Month: June 2009

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Excerpt From the Declaration…

“…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. ..–Declaration of Independence

Are we there yet?

Look at Honduras…they didn’t put up with it from their president.  And look at the people striking for freedom in Iran.  Examples for us?

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Personal Responsibility…

I’m going to break my anonymity.

I used to belong to Al-Anon.  It doesn’t really matter why I was there; let’s just say I was perfectly qualified to be there…and that’s a good thing.  The reason I’m telling you this is because at the end of every meeting after the prayer was said…we always said in unison, “It works if you work it”.   Al-Anon has spiritual principles, the same ones as AA does.   A few of these are taking responsibility, admitting your own inability, taking your own moral inventory and not someone else’s, asking forgiveness, seeking wisdom in relationship with God, etc. The principles work, if you work them.  And they will work for anyone, no matter their station in life.  The Bible has principles that work…if you work them.  It doesn’t just land on you.

I think the principles our country was founded on, freedom of the individual, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, free enterprise, the laws of the Constitution, also work and always have, but they require something, just like the Al-Anon program.  The principles are like a road map, showing you the way to get somewhere.  But you won’t get there if you just sit staring at the road map…you have to get in the car and go where the map says to go. You have to do something.

I look at the quote on my sidebar by John Adams about the Constitution,

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.—-John Adams, and I wonder why it (the Constitution) is not working.  I think I know the answer…because no one in authority who is supposed to, is working it. They are not consulting the principles, the roadmap, or whatever one chooses to call it.  They are not consulting the law and following it.  They are doing what they want to do. According to John Adams, only a moral and religious people could live under our Constitution because they would be the only ones who could uphold it.  Those who wish to throw off restraint, those who do not care to live by principles cannot live by the Constitution.  That is why we are seeing so much corruption, so much breaking of the laws of the land going on in our government.  Those who are lawless cannot live by the law. They are morally corrupt.

For instance, Senator Robert Byrd has written a letter to the president that his appointment of all of the czars who are allowed to bypass Congress and who are accountable to no one but the president is unconstitutional.  Our president claims to be a scholar of the Constitution.  Do we really believe he doesn’t know this?   His recent firing of an independent Inspector General in violation of the law which he himself as a senator had supported is another instance of lawlessness. I could go on, but I won’t.

So for all of you out there who are waiting and looking for someone to come rescue YOU from some consequence of your dumb choices, for those of you who think government is the answer to all of your problems, I feel profoundly sorry for you, for you live in a make-believe world with the mindset of the looters and the haters of Atlas Shrugged.  You have traded in your power as a human being to succeed with all of the talents and abilities that God has given you.  You now support the looting and demoralizing of the people who work and think and use their abilities to make their own lives (and yours too) better.  (In AA, it’s called taking the easier, softer way.) And to those who might still be attempting to “save” the aforementioned ones, I say, “Get out of the way and let them fail” because once they fail, they as well as all of us have a chance to keep our country the land of the free.  In Al-Anon and AA we called that “hitting bottom”.  And once a person hits bottom, the only way left is up.  I say let it come.

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Common Sense Idea

The House of Representatives passed the cap and tax bill 219-212 tonight.  I’m wondering how much pork was in the bill to troll for votes.  I did read that ethanol got “special protection” so that farm district reps in Minnesota would go for it.  Fortunately, my rep voted against it, so I guess he gets to stay in office.  44 Democrats voted against it, and 8 Republicans voted for it.

This bill in its current form (it now has to go to the Senate) would damage our economy even more, would eliminate more jobs than it can possibly create, and is going to raise the cost of energy from $3000 to $12,000 per year per household, according to CBO (Congressional Budge Office) estimates. I’m not looking forward to paying more for heating and cooling.  And it’s based on a lie, a hoax.

I have a great idea… how about if we all buy copies of Glenn’s Common Sense book and mail them to our reps and sens?  It would be like… kind of a message, don’t ya’ think?

