For the sake of keeping this article short and simple, I will divide those I mention into two camps, conservative and liberal. Many who I place in the conservative camp, probably belong in no camp. Perhaps they belong in a camp of their own, where they can collect their own wood and make a fire to shed light on their pages of opinions poking at both camps while they stand firm as an army of one. However, since they think they are conservatives and speak for everyday Americans, I have to put them in a camp. They may be armies of one, but they still like D.C. cocktail parties.
The first conservative writer of note, who decided to discount the value of Sarah Palin, was Washington Post Columnist, Kathleen Parker. Ms. Parker had seen Sarah Palin’s T.V. interviews with Charles Gibson on ABC, and Katie Couric on CBS, and that was enough for Ms. Parker to sadly throw in the towel and lament that 4 decades of a women’s liberation movement, resulting in the drop of the U.S. birth rate, could only give Republicans a female Vice-Presidential Candidate who was from Alaska, had 5 kids, and gave imperfect T.V. interviews. A shame no doubt. The Democrats had already had Geraldine Ferraro take the national stage 2 decades earlier, and now the Republican’s big chance, only produced a moose hunting airhead expressing the values of freedom better than anyone, including a former Vietnam POW, but one easily stumped by questions from liberal journalists, who were able to convince so many that we had a folly on our hands, by simply displaying a displeased frown and a look above the eyeglasses.
After Ms. Parker’s article was published not only by her employer, The Washington Post, but also dutifully by the soft conservative National Review Online, I was driving in my car on a nice Saturday morning in September, when the top of the hour news came on, and touted that even conservative columnists, like Kathleen Parker, are beginning to have their doubts. Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy, two more conservative school marms, were caught unaware that the microphone was still on as they went on to explain to one another what a joke Palin was. The media barrage from both camps commenced for the following months and Palin’s reputation as a woman with at least the knowledge of a 12th grader was badly tarnished. Such an unnecessary and unfounded notion, yet the false reality was created for millions of American Idol voters to mutter how stupid and how frequently pregnant that lady who tried to be Vice-President is. Nice job Ms. Parker, I’m sure Mrs. Palin thanks you for being honest and for not holding back even for a week or so, to see if the newly selected candidate could get her footing. I thank you too, Ms. Parker, because you helped to rescue the U.S. from having an imperfect woman be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and you went on to support our current president, Barack Obama, and he won. Now he leads us, and how we have witnessed his noble and humble leadership.
Let me now move on to another conservative media man who I think might wear a nose plug during his nightly radio show; a show chocked with a who’s who list of conservative interviewees who make it possible for Hugh Hewitt to have a show containing more than the 15 minutes worth of things he would be able to talk about on his own, therefore allowing him to fill a three hour show. Hugh should definitely be giving 80% of his earnings to his guests, because without them, he wouldn’t have a show. I mean, this guy even has to book the left wing writers of the Washington Post to fill time.
At one time, I was a fan of the Hugh Hewitt Show. He talked a pretty big game, and he laid out some good goals for our elected officials to follow; goals which he later stopped mentioning after the Republicans drafted a nominee for President who wouldn’t come close to following them. In January of 2008, I was listening to Hugh’s show, when he said that the in the week to follow, the people of Florida and Michigan were going to vote Romney and end this charade of the McCain campaign. I sure hoped Hugh was right, and I loved his tough talk. Only, McCain won Florida and the Republican nomination. Now, it was early February, 2008, and Hillary Clinton and President Obama had months to go before one would finally be given the rights to take up the Democrat mantle. Their was no rush to become an overnight John McCain cheerleader, but Hugh became one instantly, and urged us all to do the same. If we didn’t, we would only be cutting off our nose to spite our face. Suddenly, we were expected to be happy that John McCain, complete with his bi-partisan deals with Democrats, which resulted in giving away the store, incoherent explanations about amnesty for illegal immigrants, and hell bent effort toward protecting terrorists, was now the Republican standard bearer. I spent the next few months hoping for a reason that McCain would become unable to run, but alas, I had to wait until November 3, 2008, to be relieved of the McCain candidacy.
The other night, I was listening to Hugh’s show again, and he was on the road, probably promoting a book about Mitt Romney. A caller from Arizona was up, and began saying how he supported J.D. Hayworth over McCain in the Arizona Primary. Hugh wouldn’t even let the caller say McCain’s name, because Hugh didn’t have his “dump button” with him in case the caller said an unkind word about McCain. I didn’t understand this one bit. I can only assume that callers that night were allowed to raise points of argument against Barack Obama throughout the night, unless Hugh had every minute booked up with guests that night, allowing the show to go on. However, Hugh did allow himself to point out that J.D. Hayworth was one of those “Birthers”, implying that it would be better to go the McCain route once again, than be tagged as supporting a “Birther”. Hugh needs to keep his moderate interviewees happy; after all; his show depends on it. That, and it gave Hugh the chance to use his favorite word and describe yet another person as a, “nutter”. Hugh’s new adaptation of forced civility apparently doesn’t apply to himself.
I was momentarily away from that evening’s Hugh Hewitt show, but when I tuned back in, he was just finishing up yet another interview with a politician, who said something like, “we need to put the brakes on Obama’s agenda”, and Hugh cut him off saying that he refuses to allow analogies on his show. O.K., Mark Steyn had better get off the guest list then. No wonder I never hear Dennis Miller on the Hewitt show.
