I Was Wrong!!

Anybody who knows me knows that I am not a liberal. I am one who clearly stood on the side of the CIA integrators in the torture controversy. These heroes were doing what was necessary to protect our nation after the attacks on 9/11. I was outraged to learn of the justice department’s investigation of the CIA. I thought that Obama was on the verge of treason for releasing documents on our enhanced interrogation methods, allowing terrorist to learn to withstand them. I believed that idea of closing GITMO was ridiculous and misguided.

It is with great humility that I now admit I was wrong. I had no idea until now how far over the line the thugs at the CIA had gone. At some point you need to ask yourself is this nation worth saving if it becomes unrecognizable in the process. Are we not a nation built on justice and mercy?

What brought me to this revelation? It wasn’t the reports of mock executions or the naked human pyramids at Abu Ghraib. It was not even the sleep deprivation or the water boarding. What finally changed my mind is what I saw in a newly released video. In the video it shows CIA operatives dressed in red using the most inhuman forms of torture possible. To make matters worse (as if that were possible) the video shows clearly the torture was being perpetrated on an innocent little old lady! As anybody can see and hear for themselves this women had no idea why she was even there! On top of all of that the reason for the torture was not only to obtain information but also to force her to convert.

I am just relieved the 8 long years of the dark ages in America are over. I just hope this renaissance is not too late. I know some of you are disappointed and angry with me for my change. All I can say is please watch this video, it is short, and tell me if it does not change your mind as well. Be prepared this video is shocking. Watch Video Now

Finally Someone Has the Answer and All He Gets Is A Boycott

I have always liked Whole Foods, although I have only been an occasional shopper, but after the Op Ed article, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, published in the WSJ I will make Whole Foods my primary store. He exactly nailed the solution for healthcare in our country. His thoughts are not just a mere theory but they have been employed with great success at his company.

A misguided group of, well I won’t write what I am thinking, let’s just simply say socialist and their blind followers started a group on Facebook to boycott Whole Foods. Why, because Mackey had the nerve to suggest an alternative to the healthcare plan of our Dear Leader. I seem to remember that on several occasions our Dear Leader said he was willing to listen to anybody’s suggestions on how to “fix” our healthcare system. I guess that to the socialist members of the Facebook group this does not include the ideas from someone who has actually been successful at “fixing” healthcare. The reaction to Mackey’s Op Ed shows us that the goal of the left is not to solve the problems with our current healthcare system as they proclaim it to be. Their goal is in reality to continue increasing the government’s role in all of our lives.

What are the horribly dangerous ideas that Mackey suggested justify the boycott and the personal attacks? You can read the Op Ed for yourself but in summary here they are right out of his article

• Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs)
•  Equalize the tax laws so that that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits
• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines
• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover
• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year
• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost
• Enact Medicare reform
• Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

I have had many people say to me that you are quick to criticize Obama’s plan, but what are your suggestions. Well the points listed above are them; by and large Mackey nailed it. He was brave enough and patriotic enough to offer positive input on this volatile subject and he has been rewarded with calls for his resignation from the company he co-founded. Mackey was foolish enough to believe that Obama and his supporters really wanted to solve the problem and he tried to help.

Please support Mackey and Whole Foods, shop at their stores, e-mail your support and if you are on Facebook become a fan of Whole Foods. If you want to let one of the founders of the boycott know what you think e-mail him at markerosenthal@gmail.com Please be respectful he was brave enough to list his e-mail address.

Paid Healthcare Activist. Guess what side they are on.

You just are not going to believe this, or unfortunately maybe you will. For weeks now we have been hearing from the President and his followers that the opposition to Obama-care is not a grass roots effort. They call it Astroturf. They say that the angry mobs showing up at town hall meetings are paid operatives. Maybe they think that because that is exactly what they are doing!!!!

I took a couple of minutes and found these job postings on craigslist.org.

This one is posted in the SF Bay area on Aug 14 under the category nonprofit sector
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/npo/1323127000.html


This one is posted in Los Angeles on Aug 12 under the category nonprofit sector
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/npo/1320138750.html

Sometimes the links from craigslist.org don’t last in that case go to craiglist.org, pick your favorite liberal city and search the jobs in the nonprofit sector. You will notice not only are they hiring people to fight for Obama-care but they are also hiring the “grass roots concerned citizens” to fight for Cap and Trade. By the way I searched in some of the conservative cities and found no ads from the right.

Yet again we find that when liberals point their finger and accuse they are looking in the mirror.

The Day We Will Be Told How Much We Can Earn

August 14th is a date that may become a historically significant date. Not for the obvious reason, it was my birthday but it was the deadline for companies to submit compensation information to the Pay Czar. Since June, when he was appointed, Pay Czar, Wesley Mouch, oops I mean Kenneth Feinberg, has been hard at work interviewing the several companies whose executive pay comes under his authority.