Update:  I heard that Obama’s estimate of how much energy costs would go up for most people is approximately the cost of a postage stamp per week for most people.  That really doesn’t seem to match his pre-election statement about causing the cost of electricity to “skyrocket” which is the word he used in this context.  The administration is on record as disagreeing with the CBO’s estimates.  I suppose the point is, how much of his rhetoric can we believe?

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Out of Iran…

Let’s all thank God today that our government isn’t beating and killing us with clubs and axes.  Now that Gov. Sanford has sinned, Farrah and Michael have died, Obama has cap and trade and health care issues to pass NOW, there probably won’t be much news on what is happening in Iran, besides the fact that journalists are either kicked out or locked up in that country.  The twitterers and bloggers are all that is left and that’s IF anyone can get internet. I hear satellite dishes are illegal and being confiscated by militia.

Lest we forget….

Tweets from a twitterer whom I shall not name who hasn’t been heard from since June 24th and no longer has a presence on Twitter with that name:

thank you ppls 4 supporting Sea of Green – pls remember always our martyrs – Allah Akbar – Allah Akbar – Allah Akbar #Iranelection8:06 PM Jun 24th from web

we must go – dont know when we can get internet – they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names – now we must move fast – #Iranelection8:04 PM Jun 24th from web

Everybody is under arrest & cant move – Mousavi – Karroubi even rumour Khatami is in house guard – #Iranelection –7:58 PM Jun 24th from web

they pull away the dead into trucks – like factory – no human can do this – we beg Allah for save us – #Iranelection7:53 PM Jun 24th from web

alezar Sq is same as Baharestan – unbelevable – ppls murdered everywhere – #Iranelection7:49 PM Jun 24th from web

they catch ppl with mobile – so many killed today – so many injured – Allah Akbar – they take one of us – #Iranelection7:48 PM Jun 24th from web

in Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat – blood everywhere – like butcher – Allah Akbar – #Iranelection RT RT RT7:46 PM Jun 24th from web

rumour they are tracking high use of phone lines to find internet users – must move from here now – #Iranelection7:39 PM Jun 24th from web

phone line was cut and we lost internet – #Iranelection – getting more difficult to log into net – #Iranelection7:35 PM Jun 24th from web

all shops was closed – nowhere to go – they follow ppls with helicopters – smoke and fire is everywhere #Iranelection6:33 PM Jun 24th from web

ppl run into alleys and militia standing there waiting – from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys #Iranelection6:31 PM Jun 24th from web

so many ppl arrested – young & old – they take ppl away – #Iranelection – we lose our group6:29 PM Jun 24th from web

saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground – she had no defense nothing – #Iranelection sure that she is dead6:25 PM Jun 24th from web

they were waiting for us – they all have guns and riot uniforms – it was like a mouse trap – ppl being shot like animals #Iranelection6:23 PM Jun 24th from web

see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads – blood everywhere – pepper gas like war – #Iranelection6:05 PM Jun 24th from web

just in from Baharestan Sq – situation today is terrible – they beat the ppls like animals – #Iranelection RT RT RT6:04 PM Jun 24th from web

MOUSAVi – on his wesite – Wed Sea of Green is 100% confirmed – no cancellation will be made #Iranelection RT RT RT1:42 AM Jun 24th from web

Wednesday 4pm Baharestan Sq, Tehran – Sea of Green – #Iranelection RT RT RT – Mir Hossein Mousavi1:40 AM Jun 24th from web

Mousavi has stated ‘If I am arrested or killed – strike until the Gov falls’ – #Iranelection1:38 AM Jun 24th from web

Kayhan – Iranian Gov newspaper – has tonight called forthe arrest of Mousavi – #Iranelection RT RT RT1:30 AM Jun 24th from web

all hospitals is surrounded by militia to check why ppl going in – if gun or baton injury – they arrest and beat u #Iranelection10:52 PM Jun 23rd from web

all foreign embassys surrounded by militia to stop ppl going in – #Iranelection10:49 PM Jun 23rd from web