So there you have it. This is a sample of our conservative media. Of course, not all conservative media personalities live in a bubble insulated with their own demands of perfection from conservative politicians and conservative Americans. If you look closely, you’ll also find that conservative media members will choose an issue for which to offer a defense for a liberal politician. Usually, they pick something that they don’t know enough about to discover that what they picked is indefensible. Some will even pick Bill Clinton’s lying under oath as the issue they decide is, “no big deal” and “overblown” (See David Frum). Erick Erickson has decided that in regards to Barack Obama he will pick the issue (birth certificate) that the President spent millions on to keep from seeing the light of day. Erickson will even ban anyone who goes on his site and brings the matter to attention. It seems as if that which is indeed indefensible has an expiration date. Usually, the ramifications of misdeeds might only expire after apologies are given, but some conservatives no longer require such a thing, while they mock the apologies of fellow conservatives. And when it comes to their own apologies or issued corrections forget about it. Many in the conservative media aren’t talented enough to admit their weaknesses and mistakes.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Ban of the "Birthers" and Redefining Reality
On February 12, 2010, Erick Erickson of Redstate.com declared that “Birfers and Truthers” would be banned from, I can only assume, posting comments on the Redstate.com site. O.K. fine, go ahead and ban people, whatever floats your boat. The problem that I have is that Mr. Erickson equates those who know that Barack Obama has not provided a long form birth certificate, with those who believe the U.S. Government plotted 9/11. He is equating those displaying an unpleasant fact, with those rendering a more deeply unpleasant opinion. For me, it is difficult to swallow and carry on quietly while the self-professed conservatives aim to define the boundaries for which freedom loving Americans express their opinions and form arguments. They therefore limit argument in a similar way that those on the left do, and many times, without knowing it, ally themselves with the opinions of the American left wing.
The comments board at Redstate.com now features the unbridled ridicule, once reserved for Code Pink types and cheerleaders of socialism, directed at anyone who questions the opinions of Erick Erickson, or entertains the possibility that a man who spent multiple years as a child in another nation (Barack Obama) might have been born in another nation and doesn’t meet the requirements of the constitution to serve as president. I don’t believe that it has been proved otherwise. Many of the Redstate.com commenters fear that the presence of “birfers” will cause the site to be, “taken off message”, as if that blog is actually going to lead the conservative movement with its anonymous bloggers and poor user interface. I personally don’t put a lot of effort into studying the matter of Obama’s citizenship or talking about it, but I don’t get the least bit upset if someone else does. The 9/11 conspiracy does upset me, but I’m willing to put up with hearing about it, as long as someone offers a little detail with elements of sanity and absent the appearance of an axe to grind. From what I’ve learned about the Kennedy assassination, I’m more inclined to believe Oswald had accomplices, but I’m not going to spend any extra time investigating it. If someone wants to, good. All three of these national questions, may be better unsolved, at least for now.
However, Erickson acts as if his own personal credibility depends on who views his site and posts comments. The move he has made with this ban is a purge to hide the rubbage, while the new and more elite viewers browse his postings. Another way to increase credibility might be ban those bloggers of Redstate.com who post full articles using aliases such as Haystack. Come out secret identity bloggers, and let us know who you are. Some, such as Allahpundit on HotAir.com have so many frequent postings throughout the day, I don’t see how they could actually have a real job to jeopardize.
Update: Red State continues digging the hole they are stuck in.
Erick Erickson assures readers in his latest post, that this is his last word on the Birfer and Truther issue. To argue in defense of Obama’s official Erickson Seal of Natural Born Citizenship, Erick tries to impress us with his knowledge of 14th Century British law defining natural born citizenship as having been born anywhere in the world by two parents who are citizens of Britain. So, Erickson refers to foreign law to make his case. I hope Erick doesn’t later bemoan Justice Breyer’s support of using foreign law in U.S. Supreme Court cases, when the issue again presents itself. Also, it seems that Erickson personally re-writes the U.S. definition of natural born citizen to read, “anyone born anywhere, who has parents who are U.S. Citizens”. By Erickson’s definition, one could conceivably be born in Iran by a U.S. businessman and his wife, attend Iranian schools and spend years of his life in Iran, only to later move to the U.S. in his 30s, begin a political career and become an Iranian sympathizing President of the United States. That is O.K. by Erickson’s standards because his parents were U.S. Citizens after all.
The question that is not asked by Erickson or his enlightened readers, is “Why does the Constitution require that the President be a Natural Born U.S. Citizen?” Is there a reason for this provision? Also, we simply need to know the definition of “Natural Born Citizen” as defined by the U.S. Constitution and/or Supreme Court Case. That is all.
Erickson instead focuses on his ridiculous assumption that those questioning Obama’s citizenship, believe that there was a cover up from the highest places of government since the day of his birth. I challenge him to find someone who believes that. Instead, the question should be asked, “how would Obama’s U.S. Citizenship benefit him and/or his parents at the time of his birth?”, and the other germane question is, “how many years of Obama’s childhood were spent in Indonesia?”
With the world becoming smaller and smaller, this is an issue that is likely to come to life in the future. It raises a question of sovereignty when the qualifications for a U.S. President become so skewed and more and more people like Erickson re-write history and make false claims regarding the meaning of imperative laws.
Erickson seems to be trying to play up his fame, and wants to be seen as a "reasonable conservative" by the likes of the conservative elite. Those who comment on his site even want him to bullet proof from the liberal likes of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann. Erickson falsely believes that he will be judged according to the small number of birthers or truthers who comment on his site. This is weakness grounded in the “perception is reality” fallacy. Reality is reality, perception is temporary and the longer a perception lasts the more harmful it can become. This is a recurrent problem of the conservative media. They give up and give in.
They bought into the perception that the Bush administration’s Hurricane Katrina response was akin to immoral. This was a perception created by the liberal media, and it lasted long enough that most conservatives eventually decided to confirm the perception and adopt it as reality, even without newly born facts to persuade them that the Katrina response was indeed botched and careless. The reality of the Katrina response is something different than the perception that the liberal media transmitted, and conservative media should be chastised by their audience for lazily accepting, simply because of the passing of time, the liberal media’s invented reality. Erickson is doing the same thing here with the birthers. The birther’s questions have not been answered, but time has passed, and the perception created by the liberal media has eaten into Erickson and now he is crying uncle. Not only that, but he is now inventing facts himself to defend his actions. Good bye Redstate.com. Where will you be in 5 years?
The comments board at Redstate.com now features the unbridled ridicule, once reserved for Code Pink types and cheerleaders of socialism, directed at anyone who questions the opinions of Erick Erickson, or entertains the possibility that a man who spent multiple years as a child in another nation (Barack Obama) might have been born in another nation and doesn’t meet the requirements of the constitution to serve as president. I don’t believe that it has been proved otherwise. Many of the Redstate.com commenters fear that the presence of “birfers” will cause the site to be, “taken off message”, as if that blog is actually going to lead the conservative movement with its anonymous bloggers and poor user interface. I personally don’t put a lot of effort into studying the matter of Obama’s citizenship or talking about it, but I don’t get the least bit upset if someone else does. The 9/11 conspiracy does upset me, but I’m willing to put up with hearing about it, as long as someone offers a little detail with elements of sanity and absent the appearance of an axe to grind. From what I’ve learned about the Kennedy assassination, I’m more inclined to believe Oswald had accomplices, but I’m not going to spend any extra time investigating it. If someone wants to, good. All three of these national questions, may be better unsolved, at least for now.
