Filed under: Uncategorized
The object of the game is to destroy American capitalism by having the government take over everything!
Tokens include a bus, a teleprompter, a sprig of arugula and a waffle iron.
Wanna play?
No???
Too bad, you’re already playing… whether you want to or not; and, quite frankly, in this game, nobody wins!
Listen to this frightening interview with Betsy McCaughey regarding the implications for senior citizens in the Health Care Reform Bill.
Go to: http://www.fredthompsonshow.com/
Click on “Audio Clips” in the left column. Then, click on the July 27, 2009 program.
Shock: Inside the Healthcare Bill
Economic Policy Journal 7/20/09
Following the mad recommendations of Peter Singer made in NYT’s Sunday magazine, it pays to take a look at what is actually in the healthcare bill.
It’s worse than you can possibly imagine. Somehow, it manages to be Singer on steroids. Who wrote this bill. It has Singer’s footprints all over it.
Peter Fleckstein (aka Fleckman) is reading it and has been posting on Twitter his findings. This is from his postings (Note: All comments are Fleckman’s)
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill – THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benes u get
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill – YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!
Pg 42 of HC Bill – The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill – HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58HC Bill – Govt will have real-time access 2 individual finances & a National ID Healthcard will b issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.
PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill – Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill – Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration ur Healthcare!
PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill – Govt mandates linguistic approp svcs. Example – Translation 4 illegal aliens
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill – Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members – U Health care WILL b rationed
-PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill – Medicaid Eligible Indiv. will b automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Govt Monop
pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill – Doctors/ #AMA – The Govt will tell YOU what u can make..
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into pub opt plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC accrdng 2 Govt will be taxed 2.5% of inc
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from indiv. taxes.. (Americans will pay)
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access 2 ALL Americans finan/pers recs
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC – “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician svcs 4 Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill – Doctors, doesnt matter what specialty u have, you’ll all be paid the same
PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr’s time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.
PG 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries
PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs
PG 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS – Cancer patients – welcome to rationing!
Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals 4 what Govt deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admiss that results in a readmiss-Govt will penalize u.
Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand
pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have oppt to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can u say ACORN?!!
Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 – Govt mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority 2 disqual Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing peeps in2 Govt plan
Pg 354 Sec 1177 – Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs persons! WTF. My sis has down syndrome!!
Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy – Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can u say HC by phone?
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding u in death
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program 4 orders 4 end of life. The Govt has a say in how ur life ends
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An “adv. care planning consult” will b used frequently as patients health deteriorates
PG 429 Lines 10-12 “adv. care consultation” may incl an ORDER 4 end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 – The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment u will have at end of life
Pg 469 – Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Svcs here!!?
Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based org. Like ACORN?
PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt in2 ur marriage
Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svcs
Here’s the full Health Care bill that sits in the House.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname1_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.pdf
Barack Obama promised during his campaign to “clean up both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue” with “the most sweeping ethics reform in history.” He declared that his administration would “have the toughest ethics laws of any administration in history.” But shouldn’t that moral commitment extend to all of those he appoints, too?
Recently, many people were nominated by Obama for high-ranking positions in his administration. Six of them were involved in tax evasion or other shady deals.
First, there was Bill Richardson for commerce secretary. Second, there was William J. Lynn III, slated for the No. 2 spot at the Defense Department. Third, there was Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s appointment. Fourth, there was Nancy Killefer’s nomination as the government’s first chief performance officer. Fifth, there was former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who would have led the Department of Health and Human Services. Sixth, there was the nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis for labor secretary.
And now we have lucky No. 7. Obama has nominated David Ogden to be the deputy attorney general, the second person in command in the Justice Department. According to the American Family Association, as an attorney in private practice, Ogden has filed briefs opposing parental notification before a minor’s abortion, the Children’s Internet Protection Act and the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act. He also has litigated many obscenity and pornography cases on behalf of clients such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Playboy, Penthouse and the largest distributor of hard-core pornographic movies.
Am I missing something? Remember when tax evasion was a crime? Remember when porn was bad? Remember when ethics actually mattered in our choices for politicians? Remember when there were expected moral standards for leaders? Remember when politicians were role models? (Now I’m dating myself!)
