, well after Barack Obama passes into obscurity.
I don't know about you, but I'm already tired of the way some in the media are portraying the White House response to the Haitian earthquake as somehow unique or extraordinary for the United States. Just because Hurricane Katrina temporarily overwhelmed the capacities and the resources of an inept mayor and governor, followed quickly by a bungled response from federal authorities through FEMA, doesn't mean that we don't know how to do disaster response. The United States of America is king of disaster and humanitarian relief. This is what we do best of all. We will spend more, send more, and do more than any other country on the planet to help Haiti recover, and we would have done so, and will continue to do so, well after Barack Obama passes into obscurity.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Livin' Large On OPM
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Michigan's conservative think tank. just released the Michigan School District Health Insurance database where you can find your school district and the costs associated with health care coverage of school employees. Suffice it to say it's an eye opener. Michigan taxpayers spend $2 billion a year on the high priced health care of Johnny's teachers, principals, lunch ladies, playground attendants, bus drivers, and custodians. Multiply this by well over 500 school districts and it doesn't take very long to get to $2 billion. Regardless of what district employes them, school personnel are basically state employees. It's also understandable that health care coverage would be offered as part of their pay package. But when you consider how little they contribute to their own coverage, especially in light of what you might pay for you own, it becomes a little unsettling. More than a little unsettling really, more like an outrage.
Consider for instance that in more than half of Michigan school districts, 301 to be exact, teachers pay nothing toward their own coverage. These plans can sometimes cost as much as $16,000 per year! Even where some districts have had the audacity to save the taxpayer some money in recent years by giving the teachers unions' own health care provider MESSA the boot, some copays might still be as little as $55 per month, or just 4%. Contrast this to the private sector where average family premiums in Michigan, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, were $2,500 annually, or 22%, on coverage costing just over $11,000. I don't know about you but I know what an additional $2000 would mean to my wallet. Put another way, the money the union saves on the subsidization from Michigan taxpayers can go a long way toward getting more Democrats elected to political office.
To see the report from the Mackinac Center, go to http://www.mackinac.org/depts/epi/insurance.aspx.
Consider for instance that in more than half of Michigan school districts, 301 to be exact, teachers pay nothing toward their own coverage. These plans can sometimes cost as much as $16,000 per year! Even where some districts have had the audacity to save the taxpayer some money in recent years by giving the teachers unions' own health care provider MESSA the boot, some copays might still be as little as $55 per month, or just 4%. Contrast this to the private sector where average family premiums in Michigan, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, were $2,500 annually, or 22%, on coverage costing just over $11,000. I don't know about you but I know what an additional $2000 would mean to my wallet. Put another way, the money the union saves on the subsidization from Michigan taxpayers can go a long way toward getting more Democrats elected to political office.
To see the report from the Mackinac Center, go to http://www.mackinac.org/depts/epi/insurance.aspx.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Feeding Frenzy
I have enjoyed watching the liberal media and other Democrats serve one another up over their book de jour Game Change, by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Over the weekend, the story broke about Senate majority leader Harry Reid's quote in the book about Barack Obama's favorable chances of winning the '08 election because he was/is "light-skinned" and has no "Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one". Republicans cried foul, calling for Reid's resignation in light of these racially insensitive comments. True to form, and to their hypocritical double standard, Democrats said Mr. Reid had done nothing of the kind. In fact, President Obama had accepted an apology from Mr. Reid for his "inartful language in trying to praise me." Praise, Mr. President? Narcissists must see it everywhere, even where it's not. Inartful, clumsy, or whatever, I don't think it was particularly racist either, but had a conservative or a Republican said anything near these same things that indeed would have been a game changer.
The quote from the book that I thought would have received more attention, and indeed it is beginning to, is the one supposedly from Bill Clinton to the late Ted Kennedy, regarding Barack Obama's perceived youth and inexperience, "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee." All the TV pundits are beside themselves speculating why the Clinton's haven't responded with their typical push back about such gaffes. I hate to defend another Dem politician here, but the Clinton's are between the proverbial rock and a hard place on this one. Cleverly, the authors of Game Change decided to use a quote from a deliciously iconic dead man. Is Bill or Hillary Clinton going to call Teddy a liar? Don't bet on it. The Dems still need his corpse, and what's left of Harry Reid's, to help finalize the passage of Obamacare.