However, Erickson acts as if his own personal credibility depends on who views his site and posts comments. The move he has made with this ban is a purge to hide the rubbage, while the new and more elite viewers browse his postings. Another way to increase credibility might be ban those bloggers of Redstate.com who post full articles using aliases such as Haystack. Come out secret identity bloggers, and let us know who you are. Some, such as Allahpundit on HotAir.com have so many frequent postings throughout the day, I don’t see how they could actually have a real job to jeopardize.
Update: Red State continues digging the hole they are stuck in.
Erick Erickson assures readers in his latest post, that this is his last word on the Birfer and Truther issue. To argue in defense of Obama’s official Erickson Seal of Natural Born Citizenship, Erick tries to impress us with his knowledge of 14th Century British law defining natural born citizenship as having been born anywhere in the world by two parents who are citizens of Britain. So, Erickson refers to foreign law to make his case. I hope Erick doesn’t later bemoan Justice Breyer’s support of using foreign law in U.S. Supreme Court cases, when the issue again presents itself. Also, it seems that Erickson personally re-writes the U.S. definition of natural born citizen to read, “anyone born anywhere, who has parents who are U.S. Citizens”. By Erickson’s definition, one could conceivably be born in Iran by a U.S. businessman and his wife, attend Iranian schools and spend years of his life in Iran, only to later move to the U.S. in his 30s, begin a political career and become an Iranian sympathizing President of the United States. That is O.K. by Erickson’s standards because his parents were U.S. Citizens after all.
The question that is not asked by Erickson or his enlightened readers, is “Why does the Constitution require that the President be a Natural Born U.S. Citizen?” Is there a reason for this provision? Also, we simply need to know the definition of “Natural Born Citizen” as defined by the U.S. Constitution and/or Supreme Court Case. That is all.
Erickson instead focuses on his ridiculous assumption that those questioning Obama’s citizenship, believe that there was a cover up from the highest places of government since the day of his birth. I challenge him to find someone who believes that. Instead, the question should be asked, “how would Obama’s U.S. Citizenship benefit him and/or his parents at the time of his birth?”, and the other germane question is, “how many years of Obama’s childhood were spent in Indonesia?”
With the world becoming smaller and smaller, this is an issue that is likely to come to life in the future. It raises a question of sovereignty when the qualifications for a U.S. President become so skewed and more and more people like Erickson re-write history and make false claims regarding the meaning of imperative laws.
Erickson seems to be trying to play up his fame, and wants to be seen as a "reasonable conservative" by the likes of the conservative elite. Those who comment on his site even want him to bullet proof from the liberal likes of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann. Erickson falsely believes that he will be judged according to the small number of birthers or truthers who comment on his site. This is weakness grounded in the “perception is reality” fallacy. Reality is reality, perception is temporary and the longer a perception lasts the more harmful it can become. This is a recurrent problem of the conservative media. They give up and give in.
They bought into the perception that the Bush administration’s Hurricane Katrina response was akin to immoral. This was a perception created by the liberal media, and it lasted long enough that most conservatives eventually decided to confirm the perception and adopt it as reality, even without newly born facts to persuade them that the Katrina response was indeed botched and careless. The reality of the Katrina response is something different than the perception that the liberal media transmitted, and conservative media should be chastised by their audience for lazily accepting, simply because of the passing of time, the liberal media’s invented reality. Erickson is doing the same thing here with the birthers. The birther’s questions have not been answered, but time has passed, and the perception created by the liberal media has eaten into Erickson and now he is crying uncle. Not only that, but he is now inventing facts himself to defend his actions. Good bye Redstate.com. Where will you be in 5 years?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Nothing is Over Until We Decide it Is!
I've been waiting to hear about town hall meetings and protests as Congressmen are back in the territories of their constituents, but apparently, most folk think that the health care bill is a.) already passed, or b.) is so inevitable it is not worth lifting a finger over. It's a shame that some bloggers (i.e. Allahpundit) are in default defeatist mode, convinced it's over. Votes still need to take place.
Quinn Hillyer from American Spectator writes a rallying piece for Republican Congressmen that holds so true.
See my article from earlier this week, trying to rally the troops as well.
Quinn Hillyer from American Spectator writes a rallying piece for Republican Congressmen that holds so true.
See my article from earlier this week, trying to rally the troops as well.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Got Ezra!
The American Spectator is forced to rebut the juvenile sentence constructions of recent college grad and Washington Post's red carpet walking, Ezra Klein. I think the guy just uses those word refrigerator magnets to construct his columns. For his new column he must have opened up that new calculator he got for graduation, because he's spoutin' of math and frighteningly underestimating how much the government would be spending on health care if the new bill passes. If the govt. spends as much as he said, we might all get a tournaquet and aspirin each year, but that'll be about it.
I'm sorry, but why do we keep listening to 24 year old Ezra Klein. His writing gives away his age, I hadn't even heard of him until last month when he came up with some ingenious idea of killing the fillibuster (gee, I never heard that one before). Why conservative blogs quote him, and why the Washington Post would give someone with 24 years of life experience a blog and a pay check is beyond me.
I'm sorry, I mean I'm 34, so I'm not so old that I need up to date guidance from someone The Economist magazine named one of the "minds of the moment", (yeah, a moment, kind of like 15 minutes of fame) and at age 16, I could have wrote and thought something as compelling about a politician as this quote he wrote about Joe Lieberman ; "willing to cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in order to settle an old electoral score".
I must be getting old, because the political and worldly wisdom from these recent college grads just ain't gonna grab my attention. I'm just sick of reading his stupid name "Ezra" over and over again. That's how it goes sometimes; somebody's name simply annoys you, and then you read the critique of this overpaid "journalists" blog, and you "Learn That Life Is One Crushing Defeat After Another Until You Just Wish Flanders Was Dead."