Call me Pollyannaish, but I believe leadership should be exemplary. I believe leadership should be above reproach. And if Obama can’t find ethical criteria for choosing other politicians, then let me pass along some advice from our Founding Fathers.
Ethics (the practice of morality) is the foundation of a healthy character, family and country. If ethics wane, the people — and eventually the nation — follow. As Founding Father Elias Boudinot once said, “If the moral character of a people once degenerate, their political character must soon follow.”
Good morals precede good laws, which is why government isn’t much help here. Unless the people and their legislators are grounded in morality, the best of laws will be broken and the worst of laws will be made, legalizing immorality. All the vetting in the world won’t vanquish a corrupt human nature. That is why we can’t look to government to improve decency, civility and morality. For that, we need to look to another source.
John Adams put it well when he said: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Government isn’t the answer. And neither is education, at least without religion. As Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, wrote, “Without religion I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind.”
Our Founders had a better answer than government or even education. God is the answer. God is the moral compass of America. Or he should be, if we ever want to restore morality in our homes and civility to our land. Our Founders believed that morals flowed from one’s accountability to God and that without God, moral anarchy would result.
To the Founders, religion was an essential buttress of free government. That is why Patrick Henry wrote: “The greatest pillars of all government and of social life: I mean virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.”
Charles Carroll, who also signed the Declaration of Independence, wrote, “Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion whose morality is so sublime and pure … are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.”
George Washington summarized it best in his farewell address: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. … Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
To encourage ethical living in youngsters, I recommend they read and practice “Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,” which George Washington wrote at age 14. To everyone else, I recommend Jacob Abbott’s “Ethics: An Early American Handbook,” a reprint of an 1890 study on ethics. Humbly, chapters 5 and 6 in my new book, “Black Belt Patriotism,” also are devoted to how to rebuild a civil and moral society according to our Founders’ vision. I lastly recommend Rushworth Kidder’s “Moral Courage.” Better still, attend his seminar in Washington, D.C., April 7. And stay attuned to ethical issues in politics by frequenting the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s Web site (www.CitizensForEthics.org).
Of course, illegalities, immoralities and other ethics violations have existed in every age, including in our Founders’ age, but they weren’t as readily accepted and tolerated as they are today. Most led good, moral and decent lives. And most fought to elect those who would do the same, and so should we. Write your representatives today and demand, “Unethical nominees should not be appointed to govern our country!”
Mr. President, I’m doing my best as a patriot and a conservative to support you. But if your present choice of leaders is reflective of “the most sweeping ethics reform in history,” then I respectfully would say, sir, you’re sweeping in the wrong direction.
Chuck Norris
In the scorching Nevada heat a battle is taking place that pits, essentially, three enormous dragons against a mouse. It’s the case of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) vs. Robert Kahre, and its outcome could have an enormous impact on our nation’s money, particularly if the economy collapses and hyperinflation sets in as we expect.
But Kahre isn’t just facing the IRS. His antagonists include the Federal Reserve and U.S. Justice Department. All three entities have ever-full money sacks, giving Kahre long odds of success indeed.
We mentioned Kahre July 7 in an article about the Justice Department’s attempts to gather information on people posting comments on the Las Vegas Review-Journal website about the case. So this case is about both freedom of speech in the U.S. as well as monetary policy. But since we dealt with the freedom of speech issue last time, we’ll deal with the monetary policy now.
Kahre, a contractor, is one of four people charged in a 57-count indictment of fraud and conspiracy. What he did was expose the Fed for the fraud it is. So now he’s fighting the three behemoths, the IRS, the Fed and U.S. Justice Department.
According to the government’s case, Kahre and others concocted a fraudulent cash payroll “scheme” and then peddled it to other Las Vegan contractors. What was Kahre’s “scheme?”
He paid his subcontractors in gold and silver coins. Then, using the face value stamped on the coins, determined their payments didn’t pass the threshold for reporting to the IRS.
Appearing on a screen in the courtroom during the government’s opening trial arguments were the words, “This is a case about money, greed and fraud.” Truer words couldn’t have been spoken, and the fact that a government lawyer was uttering them is truly ironic.
For the money, greed and fraud angle falls on the heads of the three dragons. The money Kahre used to pay his subcontractors is stamped by the money creators as legal tender, with dollar denominations stating their value. The fact that their face value represents amounts far less than their actual value is evidence of the fraud the government has perpetuated on its people.