Remarkably, part of the discussion on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning about Game Change was the book's conclusion that much more investigative reporting needs to be done on candidates and their campaigns. Had the voter been made aware of more of the behind the scenes drama and shenanigans prevalent in the various presidential campaigns, might the outcome have been different? Paradoxically, as Bob Woodward pointed out, the least "revealed" candidate in the book turns out to be Barack Obama who must be the least investigated of any candidate in presidential history and who I believe is more suited to the practice and description of "telegenic fraud", rather than the scuzzball John Edwards, who Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnacle labeled as the biggest phony in the book and of the '08 election.
The quote from the book that I thought would have received more attention, and indeed it is beginning to, is the one supposedly from Bill Clinton to the late Ted Kennedy, regarding Barack Obama's perceived youth and inexperience, "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee." All the TV pundits are beside themselves speculating why the Clinton's haven't responded with their typical push back about such gaffes. I hate to defend another Dem politician here, but the Clinton's are between the proverbial rock and a hard place on this one. Cleverly, the authors of Game Change decided to use a quote from a deliciously iconic dead man. Is Bill or Hillary Clinton going to call Teddy a liar? Don't bet on it. The Dems still need his corpse, and what's left of Harry Reid's, to help finalize the passage of Obamacare.
Remarkably, part of the discussion on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning about Game Change was the book's conclusion that much more investigative reporting needs to be done on candidates and their campaigns. Had the voter been made aware of more of the behind the scenes drama and shenanigans prevalent in the various presidential campaigns, might the outcome have been different? Paradoxically, as Bob Woodward pointed out, the least "revealed" candidate in the book turns out to be Barack Obama who must be the least investigated of any candidate in presidential history and who I believe is more suited to the practice and description of "telegenic fraud", rather than the scuzzball John Edwards, who Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnacle labeled as the biggest phony in the book and of the '08 election.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Vote Yes! On Proposal One
During our visit with gubernatorial candidate Sen. Tom George on Wednesday, a question arose over Michigan's interest in a new constitutional convention. The Michigan Constitution provides a chance for the electorate to vote on whether or not to open a constitutional convention every sixteen years, and the 2010 ballot will offer another opportunity to do so. The State of Michigan has had six constitutional conventions since 1835, with the most recent one held in 1961-1962. While a constitutional convention can ultimately be costly, chaotic, and time consuming, I believe it is in the best interest of our citizenry, and would provide the single greatest opportunity to force the kinds of systemic and necessary reforms that could make Michigan a great state once again.
If we can all agree that Michigan is badly broken, and I think that we all can, then what better opportunity will avail itself in the future to fix what desperately needs to be repaired. If not now, when? If not us, who? If you'd have asked me this question a year ago, I probably would have responded with a big NO. Timing is everything in politics and a year ago conservatives in general, and Republicans in particular, were in no shape to try and dictate their wishes upon anyone. Now that we've experienced a year of Obama, and here in Michigan we will finally put an end to eight years of Jennifer Granholm, we see where unbridled liberalism and excess can leaves us.
A new constitutional convention, or "con con" would provide the opportunity to fix a whole range of issues, or none at all. 148 delegates would be elected to review the current version of the Michigan Constitution and decide on what changes, across a broad range of issues, should be made. Things like a part-time legislature, term limits, local government configuration, right-to-work, public education options, and taxation could be addressed. Even getting Michigan to adopt a budget or fiscal plan beginning on July 1, instead of Oct. 1, like 46 other states do, could make planning things like school budgets much easier for local school superintendents.
A con con could also be the perfect vehicle for the tea party movement and other conservative groups to weigh in and affect the changes we so desperately seek. The infusion of their energy and passion could very well tip the scales in favor of putting Michigan on the right track to limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual freedom and economic opportunity.
If we can all agree that Michigan is badly broken, and I think that we all can, then what better opportunity will avail itself in the future to fix what desperately needs to be repaired. If not now, when? If not us, who? If you'd have asked me this question a year ago, I probably would have responded with a big NO. Timing is everything in politics and a year ago conservatives in general, and Republicans in particular, were in no shape to try and dictate their wishes upon anyone. Now that we've experienced a year of Obama, and here in Michigan we will finally put an end to eight years of Jennifer Granholm, we see where unbridled liberalism and excess can leaves us.