I'm sorry, but why do we keep listening to 24 year old Ezra Klein. His writing gives away his age, I hadn't even heard of him until last month when he came up with some ingenious idea of killing the fillibuster (gee, I never heard that one before). Why conservative blogs quote him, and why the Washington Post would give someone with 24 years of life experience a blog and a pay check is beyond me.
I'm sorry, I mean I'm 34, so I'm not so old that I need up to date guidance from someone The Economist magazine named one of the "minds of the moment", (yeah, a moment, kind of like 15 minutes of fame) and at age 16, I could have wrote and thought something as compelling about a politician as this quote he wrote about Joe Lieberman ; "willing to cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in order to settle an old electoral score".
I must be getting old, because the political and worldly wisdom from these recent college grads just ain't gonna grab my attention. I'm just sick of reading his stupid name "Ezra" over and over again. That's how it goes sometimes; somebody's name simply annoys you, and then you read the critique of this overpaid "journalists" blog, and you "Learn That Life Is One Crushing Defeat After Another Until You Just Wish Flanders Was Dead."
Christmas Vacation is Over
It was nice to relax over the holidays and breath a sigh of relief that Washington D.C. was for the moment, uninhabited by Freedom’s Plague found in the halls of Congress. Yes, it was a time to relish in the fact that if only for a few weeks, the weak parasites who needed to retreat to their resorts were gone for a time, and the rest of us could stop supervising the insubordinates and fully enjoy life with our families and put worry aside.
Today, is January 5, 2010, and that nice time is over. Concession needs to be over as well. It seems that too many fighting Americans actually think that the Health Care bill is Law, likely the result of a deaf and dumb Republican Party too camera shy and busy soaking up sun in some far away land to spread the word. However, the bill is not law, not at least until Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and various Obama advisors huddle in a lair somewhere and hash out a final bill comprised of the Senate and House bills, readying it for one last vote in the House and Senate. You won’t be able to see into the huddle, but the quarterback, or maybe the center, is likely to be Ezekiel Emmanuel, the quack doctor, who wrote one opinion piece after another, favoring rationing health care so that Americans could compete with the rest of the world in dollars spent on vacations. These opinion pieces were published regularly in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Yes, the American Medical Association (AMA); a dying organization made up of the last remnants of doctors too lazy to cure and discover cures; instead focused on easier ways to do harm. One easier way is to just get published ad nauseum in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); even easier when your wife/ ex-wife holds a staff position at the AMA.
I’ve concluded that, Zeke has had an in at the AMA for years, and latched on to public healthcare policy ever since. Based on the Northwestern University Kellogg Staff webpage, “…Dr. Linda Emanuel was Vice President of Ethics Standards and Head of the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association. Dr. Emanuel moved to Chicago to create the Institute for Ethics at the AMA and to expand Ethics Standards.” My research shows the Emanuel’s are no longer married, but a quick google search will pull up articles co-written by the duo. You don’t see medical journal articles written by either of the two with titles like, “Accuracy and dimensional stability of extended-pour and conventional alginate impression materials”, you will instead see articles with titles like, “Who really pays for health care?” “The myth of "shared responsibility"”. “The cost-coverage trade-off: "it's health care costs, stupid"”, “What cannot be said on television about health care”, “Changing pre-med requirements and the medical curriculum.”, “Quantifying the federal minimal risk standard: implications for pediatric research without a prospect of direct benefit.”, “The perfect storm of overutilization.” None of these focus on treatment or science, simply policy, simply spreading the healthcare around, simply rationalizing rationing. The Editors of the Journal and the American Medical Association have looked the other, while the editorial page has become filled with article after article on how to avoid provided medical care. Obama and his large staff includes Dr. Emanuel and the fate of U.S. health care is at the mercy of such people and a derelict Congress.
Folks, this is it. If you would like, in 10 years, to still recognize the health care you grew up with (doctor appointments, reassuring nurses, stethoscopes, good beside manners); the time to act is now. Get on the horn to your U.S. Representative and Senator and let them know what you think. Organize protests in front of your U.S. Reps. offices; it isn’t hard to do. And to my fellow Chicagoans; wake up and realize that you have forced an entire state and now the nation, to endure the rule of a monarchy of many for the past 50 years, due to constantly taking the voting path of least resistance. To you Chicago Catholics; realize this one thing; abortion is against the teachings of your Church; a teaching which covers life and death and may I say, first heartbeat of the Will of God. If your faith means any more to you than a source for social outings and happy thoughts, now is the time to say so. Many of us have been in this battle for years and we could use reinforcements. Many of us have lived outside of the realm of patronage, nepotism, and politics as usual and still have a Chicago address. This is it, dress warm and get out there and tell your representatives what you would have them do.
Today, is January 5, 2010, and that nice time is over. Concession needs to be over as well. It seems that too many fighting Americans actually think that the Health Care bill is Law, likely the result of a deaf and dumb Republican Party too camera shy and busy soaking up sun in some far away land to spread the word. However, the bill is not law, not at least until Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and various Obama advisors huddle in a lair somewhere and hash out a final bill comprised of the Senate and House bills, readying it for one last vote in the House and Senate. You won’t be able to see into the huddle, but the quarterback, or maybe the center, is likely to be Ezekiel Emmanuel, the quack doctor, who wrote one opinion piece after another, favoring rationing health care so that Americans could compete with the rest of the world in dollars spent on vacations. These opinion pieces were published regularly in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Yes, the American Medical Association (AMA); a dying organization made up of the last remnants of doctors too lazy to cure and discover cures; instead focused on easier ways to do harm. One easier way is to just get published ad nauseum in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); even easier when your wife/ ex-wife holds a staff position at the AMA.