The parks in north of city are closed at night and militia attacking any ppl in park or walking in streets – #Iranelection10:48 PM Jun 23rd from web

there is militia controlling movement from downtown to north of Tehran to stop ppl joining Sea of Green – #Iranelection10:43 PM Jun 23rd from web

the ppl have lost all faith in this Gov – Iran can never be same as b4 again – #Iranelection10:39 PM Jun 23rd from web

all normal life in Iran has stopped – now everybody only talk about Sea of Green and rumours of how Khamenei will go – #Iranelection10:38 PM Jun 23rd from web

everywhere is road blocks and fires and sometime u hear guns shooting – #Iranelection10:32 PM Jun 23rd from web

It is just like living under martial law – u cannot go anywhere without being stoped or beaten by militia – #Iranelection10:31 PM Jun 23rd from web

the city is full of Baseej and Revolutionary Guards and plain closthes militia carrying baton and tear gas – #Iranelection10:30 PM Jun 23rd from web

Well…you get the picture….

There are reports of arrests of  entire Iranian newspaper staffs, reports of families being charged $5000-$14,000 to receive the bodies of their loved ones, 40 journalists arrested in the past 2 days.  “No mosques are allowed to hold funerals.” ” Doctors are being forced to write “death in operating room” as cause of death for recent martyrs.”(unconfirmed reports that some are refusing)  “GC speaker (guardian council) says it was a healthy election; there was no fraud.” ” People are so sad and angry about what is happening.”

These are just some of the tweets I have been following.  Well, I’m certainly glad we’re not going to share our hot dogs now with Iranian ambassadors.  Not after this nightmare.

Mr. President, now do you think you can openly and firmly condemn this regime?

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No More ACORN?

Per Frank Lutz this a.m. on Fox….ACORN, the Association of Community Organizers for Renewal Now  are changing their name.  Apparently they are concerned about all the publicity they have been receiving lately.  Their new name will be Community Organizing International.  Take note, so that you will know who they are, because the leadership has not changed and their lack of transparency about where taxpayer funding goes has not changed.

Where’s the Inspector General when you need him?  Or is everyone afraid to investigate this group?  Probably more so, now that we see what happened to Gerald Walpin when he dared to touch a friend of the president’s. Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly of Fox have been investigating this group and predicted that they would “go underground”.  This may not be exactly underground, but it’s definitely an effort to avoid the spotlight that has recently been shined upon them.  Cockroaches run like crazy when you turn on the lights.

Update:  Read more here.

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Observations on the NYT Health Care Poll

I am not an expert in government or economics.  But I had a few thoughts about the New York Times Health Care Poll, which you can see here.

One thing I noticed is that while the majority of people were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of their health care (Q. 51), it was a fairly even split of satisfied/dissatisfied with the cost of their health care(Q. 53).  Some of the questions are asked concerning the country as a whole which has different results.

Health care probably falls in the “need” category with groceries and gas especially as one ages.  I hate it when the price goes up for both.  I try to think back 30 years ago and I can’t remember our country having this conversation.  I’m not sure that health care costs were as great then as they seem to be now.  When I worked at a hospital I had coverage that I don’t  think I paid anything for.  Now that my husband and I no longer have employee provided health insurance, we shop around for the best premiums.  We recently received notice from our current provider that our rates would increase by $200/month in July.  So we are shopping again and have found a much lower rate.  We do not visit the doctor very often at all and are fortunate to enjoy good health….although some of our habits need change. We only concern ourselves with purchasing catastrophic insurance, which means that we ourselves pick up the tab for most of our incurred expenses at this point in our lives.

Question 56…It’s about doctors ordering tests their patients don’t really need…is this a serious problem or not?  73% consider this a serious or somewhat serious problem.

I would like to say something on behalf of doctors here.  The rate of lawsuits in our society and the subsequent inflation of liability insurance, I believe, has caused this.  Doctors feel they need to cover their behinds, and I for one, do not blame them for that at all.  I think we can all agree that the majority of doctors are trying to do their best job.  But we live in a very litiginous society, people looking for others to pay all the time.   Consider the lady who won big dollars from McDonald’s because the coffee she spilled in her lap was hot.  I can’t believe that jury award.