A new constitutional convention, or "con con" would provide the opportunity to fix a whole range of issues, or none at all. 148 delegates would be elected to review the current version of the Michigan Constitution and decide on what changes, across a broad range of issues, should be made. Things like a part-time legislature, term limits, local government configuration, right-to-work, public education options, and taxation could be addressed. Even getting Michigan to adopt a budget or fiscal plan beginning on July 1, instead of Oct. 1, like 46 other states do, could make planning things like school budgets much easier for local school superintendents.
A con con could also be the perfect vehicle for the tea party movement and other conservative groups to weigh in and affect the changes we so desperately seek. The infusion of their energy and passion could very well tip the scales in favor of putting Michigan on the right track to limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual freedom and economic opportunity.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Visit With State Senator Tom George
Physician/State Senator Tom George (R-District 20), who represents Kalamazoo County and its environs, visited Saginaw yesterday in his quest to become Michigan's next governor. This was the second time I have had the pleasure to listen to his measured and experienced voice speak on the challenges we face and the fixes required for a healthy Michigan. I first heard him speak at our county Lincoln Day breakfast last year. Although our Republican Attorney General Mike Cox, who's also running for governor, was our keynote speaker, Sen. George spoke as did other candidates running for statewide offices. I was impressed then, and remain so, with his 10 point plan to reform state government, fix the budgeting process, and to create a culture of competitiveness. You can see for yourself at georgeforgovernor.com.
I told him it was a shame that he didn't come from the kind of power base that our other Republican candidates for governor enjoy, specifically, Mike Cox (mikecox2010.com), Mike Bouchard (bouchardforgovernor.com), Pete Hoekstra (hoekstraforgovernor.com) or even Rick Synder (rickformichigan.com). All of these men, with the exception of Rick Synder, have large consituencies from which they can draw money, volunteers, and influence. As noted earlier, Mike Cox is Michigan's AG, Mike Bouchard is currently Sheriff of Oakland County, and Pete Hoekstra is a congressman from Michigan's west side. Having admitted his difficulties in raising attention and money in a crowed field, it occurred to me that Sen. George's odds of getting the nomination would increase substantially if people like me stopped downplaying his chances of winning. So Godspeed Sen. George!
I told him it was a shame that he didn't come from the kind of power base that our other Republican candidates for governor enjoy, specifically, Mike Cox (mikecox2010.com), Mike Bouchard (bouchardforgovernor.com), Pete Hoekstra (hoekstraforgovernor.com) or even Rick Synder (rickformichigan.com). All of these men, with the exception of Rick Synder, have large consituencies from which they can draw money, volunteers, and influence. As noted earlier, Mike Cox is Michigan's AG, Mike Bouchard is currently Sheriff of Oakland County, and Pete Hoekstra is a congressman from Michigan's west side. Having admitted his difficulties in raising attention and money in a crowed field, it occurred to me that Sen. George's odds of getting the nomination would increase substantially if people like me stopped downplaying his chances of winning. So Godspeed Sen. George!
Joe Wilson Was Right
Joe Wilson was right when he blurted out that President Obama lies. Here's indisputable proof.
Breitbart.tv » The C-SPAN Lie? See Eight Clips of Obama Promising Televised Healthcare Negotiations
Breitbart.tv » The C-SPAN Lie? See Eight Clips of Obama Promising Televised Healthcare Negotiations
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
If A Tree Falls.....
That giant crash you didn't just hear was yet another titan of Democrat politics' lifeless body falling to the ground under the weight of crushing ambivalence and looming disaster. Here in Michigan, the Democrat's front runner to replace term-limited Jennifer Granholm for governor, the current Lt. Governor John Cherry, has unexpectedly dropped out of the race. Siting a lack of interest and money, the Lt. Governor leaves a wide open contest for other Democrat successors to pick up and carry the torch of abject failure, the hallmark of the Granholm administration.
