Myth-conceptions About Government and Finance

For those who want to know how complex some of the labor and retirement laws are, check this out: Participants and Advisors Are Hurt By High 401K Fees. Apparently the retirement plans have high fees the advisors never get any part of, and may not be aware of. But, that's not the kicker. To find out what those fees are, you have to file a US Department of Labor form. In other words, we are being fleeced by our retirement plans, the government is aware of it—and has made it more difficult for us to find out (kind of like the Freedom of Information Act filing requirements). And, we trust Washington to straighten this whole thing out with more rules and regulations? Hmmm...

Then there is the explosion over the insurance industry report indicating health care insurance costs will rise if the government plan is enacted. No surprise, the Democrats are claiming it's self serving of the industry to publish the report, according to a Reuters news report. This after an AP report that Democrats were scrambling because of the report.

But, let's consider what may be false assumptions by the Democrats. Apparently, savings from cheaper insurance plans are begin considered in the cost-benefit calculations by the Democrats:

Critics of the study said it tilted those assumptions too far toward a worst case, ignoring the bill's potential to curb costs.

For example, the tax on high-cost health insurance that Baucus is proposing could lead employers and individuals to switch to lower-cost plans and avoid the levy. If that happens, there would be no additional costs to pass on to consumers.

Now, I am not a whiz at this. But, a couple of things become quickly apparent from this. First, does anyone else believe that a tax is supposed to lower costs? In business terms taxes are costs, and they get factored into price. Second, cheaper insurance plans also means higher out of pocket expenses. How does that translate to savings? When insurance premiums are factored, they are based on the likelihood of payout. Escalating risk by forcing absolute coverage increases payouts. If you don't believe me, consider the insurance cost and premium escalation for coastal home owners. Does anyone really believe it would be different for health insurance?

As far as I can tell, the plan does not limit costs, despite all the rhetoric. It adds them, through taxation and increased business risk. Previous reports from CNN indicate that at best the plan will decrease rate of cost increase by about a third of what it needs to reduce it by. That type of change will merely prolong the problem, while increasing the deficit. And, one important thing to remember: government reports of deficit control are almost always wrong when it includes spending increases. Instead it merely prolongs it.

Democrats and liberals are selling us a bigger bill of goods. And, unfortunately, this is a huge social hot button. With the volume of public support and demand for this, government is likely to win. Which means, we the American public are buying that bill of goods.

The Unethics of Government, Lead by our President

Citezens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-leaning watchdog group, has released its annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress. And, strangely enough, most of the top-ten are Democrats.



On the subject of ethics issues and government officials, And according to Liveleak.com, Obama spent $20.3M to bring Hamas "refugees" to America. Well, it was part of H.R. 1388, which passed by the way. Don’t believe me? Here is the Federal Register entry on it…

Federal Register: February 4, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 22)
DOCID: fr04fe09-106 FR Doc E9-2488
Presidential Documents
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
NOTICE: Part II
DOCID: fr04fe09-106
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:

[[Page 6115]]
Presidential Determination No. 2009-15 of January 27, 2009

Go look it up for yourself.



Obama also claims the fines for not carrying health insurance are not taxes. But, according to fact checking that’s a lie.

...the language of Democratic bills to revamp the nation's health care system doesn't quibble. Both the House bill and the Senate Finance Committee proposal clearly state that the fines would be a tax.”

It’s totally amazing to me how many times our President can lie, and not get called for it by the media. Left wing political watchdog groups I can understand skipping over it. But, the media not only downplays the all, but spends huge amounts of time attempting to marginalize anyone who tries to bring these lies to the light of day. How do I know? Check out this quote from later in the article:

Some liberals acknowledge that Obama might be vulnerable on the insurance requirement. But they say most people will understand as long as the legislation provides enough of a subsidy to make the coverage affordable. That's a central issue this week as the Senate Finance Committee starts voting on legislation.

Not only that, it goes on to quote a left wing group as saying whether it’s a tax or not is “a metaphysical question.” And, the media never even questioned that approach.



There were two other articles today that really caught my attention. The media and the President have been touting how much the economy is improving. They have been doing it a lot. So, explain today’s article about “10 Companies Approaching Bankruptcy”. It would appear with these big companies so close to bankruptcy that the economy is not as sound as our leaders would ahve us believe.

This was quickly followed by the article titled “FDIC Might Need To Borrow From Banks.” Turns out the FDIC doesn’t want to tap it’s credit line at the FED. So, they are trying to make banks foot the bill. Of course, the money would be borrowed, meaning banks would get some income off of it. And, borrowing from the big banks is just one option, but it is being seriously considered.