Just as junk silver coins printed prior to 1965 are worth more for their metal content than their printed face values, the gold and silver in U.S. Mint legal tender coins are too. And the reason this has occurred lies with the non-constitutional entity called the Fed, which prints fiat money backed by nothing. This has devalued our nation’s currency.
In Kahre’s defense, lawyers argue that the workers agreed to be independent contractors so he did not have to withhold taxes for them. His six businesses are in the trades of painting, drywall, tiling, plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical work. It is not at all unusual to pay this type of employee as a subcontractor without withholding taxes and sending the IRS and subcontractor IRS Form 1099 at tax time if the payment threshold is met.
By claiming the payments on the face value of the coins, that threshold was never met. So the IRS got irritated because no taxes were owed.
In essence, Kahre manipulated the government’s own laws to his and his contractors’ advantage and the big government boys and girls at Justice and IRS, and the thugs at the Fed didn’t appreciate Kahre’s imagination.
So they came down on him and his friends hard. And to put another kicker on it, it’s Kahre’s second trial on essentially the same charges. The first, last fall, ended without a conviction, so Justice lawyers dropped a few defendants, added one, and reworked their charges. Not a true case of double jeopardy, as he wasn’t acquitted the first time. But the big government boys and girls are so unhappy with him they’re taking a second shot.
When hyperinflation hits, the economy collapses and gold and silver coins are used for payments and trade, how will we be taxed? The face value of the coin? The coin’s value in dollars? Will there even be a government left to tax us? These are questions we’ll be dealing with in a few years.
And one other thing: a curious aspect of this trial is the lack of interest shown it by the media. Nothing reported in the mainstream media, and not much even from local media—just the original story and another that ran July 5 without actually covering details of the trial.
Perhaps the media is afraid big government boys and girls will target them once they’re finished feeding on the little mouse appetizer.
Bob Livingston • Jul 24th, 2009
Filed under: Humor (If one can laugh at such a serious situation)
I was talking to my financial adviser this week and he told me an interesting story I thought you might like…
He has another client in PA who owns a small factory of about 325 employees and due to the poor economy was faced with laying off about 10%. He struggled with this, and how to do it.
Finally he decided to take a walk in the parking lot, and wrote down the names of those who had Obama stickers on their bumpers and laid those persons off.
He said you people voted for change, now you have it, from employed to unemployed!
John is 63 years old and owns his own business. He is a life-long Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year is now all but gone. With the stock market crashing and all the new taxes coming his way, John knows he will be working for a good number more years.
John has a Granddaughter. Ashley is a recent college grad. She drives a late model car, wears all the latest fashions, and also likes going out and eating out a lot. Ashley campaigned hard for Obama, and after he won the election she made sure her Grandfather (and all other Republican family members) received more than an earful on how the world is going to be a much better place now that Obama won the election.
Ashley recently found herself short of cash and cannot pay her bills, again. As she has done many other times in the past, she e-mailed her Grandfather asking for some financial help. Here is his reply:
Sweetheart,
I am replying to your request for more money. Ashley, you know I love you dearly and am sympathetic to your financial plight . Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President Obama, your Grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new economic plan of our own….the ‘Ashley Economic Plan’.
Let me explain. Your grandmother and I are highly productive, wage-earning tax payers. As you know, we have lived a comfortable life and in return have forgone many things like fancy vacations, luxury cars, etc.
We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring soon. But this plan has changed. Your
president is significantly raising our personal and business taxes. He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do you know what this means, Ashley? It means less income for us.
Less income means we must cut back on many business and personal expenditures. One example is, we were forced to let go of our receptionist today. You know her. She always gave you candy when you visited my office. Did you know she worked for us for the past 18 years? I can’t afford her anymore.
That is a taste of the business side.. Some personal economic affects of Obama’s new taxation policies include none other than you. You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food, housing, clothing, gifts, etc., etc. By your vote, you have chosen another family over ours for help. Judging from your Email requesting more money, I recommend you call 202-456-1111.
That is the direct telephone number for the White House. You yourself repeatedly told me I was foolish voting Republican.