My question is where did Mouch’s, oh I mean Feinberg’s, authority come from? I know he was appointed by the President and I suppose the President can appoint whoever he would like to advise him. But Mouch, ah Fienberg, is making rules not advising. At least cabinet members must have the Senates consent before they take office. In a letter to the Treasury Secretary, Dave Mitchum, oh I mean Timothy Geithner, Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank said "Congress and taxpayers alike are rightly alarmed that companies would enrich their executives while deferring repayment of the federal financial assistance that helped them avoid financial catastrophe". So I guess Mouch, I mean Feinberg, has the authority to do what ever he wants since the Constitution specifically states that if the Speaker of the House and Barney Frank (yes the founding fathers mentioned Barney by name) write a letter citing the avoidance of a financial catastrophe any Presidential appointee shall have the authority to make any rule the appointee deems necessary, as long as the rule has no effect on any member of Congress. What you don’t think that clause is in the constitution? You want me to show it to you? How dare you. You are just another Astroturf mob member, a wing nut birther and someone who I will report to flag@whitehouse.gov if you don’t watch it. Now if we can move on to something more productive.

For now Mouch er Fienberg (I just don’t know why I keep getting these names confused) has the authority to set the compensation for executives of the companies that have not yet paid the government back for the TARP money they were loaned. I guess that I am ok with that because there should be some penalty for taking government money but what may happen next is concerning to me. The TARP companies will not be allowed to pay their people at the market rate while the non-TRAP companies can. Naturally the best and the brightest will leave the TARP companies and head to the non-tarp companies. With inferior leadership the TARP companies will not be able to compete causing them to lose even more money making them even less likely to pay back the government and possibly require even more government loans. This will infuriate Congress who will demand the CEOs appear before them to explain why things are going so poorly. The CEOs will blame it on the brain drain caused by their uncompetitive compensation structure. Congress will then turn to Mouch Fienberg whatever his name is and demand he level the playing field and that is when the Pay Czar will tell all of us how much we can be paid.

Hang Up and Govern

They say that driving while texting or using your cell phone is just as dangerous as drunk driving. So how much more dangerous is it to govern while using a cell phone? The driver only effects the lives of the people in their car and the people on the road around them but elected officials effect the lives of everyone in our nation for generations.

At her town hall meeting Rep Sheila Jackson Lee took a cell phone call while Tracy Miller, a cancer survivor, was asking her a question. Still think the shouting at these meetings is unwarranted? Latter Representative Lee explained that she was calling into a health care help desk to get an answer to another constituent’s question. The problem with that explanation is that according to Miller, she was the second person to ask a question. Apparently Rep Lee was stumped after the first question! The phone call in reality again according to Miller was more than likely from Lee’s staff letting her know what VIPs were attending so she could acknowledge them.

Also on the town hall front and also in Texas Rep Green is seeking legislation to require town hall attendees show photo ID before being allowed into the meeting. The purpose of the ID is to insure that the attendee is from the Members’ district. The problem with Rep Green’s position is that he voted and campaigned against a requirement for voters to show an ID before voting. Rep Green must believe that town hall “fraud” is far more dangerous than voter fraud. Or perhaps he was just distracted by his cell phone.

Happy Cost of Government Day

Happy cost of government day!! Up until today all the money you, the average American, has earned this year covers your share of the cost to operate the government (federal, state and local) for the year. Many of you remember that this year’s Tax Freedom Day was April 13th. What accounts for this difference? The deficit! The government spends almost 75% of the income all Americans earn in one year. That leaves 25% to be spent elsewhere and some wonder why the economy is where it is. Most of our elected officials think that government needs to spend even more to fix the economy.

Isn’t it time to ask if we really need this much government?
Isn’t it time to cut the spending?
Isn’t it time for some reason?

So now do you still think voting Libertarian is throwing away your vote?

On Friday July 30th, before leaving Washington for their summer recess the House of Representatives passed a bill to clamp limits on Wall Street bonuses. Oh by the way this limit on bonuses is not just for companies that have taken bailouts, it is across the board. You see the government is much better at deciding how much an employer should pay an employee than letting the employer and employee agree on compensation beween themselves. Rep Melvin Watt, D-N.C clearly believes in that philosophy this is what he said about the bill, “This is not the government taking over the corporate sector; It is a statement by the American people that it is time for us to straighten up the ship."

This is yet another intrusion into not only into private business but into our private lives. That is the Democrats view but what about our beloved Republicans, the guardians of free enterprise and limited government, what are they doing? Here was how AP put it: “Aware of voter outrage about the bonuses, Republicans were reluctant in Friday's debate to push back”.

Looks to me like voting Republican is just throwing my vote away! They won’t even take a stand on something as basic as letting a company decide how much it will pay its employees. This is not the only issue affecting our lives the Republicans have remained silent on or offered only half hearted rebuttal on. As the saying goes with friends like that who needs enemies.

It is time to stop looking at the letter (R, D, L) behind the candidate’s name and assuming we know what they stand for. It is becoming more and more apparent that we cannot assume R stands for conservative or even for that matter conservative stands for less government. We do have a chose and for me it has been made clear that voting Libertarian is a viable option, especially in the mid-term elections.