“Regulators also are considering levying a special emergency fee on all banks, charging regular fees early or tapping a $100 billion credit line with the U.S. Treasury, the officials said.”

Perhaps I’m just a bit naïve, but, aren’t these banks in danger of failing due to bad lending, and so forth? Especially the big banks? The same banks that are being told not to repay their TARP funds due to possible solvency issues? And, the government is now going to borrow from the same banks it bailed out?

The REAL Man-made God!

I had a really interesting…and frightening…thought today. But, have you ever considered how government is becoming like a god?

Let’s think about this for a minute. When things went wrong, people used to cry out to their deity of choice for relief. Who do we cry out to now? The government! Most religions have some clause where you give some percentage of your income to them to placate the anger of your particular deity. So what do we have now? The IRS! Most religions go to great lengths to keep you from finding out about other religions. So, what do we have? Separation church and state…where you can’t discuss other things or have government funding if whatever you does so! And, let’s not forget that every religion has all kinds of rules for proper behavior to keep your deity happy…or at least less mad at you. Dare we even discuss the size and complexity of legal code coming out of Washington (or whatever other world capital) these days? We can even carry out the Biblical analogy and say we have our own Pharisees and Saducees (feuding sects, a.k.a. Republicans and Democrats). This religion even has it’s own mouthpiece to declare it’s worthiness and greatness! Enter Mainstream media (MSM). And, finally, like all relgions, it wants to be incontrol of everything. So…we get nationalization of business and industry!

I tell you, it’s a religious monopoly! Government is forcing us all into religious service! It shuts down or marginalizes other religious views, defines proper behavior and activity, and demands out obeisance by threatening to not meet our needs. If that isn’t a man-made god, I don’t know what is.

Around The World, And Healthcare Non-Reform?

In world news, Germany faces energy decisions that are changing power lines (pun intended). Due to be phased out by 2022 after the Greens passed legislation in 2000, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is trying to revamp and start construction again. Despite the expense of building nuclear plants, they are cheap to run. And, with oil prices still around $70 a barrel, and solar plants still only providing a small portion of power, the attractiveness of cheap power will be hard to ignore. It could also mean Germany misses the greenhouse gas targets it has to achieve. These same issues face Americans, as well. Is there room for solar fields to generate power? Is it possible for America to make a real difference in pollution emissions, besides the new tax structure of the cap-and-trade system currently making it’s way to the Senate?

Closer to home, Russia is financing arms for Hugo Chavez. This time the amount is $2.2 billion, bringing the total value of Russian weapons contracts to almost $4 billion. Chavez is claiming he needs them for “self-defense” against American attacks, now that the US has access to Columbian military bases. Many conservatives in America thought that with President Obama’s election and the power of the Left emerging that there would be a reduction in Chavez’s anti-US rhetoric. Obviously that has not been the case. More distrurbing than the weapons contracts is news that the Venezuelan leader is going to use Russian aid to develop nuclear power. This could easily lead to an Iran like standoff in the west.

Here at home, the big issue is healthcare reform, followed closely by financial reform. Both are high on Obama’s agenda, as well as Democrats in general. Shawn Tully has a series of articles that grade the proposed healthcare reforms. The 8th in the series covers Obama’s latest speech. Tulley’s overall picture paints something along the lines of no improvement, other than more government control through subsidies, giving non-profits and government agencies a huge leg up on private insurers. This follows on the heels of reports indicating that reform won’t reduce cost of healthcare. Now, there are two goals to healthcare reform. The first is to provide healthcare to the uninsured. The second is to cut down on the rising cost of healthcare, which is a major reason so many are uninsured. IF the legislation goes through without reducing costs, what is gained beyond more government domination of private industry? Couple that with the necessity of raising taxes to pay for it, and it’s a wonder so many Americans are in favor of it. What legislation actually comes out of Washington remains to be seen, with much debate about whether a public option will actually be available. But, it will be very important to watch where and how the costs are covered—if they can be.

More Unkept Promises...

Did anyone see the latest ideas from Congress on limits to healthcare? Yep. This makes good stuff available to those UNDER 25, but not over.

The measure -- offered by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. -- would impose new fees on some healthcare industry segments to help offset the estimated $880 billion in initial costs over 10 years, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The plan would provide a lower-cost insurance plan for catastrophic coverage only to people up to age 25, people familiar with the outline said. It also would expand less comprehensive Medicaid coverage to millions of low-income people who now are ineligible.

With Medicaid losing money, how is this going to be funded? The question still waits a full answer.

A related article at the NYTimes adds a bit more detail about Baucus’ proposal:

To help finance the legislation, Mr. Baucus is expected to propose a new tax on insurance companies selling policies with premiums far exceeding the national average, roughly $13,000 a year for family coverage.