You said Mr. Obama is going to be the people’s president and is going to help every American live a better life. Based upon everything you have told me and things we heard from him as he campaigned, I am sure Mr. Obama will be happy to send a check or transfer money into your checking account. Have him call me for the transaction and account numbers, which by now I know by heart.
Perhaps you now can understand what I have been saying for all my life: those who vote for the president should consider what the impact of an election will be on the nation as a whole, and not just be concerned with what they can get for themselves (welfare, etc.). What Obama voters don’t seem to realize is all of the “government’s” money he is ‘redistributing’ to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans (deemed “less fortunate”) comes from tax money collected from income tax-paying families. Remember how you told me, “Only the richest of the rich will be affected”? Guess what, honey? Because of our business, your Grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way. But in the real world, we are far from it. But, as you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand what that means, right?
It means that raising taxes on productive people results in them having less money. Less money for everything, including granddaughters.
Congratulations on your choice for “change”. For future reference, I encourage you to attempt to add up the total value of the gifts and money you’ve received from us over the years, and compare it to what you expect to get over the next four years from Mr. Obama.
Remember, we love you dearly… but from now on you’ll need to call the number referenced above when you need help.
Good luck, sweetheart.
Love, Grampa.
PS: How was your recent trip to Jamaica ? I have never been there but I hear it is lovely this time of year.
Ronald Reagan was right when he said: “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
The next stage of out-of-control government spending started when George W. Bush bailed out Wall Street with $700 billion (new debt No. 1). But Congress didn’t learn from that failure, and apparently, neither did Barack Obama. So the newly elected president pushed for the next stimulus bill (debt No. 2), this one for $787 billion.
But that wasn’t enough, either, so the recent $410 billion omnibus spending bill (with 9,000 earmarks — 60 percent originating with Democrats and 40 percent with Republicans) is being railroaded through Congress to keep government moving until September (debt No. 3).
And then Obama informed us last week that another $634 billion is required for a down payment on universal health care. Before there’s a plan, there’s already a payment (debt No. 4).
If that isn’t enough, Obama is asking for a roughly $3.6 trillion budget for 2010 despite the fact that the White House projects a 2009 budget shortfall of $1.5 trillion — triple the $455 billion in 2008. (That’s debt No. 5.)
And all of that doesn’t include other stimuli on the horizon, as Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, noted when he called the mammoth $787 billion spending bill “stimulus No. 1.” (That’s debt No. 6, debt No. 7, debt No. 8, etc.)
All of these wild expenditures would be a little more bearable if we saw any signs of economic recovery. But how has all this alleged stimulus stabilized and grown the economy and the market? As our government has bailed out, the Dow Jones industrial average has dropped. It’s dropped about 2,000 points since Obama took office, roughly 200 points after every major speech he has made.
So the big question is: How has Obama gotten away with racking up more expenses in his first 30 days in office than all the presidents combined since the founding of our republic did in theirs?
Bernard Goldberg’s A Slobbering Love Affair is a great book about the media’s blind bias and infatuation with Obama, but Obama’s hypnotic effects permeate every stratum of society, from political corridors to public schools. Why? Because he’s young, hip, cool, liberal and charismatic — and that’s what sells today in America. Objectiveness and criticism fly right out the window with the mere mention of his name or any discussion of his excessive spending plans.
On “Good Morning America” last Thursday, two of ABC’s financial experts graded Obama’s excessive borrowing and fiscal performance a B, while guest financial expert Dave Ramsey rated it an F. Despite the two B grades, one of ABC’s financial experts quipped that one of the biggest problems with Obama’s bailouts is that there is no real form of government accountability over the money pouring out of Washington. Yet she maintained her B grade for Obama’s stewardship plan. Why?
Here’s an even better example: As Obama addressed Congress last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the way in spontaneous emotive applause for her political hero. Pop-up Pelosi was bouncing up and down like Tigger on steroids, forcing Vice President Joe Biden to rise slowly every time she jumped up, and Biden had to try to hide his frustration with her. Pelosi’s eyes and facial expressions seemed almost giddy as she gazed at Obama like a teenager infatuated with the popular high-school jock.
As I watched this obsessive congressional circus, I asked myself, “Is this the type of objective bipartisan leadership we want running our government, leading our nation, and spending our money?”