I’ve concluded that, Zeke has had an in at the AMA for years, and latched on to public healthcare policy ever since. Based on the Northwestern University Kellogg Staff webpage, “…Dr. Linda Emanuel was Vice President of Ethics Standards and Head of the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association. Dr. Emanuel moved to Chicago to create the Institute for Ethics at the AMA and to expand Ethics Standards.” My research shows the Emanuel’s are no longer married, but a quick google search will pull up articles co-written by the duo. You don’t see medical journal articles written by either of the two with titles like, “Accuracy and dimensional stability of extended-pour and conventional alginate impression materials”, you will instead see articles with titles like, “Who really pays for health care?” “The myth of "shared responsibility"”. “The cost-coverage trade-off: "it's health care costs, stupid"”, “What cannot be said on television about health care”, “Changing pre-med requirements and the medical curriculum.”, “Quantifying the federal minimal risk standard: implications for pediatric research without a prospect of direct benefit.”, “The perfect storm of overutilization.” None of these focus on treatment or science, simply policy, simply spreading the healthcare around, simply rationalizing rationing. The Editors of the Journal and the American Medical Association have looked the other, while the editorial page has become filled with article after article on how to avoid provided medical care. Obama and his large staff includes Dr. Emanuel and the fate of U.S. health care is at the mercy of such people and a derelict Congress.
Folks, this is it. If you would like, in 10 years, to still recognize the health care you grew up with (doctor appointments, reassuring nurses, stethoscopes, good beside manners); the time to act is now. Get on the horn to your U.S. Representative and Senator and let them know what you think. Organize protests in front of your U.S. Reps. offices; it isn’t hard to do. And to my fellow Chicagoans; wake up and realize that you have forced an entire state and now the nation, to endure the rule of a monarchy of many for the past 50 years, due to constantly taking the voting path of least resistance. To you Chicago Catholics; realize this one thing; abortion is against the teachings of your Church; a teaching which covers life and death and may I say, first heartbeat of the Will of God. If your faith means any more to you than a source for social outings and happy thoughts, now is the time to say so. Many of us have been in this battle for years and we could use reinforcements. Many of us have lived outside of the realm of patronage, nepotism, and politics as usual and still have a Chicago address. This is it, dress warm and get out there and tell your representatives what you would have them do.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Natural Disaster Talking Points
A day or two following the failed terrorist attack to blow up an airliner above the city of Detroit, the Secretary of Homeland Security assured us that the “system worked.” Unfortunately, for Janet Napolitano; she must have read from an adaptation of a scripted response taken from under the shelf labeled “Hurricane Press Conference”. With a few strikethroughs and text replacements; I’ve put the text back to its original form, ready once again for safe keeping in the hurricane section of shelves in Janet’s office.
NAPOLITANO: "What we are focused on is making sure that theair environment remains safe, that people are confident when they travel. And one thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked. Everybody played an important role here. The passengers residents and crew first responders of the flight in the affected area took appropriate action.
Within literally 90 minutes of theincident disaster occurring, all 128 flights in the air law enforcement and first responders had been notified to take some special measures in light of what had occurred on the affected areas. Northwest Airlines flight. We instituted new measures on the ground and at screening areas shelters, both here in the United States and in Europe, where this flight storm hit originated. So the whole process of making sure that we respond properly, correctly and effectively went very smoothly."
What Napolitano did say is all the words in black text and all the words in red with strikes. As you can plainly see, this would be a fine response for a natural disaster, but it doesn’t quite cut it for one of Napolitano’s coined phrase “man-made disasters”. There is a big difference between natural disasters and man-made disasters; Al Gore’s sermons aside. Unfortunately, there is little that the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security can do to avoid the oncoming hurricane on its way from Africa to the United States Gulf Coast. After taking the hit of the high winds and torrential rains, DHS can spur into action and receive applause after a press conference such as the one above. The storm of terrorism from Africa to the U.S. has a guarded gate that it must enter, if it can even get to that gate. It made it to and through the gate and the last line of defense; the fellow traveler stopped the storm dead in its tracks, just as the winds, landmass, and ocean current may happen to weaken and move a raging storm away from the well-populated area.
By now, as even Ms. Napolitano has conceded, it is agreed that the system that is supposed to be the first line of defense, did not work. We should have multiple first lines of defense here, made up of redundancies, shared data, and fast moving data. The last line of defense, needs to be the airport security screening and if necessary the terminal gate, and this is just airplane security.
Yes, natural disasters and man-made disasters derive from very different elements. We have in charge, many who don’t seem to realize a difference between the two. A former vice-president seems to see the two as synonymous, yet still I would advise trying to get a handle on keeping the man-made disaster in check as a starting point, before enacting so many ridiculous proposed measures in an effort to keep man from causing heavy winds and rain.
NAPOLITANO: "What we are focused on is making sure that the
Within literally 90 minutes of the
What Napolitano did say is all the words in black text and all the words in red with strikes. As you can plainly see, this would be a fine response for a natural disaster, but it doesn’t quite cut it for one of Napolitano’s coined phrase “man-made disasters”. There is a big difference between natural disasters and man-made disasters; Al Gore’s sermons aside. Unfortunately, there is little that the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security can do to avoid the oncoming hurricane on its way from Africa to the United States Gulf Coast. After taking the hit of the high winds and torrential rains, DHS can spur into action and receive applause after a press conference such as the one above. The storm of terrorism from Africa to the U.S. has a guarded gate that it must enter, if it can even get to that gate. It made it to and through the gate and the last line of defense; the fellow traveler stopped the storm dead in its tracks, just as the winds, landmass, and ocean current may happen to weaken and move a raging storm away from the well-populated area.
By now, as even Ms. Napolitano has conceded, it is agreed that the system that is supposed to be the first line of defense, did not work. We should have multiple first lines of defense here, made up of redundancies, shared data, and fast moving data. The last line of defense, needs to be the airport security screening and if necessary the terminal gate, and this is just airplane security.
Yes, natural disasters and man-made disasters derive from very different elements. We have in charge, many who don’t seem to realize a difference between the two. A former vice-president seems to see the two as synonymous, yet still I would advise trying to get a handle on keeping the man-made disaster in check as a starting point, before enacting so many ridiculous proposed measures in an effort to keep man from causing heavy winds and rain.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Convention Time
I just saw this link. The National Tea Party Convention will be held in February at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Keynote Speaker will be............Sarah Palin!