Government healthcare is no longer a government program, apparently. It is a commercial industry killing plan. Risk management implies that higher risk has higher costs…but not according to the government’s coming “guidelines.”

Meanwhile, there is a petition circulating to drum up support for House Bill HR676 to make establishing health care a civil right, giving it equal status with race, sex, and creed. The petition specifically states the Bill

Whereas HR676 provides for Medicare for All, a universal, single payer, not-for-profit health care system which means the end of premiums, copays and deductibles; and

Whereas we are already paying for a universal standard of care but are not getting it because one of every three dollars in the health care system goes to the activities of the for-profit insurance system…

In short, this Bill and the petition openly state the goal is to replace or eliminate the insurance industry. That should do wonders for the deficit effects of the healthcare plan, already planned to be partially funded by money from the insurance industry. (…not to mention Democrats have openly said that is not what they are doing or have planned…)
But, those are not as concerning as the latest changes from President Obama himself. There was a short fact check on some points from his latest speech to Congress. Gone are guarantees about personal choice. Gone is the refusal to require everyone to be insured. Gone as well is his promise to “not increase the deficit by one dime.” Why? Government accounting that lets them say what they want it to say. The article states:

House Democrats offered a bill that the Congressional Budget Office said would add $220 billion to the deficit over 10 years. But Democrats and Obama administration officials claimed the bill was actually deficit-neutral. They said they simply didn't have to count $245 billion of it — the cost of adjusting Medicare reimbursement rates so physicians don't face big annual pay cuts.

Let’s see…Broken promises…Rising deficits…A not recovering economy…Sounds like Bush all over again…doesn’t it? Or at least that’s what the media and the Left used to accuse him of. Think they might accuse their Golden Boy Obama of the same thing?

Still, all of this legislation aimed at providing healthcare to all fails to address the real problem: rising healthcare costs. None of the legislation as far as I know does anything to reign in costs. It just throws more money into the healthcare system. As education has proven, more money does not solve the problem. The United States spends more per student on education than other countries, but we have a lower student success rate. More money is not a solution to cost control issues. Basic economics says that if more money chases the same amount of goods, the price goes up. So, why do we believe more money is the solution for healthcare when the problem is costs? As the debate and clamor for this legislation goes on, let’s remember that the real problem still remains unaddressed.

Big Brother Is About To Grow

Go ahead and post your comments on the White House’s publicly accessible sites. Just be prepared. The government is hiring vendors to market and store your information.

The National Legal and Policy Center, or NLPC, revealed the White House New Media team is seeking to hire a technology vendor to collect data such as comments, tag lines, e-mail, audio and video from any place where the White House "maintains a presence" – for a period of up to eight years.

How much would you like to bet it won’t be just the information posted to their pages that gets examined, harvested and stored? For example, all they need to do is turn their page into an application at Facebook and it automatically shares all of your information. I’ll bet this gets billed as a means to hunt down threats to the President, but I bet all it eventually does is stifle dissent.


But, then again, that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Consider the President’s address to school children—just school children, by the way. Did you know the speech comes with accompanying lesson plans tailored to various grade levels? That’s the chief complaint from Republicans and other conservatives.

NBC spoke with Katie Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Florida Republican Party, who said the party's "beef" is with the accompanying lesson plans.

According to the article, people are calling those against the speech ignorant for keeping their children from being encouraged by the President. But, obviously that is not the goal. It is all about what the children are supposed to learn. That makes it an indoctrination event, using the basic definition from the dictionary (check this reference at Dictionary.com if you doubt what I say.) Maybe those accusing others of ignorance should better educate themselves on what is going in this case.

Speaking of ignorance, do you know what been going on with the money from the Stimulus package? Joe Biden gave of speech filled with praise on what the package has accomplished. But, the AP did a fact check that shows it isn’t as good as the administration would like it to appear.

(…and Obama wonders why his popularity is dropping…hmmm…)

Immigration, Democrats Duck-and-cover, and The FDA

For those who think the United States is alone in it’s immigration troubles, you should check out Italy’s immigration situation. Kind of reminds me of how the US deals with Cuban refugees. If they are fond at sea they are returned to Cuba, if found on land, they are on arrested. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is in it’s own kettle of hot water over that. Recent reports indicate no change from Bush policies. Isn’t it amazing how many policies and plans from the Bush era that Obama promised to change, but is now claiming to be new and better? Like…when the troops are getting out of Iraq.