The political and financial math is easy to calculate. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out — just an honest assessment of Washington’s present landscape. Here’s how the equation pans out:
America’s political love affair with President Obama plus the Democratic majority’s coercions in Congress equals trillions of dollars in new debt for Americans, or more economic chaos.
If we ever are to restore the fiscal and leadership sanity to our economy and government, we need not to reinvent the Great Depression wheel of Roosevelt’s New Deal. We need to look to a time when Congress was more frugal in its spending and stabilized our government and economy. And in the past 100 years, one of the best examples of that occurred when Newt Gingrich led Congress in the 1990s. I’m not justifying every financial move they made back then, but despite losing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution by only one Senate vote, they still committed to spending caps and balancing the budget, which they did for four consecutive years. That was the first time that had happened since the 1920s.
The Congress of the ’90s steadied and strengthened the economy by following four priorities and principles, which are being turned on their heads at this moment by the present administration. As Newt noted in his excellent book Real Change, Congress’ top priorities were to:
Cut taxes to increase economic growth and therefore increase revenues (unlike Obama’s tax hikes, which will retard economic growth and depress revenues).
Set priorities and increase spending in key areas while reducing it in nonessential areas (unlike Obama’s fiscal priorities of health care, energy and education, which are based not upon what is best for the economy but what is reflective of typical partisan preferences and doing what is politically expedient).
Eliminate pork-barrel spending (unlike the 9,000 earmarks in the present $410 billion omnibus spending bill, which is nothing short of absolute economic ludicrousness, mismanagement and waste within our present crisis).
Shift from expensive, wasteful systems to smarter spending; look at not only more inexpensive ways but also more productive ones (unlike Obama’s theory to spend our way to prosperity, which is a sure way to sink America).
Our government is hemorrhaging money. The nanny state is becoming the norm. Our Founders are rolling in their graves. And at this very moment, Washington’s credit-crazy and debt-accumulating addiction is dissolving our sovereignty like a sugar cube in coffee by handing our financial autonomy over to other nations. In other words, Rome is burning, and Caesar is stoking the fire!
Time is running out, but it’s not too late to reverse Washington’s fiscal frenzy. Don’t just write to your representatives; hound them to live and legislate by the preceding four proven priorities and principles of governmental and monetary prudence.
Chuck Norris
Filed under: Conservative Perspective
An old Spanish proverb says, “An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.” I believe that value holds, in or out of a recession. And seeing as my 87-year-old mother lived through the Great Depression, I think her value (and that of those like her) will increase through these tough economic times because her insider wisdom can help us all.
Mother was about 10 years old when her eight-member family endured the thick of those recessive days in rural Wilson, Okla., which only has a population of 1,600 today. The recurring droughts across the heartland during that period dried up the job market, making it worse in the Midwest than it even was in the rest of the country. Over the years, my grandpa worked multiple jobs, from the oil fields to the cotton fields, and he was even a night watchman. The family members did what they could to contribute, but most of them were simply too young to play a major part.
In 1933, when President Franklin Roosevelt took office, his administration, through the Works Project Administration, brought about the employment of millions in civil construction projects, from bridges to dams to airports to roads. My grandfather traveled about 90 miles for a day’s work to help build the Lake Murray dam. But with a far smaller ratio of jobs to potential laborers, if Grandpa worked five days a month (at $1.80 a day), it was a good month.
Like most families, my mother’s family didn’t have running water or electricity. And Granny did her best to keep the outhouse clean, with Grandpa helping by regularly depositing lye to control the odors. (You can imagine how the hot, humid Oklahoma summers turned that outside commode into one smelly closet-sized sauna.) A “scavenger wagon” came by once a week and cleaned out the hole, which had a small chairlike contraption over it with the center punched out. (They once had a two-seater in there, which allowed for two people to enjoy each other’s company and conversation. Mom told me that she always felt a little upper-class when she sat with someone else!) By the way, and I’m not trying to be crude, toilet tissue wasn’t around, so they used pages from Montgomery Ward catalogs (and you wondered why the catalogs were so thick). No joke — they preferred the non-glossy pages. I’ll let you figure out why.
Got the picture? With that in mind, I turn to a recent conversation I had with my mother. I asked her, “How would you encourage the average American to weather the economic storms of today?”