Windy City Obamacare Update
Looking over my recent posts, I guess I should update my post from December 18th
As it turns out, I was seriously off target on Ben Nelson. Guided by hope, I actually wrote "Defender of the Unborn" and "Ben Nelson" in the same sentence, but it will now take a complete about face by Nelson, to ever get me to repeat such a sentence. As it turns out, on the night of my December 18th post, Ben Nelson met in Harry Reid's office with the likes of Barbara Boxer and Chuck Schumer to help him shed his pro-life credentials. One account tells how it was Schumer and others who thought a compromise was hopeless, until Ben stepped in it, and mentioned crafting some state opt-in/ opt-out gibberish, giving Reid, Schumer, and Boxer, and daylight they needed to force the legislation onto the American people.
Nelson's first mistake was entering a room with Barbara Boxer to have a dialogue about abortion. It sounds like "Notre Dame- The Sequel"; the most renowned Catholic University which shed part of its own pro-life strength by inviting the pro-abortion President over for an honorary degree and commencement speech. Nelson made it pathetically easy on Reid by allowing the pro-abortion, Viagra spokeswoman into the room, and for what? What good for his pro-life cause did Nelson possibly think could be done by having mega-feminist Boxer in the room.
Obamacare has a few hurdles yet, before it becomes law, but unless Nelson changes his vote next time the Senate seeks approval of the reconciled House/ Senate version, it appears he may be the un-electable Ben Nelson, lobbyist to be.
As it turns out, I was seriously off target on Ben Nelson. Guided by hope, I actually wrote "Defender of the Unborn" and "Ben Nelson" in the same sentence, but it will now take a complete about face by Nelson, to ever get me to repeat such a sentence. As it turns out, on the night of my December 18th post, Ben Nelson met in Harry Reid's office with the likes of Barbara Boxer and Chuck Schumer to help him shed his pro-life credentials. One account tells how it was Schumer and others who thought a compromise was hopeless, until Ben stepped in it, and mentioned crafting some state opt-in/ opt-out gibberish, giving Reid, Schumer, and Boxer, and daylight they needed to force the legislation onto the American people.
Nelson's first mistake was entering a room with Barbara Boxer to have a dialogue about abortion. It sounds like "Notre Dame- The Sequel"; the most renowned Catholic University which shed part of its own pro-life strength by inviting the pro-abortion President over for an honorary degree and commencement speech. Nelson made it pathetically easy on Reid by allowing the pro-abortion, Viagra spokeswoman into the room, and for what? What good for his pro-life cause did Nelson possibly think could be done by having mega-feminist Boxer in the room.
Obamacare has a few hurdles yet, before it becomes law, but unless Nelson changes his vote next time the Senate seeks approval of the reconciled House/ Senate version, it appears he may be the un-electable Ben Nelson, lobbyist to be.
Axelrod and Rahm- Once "Blame Bush" Takes its Last Breath, These Two Clowns are Done
The country's greatest political arm twisters, David Axelrod and Rahm Emmanuel appear to be at peak performance these days. Unfortunately for them, once the past is no longer believed to be the cause of present and future problems, these hacks are toast.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A Sort of New Christmas
This Christmas Day was a bit different than all others. For the first time since her being born, I did not see my sister on Christmas Day. She spent her first Christmas morning with her first child, Seamus, and husband Kevin, and then went to Kevin's family party. We'll all get together tomorrow and open gifts and have brunch. It was nice to be able to sleep in on Christmas morning after a late night going to midnight mass. This is probably the first Christmas in my life that I didn't get up early and open gifts. I gladly slept until 11 AM, and sometime earlier in the morning, my mom gave me the gift of throwing a couple more blankets on me, as I slept on the basement couch. I found a big bin of my baseball cards too, and looked through some of them.
At Noon we went to my Grandma's House. This year we were missing a few of my cousins as well as my sister and brother-in-law. Instead of about 30 people at Grandmas, we had around 20. My little cousins (my aunt and uncle's 5 kids) were there which really helped fill the place a little more, and they are so enjoyable to have around. My little god-daughter who is a year and half seems to become a character when she's tired and having fun. She kept moving a small, one foot high stool to sit on in front of me, on the couch. This same stool my Grandpa used to rest his head on when he laid on the floor and watched TV, before he died over 20 years ago. She sat on the stool to watch the older kids watch my brother and cousins play Super Mario Brothers. Her older brother who is 4 asked why my eldest uncle was still asleep in the recliner chair, and someone suggested waking him up. When a few taps didn't work, my cousin went to get his kiddie saxophone and he blew some forte notes in front on my uncle. I'm sure it is impossible to go into a deep sleep there on Holidays; I've tried.
So, it was a Christmas that was different but quite the same. Very nice all around, and another reason to appreciate God's great gift of family and children.
At Noon we went to my Grandma's House. This year we were missing a few of my cousins as well as my sister and brother-in-law. Instead of about 30 people at Grandmas, we had around 20. My little cousins (my aunt and uncle's 5 kids) were there which really helped fill the place a little more, and they are so enjoyable to have around. My little god-daughter who is a year and half seems to become a character when she's tired and having fun. She kept moving a small, one foot high stool to sit on in front of me, on the couch. This same stool my Grandpa used to rest his head on when he laid on the floor and watched TV, before he died over 20 years ago. She sat on the stool to watch the older kids watch my brother and cousins play Super Mario Brothers. Her older brother who is 4 asked why my eldest uncle was still asleep in the recliner chair, and someone suggested waking him up. When a few taps didn't work, my cousin went to get his kiddie saxophone and he blew some forte notes in front on my uncle. I'm sure it is impossible to go into a deep sleep there on Holidays; I've tried.
So, it was a Christmas that was different but quite the same. Very nice all around, and another reason to appreciate God's great gift of family and children.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Time for Obamacare to Go on Christmas Break
Not many are happy with it. Most Americans want to keep things the way they are rather than pass it. The time has come for Obamacare to go on Christmas vacation and for Senators to head back to their home states and face the music. I lift my glass of eggnog and say, "Here's to Ben Nelson the Defender of the Unborn, Jim Webb the Silent, and Joe Lieberman the Ointment's Fly." Of these three I pray that Ben Nelson stays worthy of his above title.
Here is a good Ann Coulter article with a nice change of pace with its little less bite than usual; it's pretty right on.
Coulter
Here is a good Ann Coulter article with a nice change of pace with its little less bite than usual; it's pretty right on.
Coulter
Monday, December 14, 2009
McCain Consols Lieberman
Yet another reason why I find John McCain an iron free, wet noodle of a Conservative, and a hindrance to the battles against liberalism. In the National Review Online post below. We get to read about McCain's pep talk to Joe Lieberman, in the middle of a battle. For now, Joe is arguing strategy with his Democrat allies. He wants to retreat on the Obamacare Bill, and he is catching hell from liberals bent on Obamacare passing at any cost. A few bloggers are passing around a petition to lobby the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to fire Joe's wife, because Joe is holding out on voting for Obamacare. McCain's defense of Joe is mealy mouthed as are most of the words that leave his mouth whenever he is not throwing a temper tantrum. It is nice that he defends his friend is so many ways, but at the end he fails to overcome the great unreliability that any careful observer could pin on McCain. He says at the very end; “I only talk to him in the way that a friend talks to a friend,” says McCain. “I tell him that I know whatever he does, it will be the right thing.”
Hey Johnny, what if he votes for the current bill, IS THAT THE RIGHT THING? What a dunce you are Johnny; is it too early or cruel to use the word senile. Mr. McCain, you are not Joe's parent telling a high school aged Joe that if he chooses to play baseball or run track this Spring, either way he'll stay in shape. This is a decision between either voting FOR a huge liberty destroying bill, or voting AGAINST a huge
liberty destroying bill. There is a right and a wrong to this John, believe it or not. Meanwhile, as is usually my advice, why don't you keep your mouth shut. Like the Good Lord once said, "say yes when you mean yes, and no when you mean no". McCain's been trying to say yes and no to the same questions over and over, and the act is getting old.
Hey Johnny, what if he votes for the current bill, IS THAT THE RIGHT THING? What a dunce you are Johnny; is it too early or cruel to use the word senile. Mr. McCain, you are not Joe's parent telling a high school aged Joe that if he chooses to play baseball or run track this Spring, either way he'll stay in shape. This is a decision between either voting FOR a huge liberty destroying bill, or voting AGAINST a huge
liberty destroying bill. There is a right and a wrong to this John, believe it or not. Meanwhile, as is usually my advice, why don't you keep your mouth shut. Like the Good Lord once said, "say yes when you mean yes, and no when you mean no". McCain's been trying to say yes and no to the same questions over and over, and the act is getting old.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Human Perfection by the Dictate of Humans
"We are called to be Saints". So said St. Paul in his letter to the Romans. This is a call from God and He alone. Today the world of non-believers received a call of perfection from President Obama.
Obama: “But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected.”
Who will bless one who partakes in this pursuit?
As Victor Davis Hanson writes today:
"That thought of the perfectibility of the human condition, in lieu of deterrence and military preparedness, throughout history has gotten millions killed. The human condition can be improved, but only by acknowledgment of the lethal propensities of some — and by readiness to prevent those propensities’ becoming manifest. Most of the great wars of the 20th century were fought against those who were convinced that “the human condition can be perfected.”
Obama must not take much credence in the Book of Revelations. Apparently, he thinks the story ends with a U.S. President spreading misery equally, closing the gates of Earth from Heavenly intervention, while sent to us is this U.S. President created by God to rule over all on the Earth. God sent his only Son so that all who believe in him will have eternal life. God wouldn't send us Obama to neutralize souls as they await death. Not after Jesus set our souls on fire. All non-believers still have a choice; do you wish to follow the examples of Obama or Jesus.
Obama: “But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected.”
Who will bless one who partakes in this pursuit?
As Victor Davis Hanson writes today:
"That thought of the perfectibility of the human condition, in lieu of deterrence and military preparedness, throughout history has gotten millions killed. The human condition can be improved, but only by acknowledgment of the lethal propensities of some — and by readiness to prevent those propensities’ becoming manifest. Most of the great wars of the 20th century were fought against those who were convinced that “the human condition can be perfected.”
Obama must not take much credence in the Book of Revelations. Apparently, he thinks the story ends with a U.S. President spreading misery equally, closing the gates of Earth from Heavenly intervention, while sent to us is this U.S. President created by God to rule over all on the Earth. God sent his only Son so that all who believe in him will have eternal life. God wouldn't send us Obama to neutralize souls as they await death. Not after Jesus set our souls on fire. All non-believers still have a choice; do you wish to follow the examples of Obama or Jesus.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Minority Party is Supposed to be "The Party of No".
Americans chose Democrats to lead the nation. Whether they meant to or not, they forgot to elect enough Republicans to get any legislation written by Republicans passed. As they say, "Elections have consequences". The ONLY purpose the Republicans can now serve is to COMMUNICATE what is wrong with Democrat proposals, and explain what they would do differently, if there were enough of them in office. After that, all they can do is say NO, and use parliamentary tactics and whatever means the Founding Fathers put into place to slow down tyranny. They need to do this to buy time until the next election when more Republicans can be elected to do whatever it is voters elect them to do.
I'm not paid to think this or write this, but someone is making big Republican money to not think this or write this. My predication: If Obamacare passes, Republicans go the way of the Whigs. Bye bye country club members; inherited wealth, nepotism, name recognition, and the fact that you were a POW 35 years ago, ain't gonna cut it anymore. You will prove how useless and unthinking you really are, and that you were the great enablers of the death of our freedoms.
I'm not paid to think this or write this, but someone is making big Republican money to not think this or write this. My predication: If Obamacare passes, Republicans go the way of the Whigs. Bye bye country club members; inherited wealth, nepotism, name recognition, and the fact that you were a POW 35 years ago, ain't gonna cut it anymore. You will prove how useless and unthinking you really are, and that you were the great enablers of the death of our freedoms.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Led by the Godless UPDATE: Usurped by the Kennedys
Today, we are truly under the whim of godless government employees and politicians. The current attempts to takeover health care and regulate carbon dioxide emissions are two huge symptoms of the world's greatest disease: Godlessness. No matter what a politician or government employee may tell you about their religious faith, it is clear that the majority believe there is no God, once you look past their act of enduring God, while putting up their patronizing facade at so many Protestant Churches throughout America. Prostestantism seems to be the world's stage for corrupt politicians to spread their lies with a false cover of religion. Being that the Eucharist is nowhere in sight, they can do this fearlessly. You do not see a politician give a speech during a Catholic Mass, do you? If these government leaders were truly people who followed God, events would be nowhere near where they are.
If you are godless you may believe that only you and cooperative others can save mankind and future generations. (The Global Warming hoax wouldn't exist without such godless figures and fellow believers of man made global warming.) Only if you believe there is no God who created you, can you believe that the fires you light for warmth and the breath you exhale could harm the world that God created. You may only believe that your origins were begotten from exploding gasses and stars or simply a tadpole, and now your mere existence is turning your habitat to ruin. Being godless you would believe your fellow Godless neighbors could only produce and invent things that ultimately prove to be evil. Somehow even though you are godless, you do believe evil exists, but only in humans who don't agree with you; you being the God you've appointed yourself to be; since there really is no higher being, or so you believe. So, since you were elected to a position in government, or appointed by one who is elected, or hired by the appointed, your the tops; it's up to you. However, unfortunately for you and the rest of us, you are very limited in your ability, but you might be able to write and enforce laws to enslave the rest of us to make up for your shortcomings.
There are only so many doctors out there, and there is only so much room on the computer screen for commas and decimal points which notate fictional dollar amounts, so now you feel it is time to take control over it; afterall who else could do such a thing. You were elected to a high office, or appointed by the elected person, or hired by the apointee, so you're it. You're the one. The length of your arm is as long as any arm. Unfortunately for you and for the rest of us, you really don't know too much about how healthcare in the U.S. came to advance as it has, but you think everyone should have the same chance at acquiring it, so whoever the doctors, insurers, researchers, etc. are, you want them to change to your liking and be compensated to the amount that you think is fair. Whatever their shortcomings are, and become after you force them to change, you will make up for by collecting many more taxes and forcing others to buy the insurance product that you don't know how to produce. Your the tops, and you think people in this country spend too much on health care and it embarrases you because in other countries people don't spend so much on health care and because they do so in your country, you get all embarrassed around all the other "tops".
The other thing about healthcare is that you can't perform miracles, and there is no being in the universe that can, so once someone reaches what you deem to be an irreversible condition, you're done paying for them, that's it, their time to bask in your glory is over.
And one more thing. Since their is no God, in your mind, the average man or woman on the street is severely limited, and also corrupt and evil. They can be no way influenced by some sort of wonderful counselor, and they were never elected to any position, or appointed by someone elected, or hired by someone appointed, so they could never produce anything worthwhile for other humans or even themselves, so it is up to you to provide for them. The way to do this is to take away from those few less than human, producers who have scourged the earth and stole everything. You never told them they could do anything for themselves, or donate time and money to anyone, so who do they think they are; hand it over you wasteful theives. Who better than you to decide who to help? After all, you are the tops, and you are known by your fruits.
UPDATE: Politicians often receive an open forum from Protestant churches as mentioned above, but being that they are unable to grab the microphone at Catholic Mass, Cafeteria Catholic Politicians write OP-Eds to criticize bishops on Magesterial Church Teachings. Who better to continue to do this, then members of the Kennedy family. Oh, if only Lee Harvey Oswald hadn't pulled the trigger, the Kennedy fascinations could have run their natural course and ended 30 years ago. Instead, today we all continue to suffer from America's greatest farcical family legacy.
If you are godless you may believe that only you and cooperative others can save mankind and future generations. (The Global Warming hoax wouldn't exist without such godless figures and fellow believers of man made global warming.) Only if you believe there is no God who created you, can you believe that the fires you light for warmth and the breath you exhale could harm the world that God created. You may only believe that your origins were begotten from exploding gasses and stars or simply a tadpole, and now your mere existence is turning your habitat to ruin. Being godless you would believe your fellow Godless neighbors could only produce and invent things that ultimately prove to be evil. Somehow even though you are godless, you do believe evil exists, but only in humans who don't agree with you; you being the God you've appointed yourself to be; since there really is no higher being, or so you believe. So, since you were elected to a position in government, or appointed by one who is elected, or hired by the appointed, your the tops; it's up to you. However, unfortunately for you and the rest of us, you are very limited in your ability, but you might be able to write and enforce laws to enslave the rest of us to make up for your shortcomings.
There are only so many doctors out there, and there is only so much room on the computer screen for commas and decimal points which notate fictional dollar amounts, so now you feel it is time to take control over it; afterall who else could do such a thing. You were elected to a high office, or appointed by the elected person, or hired by the apointee, so you're it. You're the one. The length of your arm is as long as any arm. Unfortunately for you and for the rest of us, you really don't know too much about how healthcare in the U.S. came to advance as it has, but you think everyone should have the same chance at acquiring it, so whoever the doctors, insurers, researchers, etc. are, you want them to change to your liking and be compensated to the amount that you think is fair. Whatever their shortcomings are, and become after you force them to change, you will make up for by collecting many more taxes and forcing others to buy the insurance product that you don't know how to produce. Your the tops, and you think people in this country spend too much on health care and it embarrases you because in other countries people don't spend so much on health care and because they do so in your country, you get all embarrassed around all the other "tops".
The other thing about healthcare is that you can't perform miracles, and there is no being in the universe that can, so once someone reaches what you deem to be an irreversible condition, you're done paying for them, that's it, their time to bask in your glory is over.
And one more thing. Since their is no God, in your mind, the average man or woman on the street is severely limited, and also corrupt and evil. They can be no way influenced by some sort of wonderful counselor, and they were never elected to any position, or appointed by someone elected, or hired by someone appointed, so they could never produce anything worthwhile for other humans or even themselves, so it is up to you to provide for them. The way to do this is to take away from those few less than human, producers who have scourged the earth and stole everything. You never told them they could do anything for themselves, or donate time and money to anyone, so who do they think they are; hand it over you wasteful theives. Who better than you to decide who to help? After all, you are the tops, and you are known by your fruits.
UPDATE: Politicians often receive an open forum from Protestant churches as mentioned above, but being that they are unable to grab the microphone at Catholic Mass, Cafeteria Catholic Politicians write OP-Eds to criticize bishops on Magesterial Church Teachings. Who better to continue to do this, then members of the Kennedy family. Oh, if only Lee Harvey Oswald hadn't pulled the trigger, the Kennedy fascinations could have run their natural course and ended 30 years ago. Instead, today we all continue to suffer from America's greatest farcical family legacy.
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