Speaking of Iraq, Nancy Pelosi is battling the CIA over interrogation briefings. News reports in 2002 quoted Congressmen as saying they received full briefings on CIA and other agencies actions. But, once the war began to drag on, losing public support, Democrats followed public opinion. They also began claiming they had no knowledge of actions that were going on in various places and organizations. Well, sooner or later, the truth comes out, as Pelosi is finding. Still, the number two Democrat, Stephen Hoyer, twisted the focus of the story away from Pelosi is making up stories to something else:

But Hoyer added that focusing on what had been told to lawmakers on interrogations was a distraction from the question of what techniques were used, and whether they were legal.

The point of the article, and the issue, is that Pelosi and other high ranking Democrats knew all along what was going on. But, the media and Leftists are spinning things to blur that focus.

(…soon, no one will care that Democrats lied…only that Bush did something wrong…just wait, you’ll see…)


Finally, I would like to weigh on the whole Cherios vs. the FDA thing. The media would have you believe that right wing crazies are rabidly claiming all kinds of things on this issue. It doesn’t matter that the same style of attacks are used by the Leftwing to demean right wing actions. Nor does it matter that most of the media claims are taken way out of context. It seems that America, and it’s government, has lost focus on something pretty important. The basic point of the FDA is that only drugs can be advertised as healing things. But, the truth is that drugs do not heal. They only help manage health. People worldwide have used diet to maintain health for millennia. So, at its core, the FDA claim is flawed. We seem to have forgotten that a proper diet, as opposed to the standard US diet, can maintain and help manage your health. Instead we believe the lie that we need all these drugs to keep us healthy. I do not deny there are circumstances where drugs are needed. But, we need to have a better focus on what drugs really do. They help manage health issues, but they do not heal them. The FDA needs to get it’s facts straight on that.

History Repeats Itself In Afghanistan and Pakistan

Reports on Friday and Saturday indicated that the Taliban is using civilians as human shields. This article seems to imply that this is a surprise. I fail to understand why it should be. This has been a tactic of intimidation used by every terrorist guerilla warfare group, at least in recent history--Hamas, the Taliban, all the way to Vietnam, Moa, Che Guevara, and even farther back in time. Unfortunately, the frightening part of the article is the last paragraph:

On Friday Karzai said "we cannot justify in any manner, for whatever number of Taliban, for whatever number of significantly important terrorists, the accidental or otherwise loss of civilians."

Like it or not, civilian suffering is a part of standing against evil. The Taliban, or whatever extremist group you care to name, will always use that suffering to get their opponents to stop fighting for fear of hurting innocent someone. They will try to plaster the media with how ugly the destruction is that gets “imposed by the good guys.” We must remember one very important thing. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE SUFFERINGS OF OTHERS. And, extremeists will never be stopped if we put suffering or some other difficulty ahead of defeating those extremist groups. Taking President Karzai’s statement at face value would indicate he has already given up the will to fight. For the sake of our soldiers, and those of supporting nations, I hope not. If that occurs, Afghanistan will become another Vietnam for someone.


But, then again, given Thursday’s announcement that US troops won’t go to Pakistan just brought flashbacks of Vietnam to me. Any student of history knows that a big reason North Vietnam overcame the South was the ability to hide and build forces in Laos and Cambodia. The communist forces successfully controlled those other countries, and then used them as bases. With the take over of the Swat area and areas closer to Islamabad by militant forces, coupled with the inability of the Pakistani Army to turn back the tide (some reports indicate they are being complicit in the takeover), this is looking more and more like Vietnam. Contrary to popular media reports, Bush did indeed set us on the road to get out of Iraq. His timetable has become the same timetable that President Obama is using. The question now becomes: will Obama be able to get us out of Afghanistan without the disgrace we suffered in Vietnam?

Smoke and Mirrors from Obama and the Swine Flu

So much for President Obama’s “tax credit for all” package. The way it was written, it is actually creating tax liabilities for the poor. And, more importantly, nothing is being done to let people know.

At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs that provide taxable income.

The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges problems with the withholding tables but has done little to warn average taxpayers.

Retirees get the latest $250 SSN check deducted from their eligible “refund. College students may not get to claim it at all. Yet, this was hailed as a package that would provide for these very people.

Now, I am smart enough to realize people need to keep up with their own tax issues. But, the whole thing smells like a cheap public relations stunt. That is especially true since the government is saying nothing even though they knew in advance this would happen. So, how come no one is saying “Obama lied and ripped us off again.”

(…tell me again why people believe the Liberals really care about the poor…???...)

And, in the continuing stories showing the stupidity over the Swine Flu, Mexico is reporting a drop in reported cases THE DAY AFTER closing businesses and offices.

Mexico started a five-day shutdown of most offices and businesses on Friday to try to halt the spread of a deadly flu strain, and officials said they were encouraged by signs the number of new cases was dropping.