So how bad is the environment for Democrats running for elected office in Michigan in 2010? The Lt. Governor's story, about his dropping out of the gubernatorial race, didn't even register on a list of the top ten stories published on MLive.com, a statewide online news source. Under the banner of Most Comments, the most popular story, with 173 comments, was one about the Detroit Lions signing a Canadian league football player. The Lions were 2-14 this year! Almost 800 comments were spread about a handful of other Lions stories, whether or not spanking children is a good thing, that thousands of low-income Detroiters will get free high-speed internet this year, or that Michigan Republican congresswoman Candice Miller had introduced legislation requiring President Obama to declare terrorism suspects as enemy combatants. Yet not a peep about the failed candidacy of the second highest office holder in the state.
As if that wasn't good enough news for Republicans, now we hear that U. S. Senate Democrat stalwarts Chris Dodd (CT) and Byron Dorgan (ND) will call it quits after this year. Folks they're dropping like flies. A growing number of Dem lawmakers, from Washington D. C. to California, are refusing to defend their cushy place at the trough, afraid to face an electorate that has become increasingly disgusted with the antics of Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. It was just a year ago that we were inundated with news stories that foretold a Democrat majority for generations to come. The re-calibrated story is just how many Republican victories will be posted across this country on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.
So how bad is the environment for Democrats running for elected office in Michigan in 2010? The Lt. Governor's story, about his dropping out of the gubernatorial race, didn't even register on a list of the top ten stories published on MLive.com, a statewide online news source. Under the banner of Most Comments, the most popular story, with 173 comments, was one about the Detroit Lions signing a Canadian league football player. The Lions were 2-14 this year! Almost 800 comments were spread about a handful of other Lions stories, whether or not spanking children is a good thing, that thousands of low-income Detroiters will get free high-speed internet this year, or that Michigan Republican congresswoman Candice Miller had introduced legislation requiring President Obama to declare terrorism suspects as enemy combatants. Yet not a peep about the failed candidacy of the second highest office holder in the state.
As if that wasn't good enough news for Republicans, now we hear that U. S. Senate Democrat stalwarts Chris Dodd (CT) and Byron Dorgan (ND) will call it quits after this year. Folks they're dropping like flies. A growing number of Dem lawmakers, from Washington D. C. to California, are refusing to defend their cushy place at the trough, afraid to face an electorate that has become increasingly disgusted with the antics of Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. It was just a year ago that we were inundated with news stories that foretold a Democrat majority for generations to come. The re-calibrated story is just how many Republican victories will be posted across this country on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Firrrrre Up!
I hope everyone had a wonderful time over the holidays and have taken the time to regenerate, reassess, and reassure those you care about, including yourselves, that America's recovery is within our grasp, just around the corner, a few short months away. Perhaps a full blown economic recovery, with the addition of millions of new jobs, may still allude us for another couple of years, but if we continue our collective and conservative offensive against the most powerfully destructive team of politicians to come down the pike in decades, we will prevail. Make no mistake about it, Americans have awakened to the ruinous forces of Obamania and are set to deliver a lethal blow to their enterprise in November.
In the meantime, it's not too late to try and stop Obamacare from final passage, or any other of their harebrained schemes. Let them know repeatedly, that we do not wish to abandon our perch atop the world for a deleterious slide into socialism amongst our European allies. America has been given a gift by the Almighty to lead this planet toward freedom and prosperity for all. We will not let that beacon of hope be dimmed by arrogant and fictitious Americans bent on the supplication to others or an atonement for our providence. Resist, remonstrate, and remove all obstacles of resistance to an American renaissance in the coming decade. Win in '10.
P. S. No I did not get a Thesaurus for Christmas.
In the meantime, it's not too late to try and stop Obamacare from final passage, or any other of their harebrained schemes. Let them know repeatedly, that we do not wish to abandon our perch atop the world for a deleterious slide into socialism amongst our European allies. America has been given a gift by the Almighty to lead this planet toward freedom and prosperity for all. We will not let that beacon of hope be dimmed by arrogant and fictitious Americans bent on the supplication to others or an atonement for our providence. Resist, remonstrate, and remove all obstacles of resistance to an American renaissance in the coming decade. Win in '10.
P. S. No I did not get a Thesaurus for Christmas.
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