Here’s her advice, in her words:
– “Get back to the basics. Simplify your life. Live within your means. People have got to be willing to downsize and be OK with it. We must quit borrowing and cut spending. Be grateful for what you have, especially your health and loved ones. Be content with what you have, and remember the stuff will never make you happy. Never. Back then, we didn’t have one-hundredth of what people do today, and yet we seemed happier than most today, even during the Great Depression.
– “Be humble and willing to work. Back then, any work was good work. We picked cotton, picked up cans, scrap metal, whatever it took to get by. Where’s that work ethic today? If someone’s not being paid $10 an hour today, they’re whining and unwilling to work, even if they don’t have a job. The message from yesteryear is don’t be too proud to do whatever it takes to meet the financial needs of your family.
– “Be rich in love. We didn’t have much. In fact, we had nothing at all, compared to people today, but we had each other. We were poor, but rich in love. We’ve lost the value of family and friends today, and we’ve got to gain it back if we’re ever to get back on track. If we lose all our stuff and still have one another and our health, what have we really lost?
– “Be a part of a community. Today people are much more alone, much more isolated. We used to be close with our neighbors. If one person had a bigger or better garden or orchard, they shared the vegetables and fruits with others in need. Society has shifted from caring for one another to being dependent upon government aid and welfare. That is why so many today trust in government to deliver them. They’ve forgotten an America that used to rally around one another in smaller clusters, called neighborhoods and communities. We must rekindle those local communal fires and relearn the power of that age-old commandment, ‘Love thy neighbor.’
– “Help someone else. We never quit helping others back then. Today too many people are consumed with their own problems and only helping themselves. ‘What’s in it for me?’ is the question most are asking. But back then, it was, ‘What can I do to help my neighbor, too?’ I love Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life, and especially his thought, ‘We were created for community, designed to be a blessing to others.’ Most of all, helping others gets our minds off of our problems and puts things into better perspective.
– “Lean upon God for help and strength. We didn’t just have each other to lean on, but we had God, too. We all attended church and belonged to a faith community. Church was the hub of society, the community core and rallying point. Today people turn to government the way we used to turn to churches. It’s been that way ever since Herbert Hoover’s alleged promise of a ‘chicken in every pot’ and President Roosevelt’s New Deal. Too many have abandoned faith and community. We trust in money more than God. And maybe that’s a reason why we’re in this economic pickle.”
Now that’s conventional wisdom that should be shouted and posted in every corridor of government, every community across America, and every blog on the Internet.
Call me overly pragmatic, but I think a little practical wisdom and encouragement is what we all need about now. Mom always was good for that. She still is.
Chuck Norris
Here are the actual police reports on the recent encounter between a white police officer and a black Harvard professor. Read the reports and decide for yourself who was in error…
http://www.amnation.com/vfr/Police%20report%20on%20Gates%20arrest.PDF
I have noted that many elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, called upon America to unite behind Obama. Well, I want to make it clear to all who will listen that I AM NOT uniting behind Obama!
I will respect the Office which he holds, and I will acknowledge his abilities as an orator and wordsmith and pray for him, BUT that is it.
I have begun today to see what I can do to make sure that He is a one-term President!
Why am I doing this?
It is because I do not share Obama’s vision or Value system for America;
I do not share his Abortion beliefs;
I do not share his radical Marxist’s concept of re-distributing wealth;
I do not share his stated views on raising taxes on those who make $150,000+ (the ceiling has been changed three times since August);
I do not share his view that America is Arrogant;
I do not share his view that America is not a Christian Nation;
I do not share his view that the military should be reduced by 25%;
I do not share his view of amnesty and giving more to illegal’s than American Citizens who need help;
I do not share his views on homosexuality and his definition of marriage;
I do not share his views that Radical Islam is our friend and Israel is our enemy who should give up any land;
I do not share his spiritual beliefs (at least the ones he has made public);
I do not share his beliefs on how to re-work the healthcare system in America;
I do not share his Strategic views of the Middle East, and certainly do not share his plan to sit down with terrorist regimes such as Iran.
Bottom line, my America is vastly different from Obama’s, and I have a higher obligation to my Country and my God to do what is Right!