Does anyone really believe that a single day of closings brought an immediate drop to the number of cases? That’s as crazy closing schools in Texas in hopes of keeping disease from spreading. The kids will go to malls and daycare centers while their parents work. That is not the type of isolation required to stop the spread of a dangerous disease. The WHO (World Health Organization)…

said on Friday that no meeting of its emergency committee was scheduled, meaning there was no immediate likelihood of the current level 5 alert being raised to a full 'phase 6' pandemic alert.

In fact, only mild cases have occurred anywhere outside of Mexico, indicating the spread is relatively limited. According to this article, the number of new cases being reported by hospitals in Mexico in the last 10 days has dropped by some 75%. And, while 176 deaths so far is a lot, 13,00 flu deaths occur in the US each year. This is a very far cry from a lethal pandemic.

(…do I really want to ask how dumb the media and government think we are…)

The problem this type of media hype could create is horrifying. consider all the false warnings the media gives...on an ever increasing basis. As time goes on, people will probably pay less and less attention. And, then, one day, the media will get one right but no one will pay attention. People will probably blame God for the problems. But, in fact, they were created by men and God simply let us have what we created and did not bother to fix. I pity the millions who will probably die in those days. I also pity the punishment that awaits those who brought it on.

bin Laden speaks, Obama changes nothing and Democrats...well...

A new tape from bin Laden is calling for the ousting of Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The tape claims Sharif has sold out to the infidels. Sharif has already called for, and received cabinet backing, for implementation of Shari Law. But, for those who think appeasement will be enough:

But the hard line Islamists rejected the move, saying it would not be a strict enough version of Islamic law.

Not strict enough? That should give serious pause to anyone thinking of negotiating with bin Laden and those like him. Even though Sharif has support from several Islamic groups, al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab still fights the government, and controls most of southern and central Somali. bin Laden was previously based in Somalia, so there could easily be large sentiment in his favor among extremists. And, the focus is on that word: extremists. As Sharif is finding, appeasement does not work with hard line extremists.

More concerning is the possible home connections of al-Shabab.

For several months the FBI has been investigating at least 20 Somali-American men from the Minneapolis area who traveled to war-torn Somalia, where some of them trained and fought with an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group known as al-Shabaab, according to counterterrorism officials.

While there is no proof that these men are actually planning any type of attacks in the US, there is growing concern over the possibilities, especially since the latest bin Laden message. Several investigations are on-going.

Meanwhile, The Senate confirmed Obama’s nominee for Solicitor General, who just happens to be a former law school colleague. But, there are other indications in his continuing lack of change.

A former Clinton administration lawyer who's been the dean of Harvard Law School since 2003, Kagan is seen as a possible Obama nominee for any future opening on the high court.

Despite his call for change, and his claim to want Washington outsiders in his government, Obama continually seems to be picking former Clinton advisors and colleagues for his administration.

(…so much for any real change…)

Finally, another Democrat has been caught in a scandal.

A divided Ohio Elections Commission found Thursday that former Attorney General Marc Dann twice violated state elections law by using campaign funds to pay for an expensive in-home security system and a cell phone often used for personal calls.

His election was part of a Democratic near sweep of Ohio’s elected offices after state investment scandal involving Republicans. It is interesting to note that, in Clintonesque style, Dann had already resigned back in May due to a sexual harassment scandal.

Change We Can Believe In...NOT!

So much for change “Change We Can Believe In” in Washington. Democrats fight to keep earmarks. I seem to recall some campaign promises by a bunch of Democrats, including the President, to end the earmark process.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday preserved pet projects sought by a lobbying firm under federal investigation and tried to nail down support for big domestic spending increases in hopes of passing a wrap-up budget bill by week's end. Democrats defeated, by a 52-43 vote, an amendment to strip 13 projects that the PMA Group has pressed for. The firm, now disbanded, is accused of illegally using straw donors to funnel campaign cash to lawmakers.

How stunning! Lobbyists under investigation? Illegal donations? And, wonder of wonders, no media outcry! The Liberal masses who would not sit still for this from Bush are absolutely silent on this.

But…wait…it gets better! How about the pullout of US troops from Iraq! out of the battlefield by August 2010, perhaps completely gone by 2011. Pardon me, but those dates sound almost exactly like those proposed by former President Bush! And, what does the media do? They praise Obama for getting the US out of Iraq. Using this as a guideline, Bush was already doing that—and he got crucified for it. But, not the Liberal media’s little darling of a President.

There’s actually a pretty good rant on the subject (much better than mine). You can find it here.

Is It Islam...or Money?

MSNBC has made another massive gaff. Friday, the “news source” once again demonstrated it lack of understanding of things Islamic by saying that capitalism not religion defines roles for women in that culture.

O'Donnell then turned to Sally Quinn of the Washington Post, who wrote about the theory on the newspaper's On Faith blog: "This is a hot topic, Sally. Do you believe that oil is behind sexism in the Middle East?" Quinn replied: "Well, I do think that it has a lot to do with it...when you have an oil-rich country, there's much less manufacturing, so that there are fewer jobs for women. But also because the country is so rich that women don't need to work and therefore they're comfortable and they stay home."

How anyone can say that is a mystery to me. The role of women has not changed, per se, in traditional Islamic cultures for hundreds of years. The roles were defined before the oil wealth existed there, and they permeate the culture from the bottom to the top. These kinds of determinations are just perfect examples of Liberalism trying to make things what they appear, not what they really are. And, unfortunately, people believe them rather than question them.

On the subject of things Islamic, the US is reportedly planning to send $900 million in aid to Gaza.

The aid would go to nongovernmental and UN organisations, with some going to the Palestinian Authority, the official said.

Given the UN track record of keeping tabs on and controlling Hamas activities—such as those recently missing explosives--I am not holding my breath over any aid not going to the terrorists.

10/16 Morning Report

My wife has been pretty much oblivious to politics the whole time I’ve known her…at least until this election, and the previous elections. I amazed at how fast she is picking up on things, though. We watched the final debate tonight. She was catching both of them in ridiculous statements.

Which brings me to the subject of this posting…the media. How did I make that very strange leap, you may ask. Simple…the MainStream Media did not pick up on half the number of things my wife did. And, then, they only really picked on things McCain did. The MSM even fabricated a few things against McCain. Not 10 minutes after the debate, we listened to CBS analysts say McCain brought out the subject of Ayers and ACORN. In fact, it was Obama, prompted by Sheaffer. (…my wife had a fit over that, by the way…even as a neophyte, she is very quickly recognizing the bias of the media…) And, in fact, Obama lied about that—in such a straightforward eloquent way that people love about him. Admittedly, the RNC is kind of biased over stuff like this, but at least they included more substantive information in their press release than Obama did on national TV.

What I found fascinating was that so many liberal analysts and media members were saying immediately after the debate that McCain won this debate, but had not done enough to change the voter’s minds about choosing Obama. And, yet, by the time Nightline came on, the media was unanimously saying something different: Obama was the winner. But, in fact McCain did win the debate. He directly answered the most questions. He kept Obama from leading with his own points by forcing him to follow up McCain. And, he got in several zingers, which Obama never did. Analysts were also saying the McCain spent more time talking about Joe the Plumber than anything else. Maybe so. But, prior to the debate, the analysts were all saying McCain rarely connected with the average person. saying the whole “Joe the Plumber” thing was really a useless issue, since Joe wouldn’t have any tax issues even if he bought the company. And, that is, as far as I have been able to determine, a lie. It would put his income over the $250,000 mark, subjecting his company to the new requirements, and therefore reducing his income.

But, there are other things I have against the media besides their obvious bias. They keep feeding Americans a political line that just is not true. For example, the media in is continually telling Americans that whoever is elected will have to solve the economic problems so Americans can borrow money for cars, homes, college, etc. That is an out right lie. This problem will not be solved in 4 years. It may be solved in 8 or ten years. Anyone who believes that the President alone can solve this, or should be held responsible for it, is crazy. As I wrote once before, this problem was created over the course of 20-30 years—minimum. Democrats and Republicans had a hand in creating it—in the White House AND in Congress. It will take Congress and the President, whoever that is, working together to even set a framework that might help the situation. Based on track records, I would vote for McCain on that one point alone. He has proven he’s willing to do that more than Obama has.

So, despite the lies of Obama, and the mainstream media, McCain won the debate. And, after a day or so of putting spin on everything in Obama’s favor, it’s probable many Americans might as well. But, the question remains: was it enough to turn voters? The MSM answer is a resounding “No.” My answer is, as long McCain shows his ability to fight as opposed to just looking like someone’s kind grandfather, I think the MSM, and the rest of Liberaldom, is in for a rude shock.

10/09 Morning Report

Does anyone remember that 10 years ago, some experts were already predicting the financial crisis we are in today? A Fox News report shows that indeed they were. So why is everyone so suddenly surprised that it happened?

(…maybe the media ignored it rather than make people worry about their credit levels…that conservatives were saying needed to be paid down rather than built up…which might have caused economic decline due to less money being injected into the system through purchasing…hhhmmm…)


And, at least one journalist is saying the media itself has a share of the blame for the financial meltdown. According to Howard Kurtz’s column at the WashPo:

But while these [financial problems] were conveyed in incremental stories -- and a few whistle-blowing columns -- the business press never conveyed a real sense of alarm until institutions began to collapse.

Of course, I doubt the rest of the media will be so candid. It the same as saying Bush lied about the weapons of mass destruction, while forgetting or ignoring all the Democrats and foreign leaders who said the same thing.

(…I wonder if Kurtz gets to keep his job…hhhmmm…)


Speaking of Iraq, the media is pretty quick to only focus on the cost of the war. No one is mentioning the drop in casualties. No one is mentioning that the Bush agenda of waiting until the Iraqis were ready to govern themselves is finally going to be accomplished. No one is recognizing that several different methods attempted trying accomplish this. All the media seems to notice is that everything failed up till now. Yes, there is still violence, as evidenced by the killing of Shiite leader Saleh al-Ogayly. Evidence of the success of American efforts?

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed on Thursday to capture the assassins of an anti-American Shiite MP, the first lawmaker to be killed in 18 months, and ordered a top-level investigation.

(…wonder what kind of spin this gets in the anit-bush, anit-military, liberal American media…)

05/16 Morning Report

Isn’t it interesting that, in a time of Federal budget deficits, and cries from the Left to cut back on Corporate welfare, that Democrats are more infaovr of the latest farm sudsidy bill to come out of Congress?

More than half the subsidies paid out from 2003 to 2005 went to 19 of the 435 congressional districts, according to the non-partisan Environmental Working Group, an opponent of the bill.

The bill almost exclusively sends money to the big agribusinesses, and does not help the individual farmer much—not that there are that many of them left anymore anway. And, just where…exactly…do the candidates stand on all this?

… McCain went to Iowa, the heart of farm country, this month to announce his opposition to the bill. On Thursday, he called it "a bloated piece of legislation that will do more harm than good for most farmers and consumers."
Obama came out in favor of the farm bill Thursday after failing to vote on a previous version when it passed in November.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's Democratic opponent, has supported the farm bill without reservation.

Imagine such a thing…the left in favor of MORE corporate welfare? What will they have left to blame Republicans and Conservatives for if this keeps up?

5/8 Morning Report

Democrats are at it again. In another move to strengthen the hold of government over people, the Democrats are proposing a way for the Federal government to ultimately own property—personal property—and control the rights to it. Don’t believe me? Then check out their latest idea for bailing out the home mortgage market.

The centerpiece of their plan is a bill by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the House Financial Services Committee chairman, to have the Federal Housing Administration relax its standards and back up to $300 billion in more affordable, fixed-rate loans for borrowers currently too financially strapped to qualify.

Instead of bailing out the home owners, they are proposing another way to bail out the banks, without making it look like it. And, according to estimates, this nearly $3 billion bailout will only help 500,000 home owners. The hidden translation, though, is that if anyone defaults again the Federal Government owns the homes, because they financed them to pay off the banks.

(…isn’t that a comforting thought…bailing out the banks…letting the investors off the hook…and getting control of housing…yep…sounds absolutely like the Democrat agenda to leave government in charge…)

4/29 Morning Report

I have been on hiatus for a bit. Taking classes on-line, going through tax season in the financials industry, and raising a family. It makes January through mid-April, or so, too full to write. I was posting for ideas on a book idea over at the forums of Any Soldier. That’s been on hold, too. So have several projects I had in mind to do here…like a new layout (…this one is getting old and needs a makeover…)

Jumping back into things…

The media would have us believe that Indiana’s Voter ID laws are too restrictive and discriminatory. According to MSNCB…

In a splintered 6-3 ruling, the court upheld Indiana's strict photo ID requirement, which Democrats and civil rights groups said would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots.

Even my 12 year old son recognizes that 6-3 is a clear majority! (…oh…I forgot…there is no such thing as media bias…)

It takes getting all the way through the article, clearly slanted in favor of opponents to ID requirements, to find out just how strict and discriminatory the law really is…

Indiana provides IDs free of charge to the poor and allows voters who lack photo ID to cast a provisional ballot and then show up within 10 days at their county courthouse to produce identification or otherwise attest to their identity.

That same 12 year old then asked me how much this cost the government and why the money wasn’t used to help people?

(…it’s kind of scary that 12 year olds seem to be smarter than so many liberals…)

02/18 Morning Report

I’ve read enough science fiction that yesterday’s headline really made me smile…mostly because of the way it was worded: Hopes rise for finding alien Earths. The concept of an alien earth made me laugh.


Meanwhile, closer to home, Hugo Chavez backed off of threats to halt exports to the US. Chavez had been claiming that the Bush administration and Exxon were “conspiring” against the Venezuelan economy. Now, Chavez says he was only talking about actions if the US invaded. However, the war over Venezuelan oil and money isn’t over. Chavez is also signaling higher taxes on foreign oil companies operating within his borders.


More foreign affairs that directly affects Americans, Serbia recalled it’s US ambassador. Angry over the US recognition of Kosovo, they recalled their ambassador. It will be interesting to see what else they do, since most of the EU has also recognized the new nation.

At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Britain's David Miliband said "at least half" of the bloc's 27 member states would formally extend diplomatic recognition by the end of the week.

However, political problems aren’t the only thing the US must address. There are still US servicemen and women deployed in the region as peacekeepers.

(…I wonder where the Democrats and liberals stand on that one…)


Speaking of Democrats, who would have believed just a few months ago that things would go this crazy? Obama may flip-flop on public financing pledge. But, Hillary’s campaign is pretty much reduced to pointing fingers, rather than having control of the campaign—or setting a clear direction. I hate to admit it, but Obama’s TV ads paint a much stronger image than Hillary’s do. Honestly, it’s starting to sound like Hillary may actually have to really fight for her political life here. Too bad the Republicans don’t have a real attention getting platform that people can grab hold of. This would be a great opportunity to take the media by storm with it. As it is, the Republicans are airing…well…nothing.

(…this kind of silence is NOT golden…)

02/07 Morning Report

Once again, painting the Republicans as the bad guys, yesterday’s NY TIMES headline read ”G.O.P. Senators Block Democrats’ Stimulus Plan”. The slanted article spent most of it’s time focusing on how the Democrats are trying to help more people. But it did mention a few important, little known truths…

To pressure Republicans from cold-weather states into voting for the plan, he (Harry Reid, Nevada) added $1 billion in home heating subsidies for low-income families and enlisted the aid of various lobbying groups.

Enlisting lobbying groups is a key phrase. It leads to more later, such as…

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said earlier Wednesday that he was bothered that special-interest groups were lining up for handouts in an economic stimulus bill and urged senators to keep it focused on simple tax rebates.

“I am increasingly concerned that in the Senate, the bazaar is open, the special interests are coming to the trough, and that when I’m reading about and hearing about things like tax rebates for coal companies, the benefits for oil-well drilling and things like this, I’m concerned that it’s going to get bogged down,” Mr. Paulson said.

It’s so nice to see the true Democrat colors. I bet the environmentalists are enjoying this. Now, I am all for increasing the benefit for those that need it—disabled veterans and social security recipients that were excluded from the House stimulus package. So does Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Last week, Reid and some other Democrats are calling that their “fallback option.”

But on Monday he said he would allow votes only on the full Senate package and the original House plan with no changes.

“They are going to vote on this package,” he said. “The American people are watching.”

Indeed we are, Sen. Reid. We are watching to see how much the Democrats will pander to special interest groups…considering how much you have accused the Republicans of doing it.

(…I doubt the MSM will change their tunes…after all, it’s the Republican stymieing the Democrats…not the Democrats being stupid…right?...)

01/22 Morning Report

What happened to religious freedom in America? It seems to be a right for some, but not others. I’llyou’re you think I’m about to bash christian groups. I’m not. It appears that Athiests, Wiccans and Agnostics have more rights and priviledges than Christians in the military. If that’s true of the military, and it is usually the last of social institutions to reflect such changes, what does that say about the rest of America?

Then again, pro-abortioists outright lie and no one seems to care--even when they admit it. Check out the link for the video.

(…let’s see that in mainstream media…)


But, that would be the quivalent of the media suddenly denouncing Hugo Chavez. In his latest move, Chavez is threatening to seize farms. Chavez says he is doing it to alleviate food shortages. Low food prices let even the poorest get food to eat. But, Chavez’s price controls are apparently bankrupting farmers, who are selling their produce to other countries for the money.

In the show, called "Hello President", he said this would happen no matter who the owner was.

He went on: "If the army must be brought in, you bring in the army.

"A government cannot allow itself to be slapped and do nothing."

He also announced plans to nationalize the banks that did not give low interest loans to farmers.

(…am I missing something…farmers are going to lose their farms for trying to pay their bills…and his solution is to put farmers farther in debt…what a great plan!...)


On the subject of high costs, do think you pay a lot for gasoline? In Israel, it is selling for over $6 per gallon. One solution to that cost is electric cars! This one, built by a partnership between an entrepreneur, Rennault, and Nissan, will run on lithium-ion batteries, going about 124 miles per charge.

(…going green just took another BIG step…)