Question 59. I was surprised a bit at this one, but working Americans are known to be fairly generous…57% to 37%, the American people were willing to pay higher taxes so that all Americans could have health insurance they can’t lose.  Question 60..would they be willing to pay $500/yr. to provide this insurance?  There are only 43% willing, 8% not willing, 4% willing to pay less than $500, 2% don’t know.  There’s a whole bunch of people missing from these figures…I don’t know why.

Question 61…Do you think the federal government should guarantee health insurance for all Americans…64% said yes, but in the next question when asked the same if it meant their insurance premiums would increase, that number dropped to 47%.  I’m not sure who they thought would pay for it in Q. 61.

Question 65… If the government provides health insurance, how concerned are you that your own access would be limited?  68% concerned or somewhat concerned

75% approved of requiring insurance companies to insure everyone regardless of existing conditions, but that number dropped to 56% if it meant their own insurance rates would go up.

These figures seem to go against each other a bit…consider…they are willing to pay higher taxes to help others have insurance, but don’t want to pay higher premiums to add people with existing conditions.

A lot of the questions had tracking from 1991 to now.  If accurate, I find it an interesting take on the American mindset concerning health insurance.

I truly do not know the answer to the health care debate.  But there is one thing I am sure of…well maybe two things.  One is that our country is in very bad shape economically and currently has incurred more debt than is realistic for generations to come to pay, which means we don’t have the money to spend, UNLESS there are drastic reductions made elsewhere in order to fund health care.  The other thing I know is that government is rarely able to run anything competently.  We are all shocked and horrified at the graft and corruption that it seems Wall Street was involved in with the recent housing bubble that burst last year, but let us all remember the graft and corruption of our own government’s involvement with it.  The government would like us to believe that it’s those “greedy, rich businesses and CEO’s” that were at fault, but I say emphatically, they had plenty of help from our own  greedy and corrupt representatives in Congress.

It’s too bad one of the questions on the questionaire wasn’t…do you trust your government to do what’s best for you.

Update: But wait…there’s a Rasmussen poll conducted at the same time that says only 41% of Americans say a government health care plan is a good idea.

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Atlas Shrugged, Part 2

Well, I finished the book.  I was driven to finish the book.  I will admit I skipped over the 65-page-or-so speech of John Galt because I wanted to get the end and I figured I had already heard most of that speech throughout the book, but I will probably go back and re-read it intently to see if I missed anything.

There’s a lot of descriptive narrative in the book, almost too much for my taste, but I could have a short attention span.  It is amazing to me how far down human nature can and will go.  The people in Atlas Shrugged seemed to have lost their minds because they could no longer think for themselves.  Government had taken over doing their thinking for them.  Is our country in danger of doing the same?  I fear there are plenty of people out there who want someone else to think for them, to do for them. Today’s generations are not those who grew up as my grandparents did who struggled during the great depression and worked hard for what they gained, who took personal responsibility.

Once a people start denying personal responsibility, they start denying their own reality.  I personally believe the spiral is only downward from there.  Deception, lying, stealing are symptoms of this lack.  Take for instance the road comissioner who puts in a culvert for the local bank president on that man’s personal property, then bills the township for the cost of it, or the township trustees who say nothing but give their approval  for payment.  Or the same man, paying workers at his private business by billing  the same township coffers.  What is to be done about it by the few who even care?  What about those in the position of authority who could, but refuse, because they want re-election, to do anything about a candidate who doesn’t even live in the township for which he wants to hold office? Or the states attorney who won’t prosecute certain “crimes”, lest it ruin his re-election chances? This is the premise of Atlas Shrugged, as the corruption and cronyism continues to spread and there are fewer and fewer with a mind and the courage to stop it, because they don’t think they can or they no longer care.  And it can only get worse from here.  Emboldened by the fact that no one is stopping them, how much longer before a worse crime is committed, before someone’s life is taken?  It’s a pessimistic world Ayn Rand paints.  And every place where evil is unchallenged and justice is not upheld becomes that world where no one is truly free.

“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”–Edmund Burke