For eight (8) years, the Liberals in our Society, led by numerous entertainers who would have no platform and no real credibility but for their celebrity status, have attacked President Bush, his family, and his spiritual beliefs!
They have not moved toward the center in their beliefs and their philosophies, and they never came together nor compromised their personal beliefs for the betterment of our Country! They have portrayed my America as a land where everything is tolerated except being intolerant!
They have been a vocal and irreverent minority for years; they have mocked and attacked the very core values so important to the founding and growth of our Country!
They have made every effort to remove the name of God or Jesus Christ from our Society! They have challenged capital punishment, the right to bear firearms, and the most basic principles of our criminal code; they have attacked one of the most fundamental of all Freedoms, the right of free speech!
Unite behind Obama? Never!
I am sure many of you who read this think that I am going overboard, but I refuse to retreat one more inch in favor of those whom I believe are the embodiment of Evil!
PRESIDENT BUSH made many mistakes during his Presidency, and I am not sure how history will judge him. However, I believe that he weighed his decisions in light of the long established Judeo-Christian principles of our Founding Fathers!!!
Majority rules in America , and I will honor the concept; however, I will fight with all of my power to be a voice in opposition to Obama and “his goals for America .”
I am going to be a thorn in the side of those who, if left unchecked, will destroy our Country!! Any more compromise is more defeat!
I pray that the results of this election will wake up many who have sat on the sidelines and allowed the Socialist-Marxist anti-God crowd to slowly change so much of what has been good in America !
“Error of Opinion may be tolerated where Reason is left free to combat it.” (Thomas Jefferson)
’If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.’ - Ronald Reagan
I WANT THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE BACK…..
GLENN BECK: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona . She writes an open letter to our nation’s leadership:
I’m a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I’m not a racist. This isn’t to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal health care. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don’t you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don’t you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don’t trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why — what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we’ll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let’s have it. Let’s say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try — please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now. Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let’s just slow down and get some input from some non politicians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I’m busy. I’m busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business s of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill . We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington . Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don’t want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we’re morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we’re so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn’t ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don’t care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
Filed under: Humor (If one can laugh at such a serious situation)
You might recall that John Hinckley was a seriously deranged young man who shot President Reagan in the early 1980’s.
Hinckley was absolutely obsessed with movie star Jodie Foster , extremely jealous, and in his twisted mind, loved Jodie Foster to the point that to make himself well known to her, he attempted to assassinate President Reagan.
There is speculation Hinckley may soon be released as having been rehabilitated. Consequently, you may appreciate the following letter from Nancy Reagan to the staff at the mental facility treating Hinckley reports to have intercepted:
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* To: John Hinckley From: Mrs. Nancy Reagan
My family and I wanted to drop you a short note to tell you how pleased we are with the great strides you are making in your recovery. In our fine country’s spirit of understanding and forgiveness, we want you to know there is a nonpartisan consensus of compassion and forgiveness throughout.
The Reagan family and I want you to know that no grudge is borne against you for shooting President Reagan. We, above all, are aware of how the mental stress and pain could have driven you to such an act of desperation. We are confident that you will soon make a complete recovery and return to your family to join the world again as a healthy and productive young man.
Best wishes, Nancy Reagan & Family
P.S. While you have been incarcerated, Barack Obama has been banging Jodie Foster like a screen door in a tornado. You might want to look into that. Bless her heart.
In addition to communicating with the local Air Traffic Control facility, all aircraft In the Persian Gulf AOR are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar (military) A ten minute ‘heads up’ if they will be transiting Iranian airspace. This is a common procedure for commercial aircraft and involves giving them your Call sign, transponder code, type aircraft, and points of origin and destination. I just flew with a guy who overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) Frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai. It is too good not to pass along.
The conversation went like this… Iranian Air Defense Radar: ‘Unknown aircraft you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.’
Aircraft: ‘This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.’
Air Defense Radar: ‘You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!’
Aircraft: ‘This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 fighter. Send ‘em up, I’ll wait!’
Air Defense Radar: (no response … Total silence)
Filed under: Christian Perspective, Conservative Perspective, Humor (If one can laugh at such a serious situation)
This is an old video, but it bears repeating. It quickly becomes obvious which president the men and women of the Armed Forces would rather have as Commander-in-Chief:
