Some thoughts on Politics This is now a push down stack, new stuff added up here -
August 2, 2009
Doesn't Anyone remember why Bill Clinton is so popular with North Korea's Kim Jong Il ?? In 1994 Cheerful Bill gave Kim Jong Il two, not one but two, nuclear reactors - a great help in the Kim Jong Il atomic bomb effort.
Of course Kim Jong Il promised to allow inspectors assure that the atomic materials would not be used for "other purposes" - that promise lasted all of 6 months.
And the dance goes on -- Appeasing North Korea: the Clinton Legacy 2003 - caving in again 2006 August 2, 2009
Incase you have forgotten - The Gold Confiscation Of April 5, 1933 August 2, 2009
Changing times -
- When I was growing up, legislators were supposed to discuss and ponder bills to be presented to the governor or president. Sounds good to me.
- The first I heard of health insurance was when I was in high school. Our friendly plumber, Jerry Downs, had a gall bladder operation paid for by his union. Jerry had some stories of how the hospital screwed the union on the billing - doctors and services that Jerry never saw - but who worries about other people's money?
BACKGROUND
Summer 2008, a panicky congress was told that our civilization was going to end if some Wall Street "bankers" and "investment houses" were not bailed out "right now". Both President Bush and the various presidential candidate recommended passing a hundreds of billions of dollar "bail out" bill that had too many pages to be effectively read and pondered by any one. Billions went for bonuses for the greedy "bankers" - and "we" were some how "saved" from a financial crisis created by the "Community Reinvestment Act" and greedy "bankers". In order to meet the quotas imposed by the Act, silly loans were encouraged. Part time hairdressers, encouraged by commission driven real estate agents and their selected appraisers, dreamed big incomes to qualify for big houses. "Bankers" "insured" and sold these dreamy pieces of paper to each other for big commissions and bonuses. Happy times. Some how the dream world crashed when the part time hair dressers couldn't make payments on their dream homes. So - July 2008 - the first "banker stimulus bill" went into law. Unfortunately in their haste, congress and Bush did a rather poor job.
January 2009
New president demands and signs another almost Trillion dollar "stimulus" bill - over a thousand pages, published 6 PM one day, approved by congress the next day, and signed into law the day after - Spring 2009
The above two sloppy laws gave really sloppy results. As one of many examples - Should some person get a $100 million bonus for deals that broke his company so that it was bailed out by the government - now partly controlled by the government? The guy was not even fired, he still "works" there - I presuming "working" the system :-(( So new president appoints boards and commissions and even a "Compensation CZAR" to try to control the slop - and decide, among other things, if that $100 million bonus should be paid by government (our) money. Bonuses are even paid to retain the folks who screwed up so much that they ruined their companies. That what the news papers say - if you believe them - Now - should the CZAR allow that $100 million bonus if the recipient promises to give $20 million to the correct political party? How is that for a leveraged deal ?? I give you $20 million if you will give me $100 million of other people's money ?? Sounds good to me !!
Abraham Lincoln said that our government was "of the people, by the people, for the people".
Now it seems that our government is "of the ruling party, by the ruling party, for the ruling party" - Does this sound like the former Soviet Union? Currently, August 2009
New president has two projects: So, the new president proposes another commission to hold down medical costs (to satisfy the Chinese and encourage them to buy more of our "paper") by rationing available medical care.
- Convince the Chinese - who hold a lot of our "paper" [loans/ bonds/ ...] and who we want to sell a lot more "paper" to -
- That we will control our costs, and the dollar will not inflate.
- Start a government heath care project that is currently
- 1200 pages and growing - and no one promises to read/study "the whole thing" before voting on it !!
- estimates of Multiple Trillions/year and probably growing - who knows ??
I would feel really foolish having to fly to India for health care I feel I need. Canadians are already traveling to the U.S. to get timely health care, or care they feel they need that is not covered by Canadian boards and rules - May 31, 2009 - "We" elected these folks, mostly honestly -
More Axis of Idiots
May 9, 2009 - This is a "Change"
When I was in college - 50 years ago - a liberal could say, with out shocking anyone, "I disagree with you - but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Now a current liberal can say, with out shocking anyone,
"I will pull the broadcast license of any station that gives you a microphone."
May 7, 2009 - from Californis Healthline
The jerks we elected are at it again - now that the "investment bankers" and phoney insurers have their bonuses for screwing the rest of us.
April 14, 2009 - about pirates -
The Defense Department requested permission from the president (the commander in chief) to shoot at pirates on the open sea. Twice, and got it in writing twice, different wordings each time. The hostage American ship captain is now rescued. Is the Defense Department that afraid of further cuts in the defense budget as to ask that politician, twice, in writing, getting his signature each time, to shoot at armed pirates in the act of piracy?
Mar 19, 2009 - from Californis Healthline
The jerks we elected are backing off - see below Mar 17, 2009 - from Californis Healthline
Veterans Groups Fight Plan To Bill Insurers for Service Related Injuries On Monday, representatives of several veterans groups criticized a proposal that would bill private insurance companies for combat- and service-related medical care, McClatchy/Arizona Daily Star reports (McClatchy/Arizona Daily Star, 3/17). The proposal is included in President Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget proposal. Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs covers those costs and bills health insurers only for treatment for conditions unrelated to veterans' military service.
Last month, 11 veterans groups wrote a letter to Obama, saying, "There is simply no logical explanation for billing a veteran's personal insurance for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide."
The groups added that the policy would:
- Discourage employers from hiring veterans with disabilities; - Increase insurance premiums for disabled veterans; and - Renege on the U.S. government's "sacred obligation" to care for the injuries veterans sustained during service (American Health Line, 3/10). Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said, "If the president and the [White House Office of Management and Budget] want to cut costs, they can start at AIG, not the VA."
Feb 2, 2009
Were we speaking of blank checks issued by the U.S. Government to any group that screwed up big time, or wants payback for election help?"Jake da Snake" web site reminds us - "A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check Made payable to ' The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand that." Story of the wooden bowl. The following paragraph added Jan 3, 2009
Well friends, I give up. The big city "liberals" - including Chicago - have won. I suggest military folks quit the military, and join the big city gravy train. The heck with this altruistic, sacrifice-for-the-common-good stuff. It is now obsolete. Michael Moore said it best - only small town hicks, with small town values, join the military. (Feb 7, 2009) Washington politicians are spreading a second round of nearly a trillion dollars of Pork and Political Election favors. liberal billionaires are getting theirs, come home and try to "get yours". Not too late - In a few months there will probably be a third round. Sadly, signed Ed Thelen Maybe the straw that broke my back was a discussion with a "liberal" relative. I was trying to tease him about the rumored appointment of Caroline Kennedy as senator from New York. He wanted me to prove that this granddaughter of the Scotch Whiskey Import czar, who squirreled away sufficient loot so that his descendents would never have to work, would not be a good senator. It didn't matter to him that she never showed any aptitude for anything - she didn't even run away from a fatal accident as did senator Edward Kennedy - but she did have enough grace to acknowledge ghost writing help. (After all, if you are rich enough, "liberal" politics is your family business.) I do not understand why "liberals" do not seem to want the best qualified people as our representatives ! And are unwilling to pay them more than baseball umpires !
From Fall 2008
Remember, Every Disaster is a "CHANGE". Think of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, ... Dear Mr. Obama
What happened to good old "American Liberals" who wanted a better world and well as a better "America"? Are they now part of the "silent majority"??Anyone know why the current American "liberals" like despots with mustaches? Think of Stalin, Castro, Ho Chi Minh, Saddam Hussein - And tell political lies about those who don't like despots. Comments - And the SwiftBoat men surely have the right to speak - and not be gagged by jackasses. Judicial Watch, Adventures With The Press, Useful Idiots - is Lennin correct? Dispatch from a fallen Soldier, No liberal would say this. All my life, starting with the Soviet/Nazi exercise in Spain, I have heard "liberals" defending dictators. "liberals" preferred Communist dictators to Franco or Hitler or Tojo. Now we focus on Muslim dictators/sultans. If "liberals" don't like the responsibilities/advantages that were gained (by struggle) through "our" system, please go enjoy Syria, Iran or Saudi Arabia - please leave me/mine alone.
Real Liberals stay around, we need you :-))
- Someone just lent me the book "Do As I Say". You and I are missing out on a new career path - Knock America and Get Rich - like $12,000 per campus speaking engagement :-)) And world wide book and movie royalties :-)) American citizens can get rich trashtalking America. You surely can't do that in despotic lands like Vietnam? Cuba? China? that American liberals visit and flatter. . That would be insanely stupid!
- Why does the media call bus bombers in Iraq "insurgents" or "activists", and in London "terrorists"?
- My "liberal" friends, hearing only about bombs, think oil export from Iraq is zero. How about 2 million barrels per day?
- Why I would be a Suicide Bomber if I were a young Muslim. ?Is Osama Bin Laden a civilian? Yes, No uniform :-))
- Kerry, the guy who gave himself three metals in four months, got fired or fled the military, (he promised to release records - but never did), lied his head off about atrocities, and married the Ketchup heiress. Massachusetts voters apparently prefer well practiced liars.
- Can't liberals show us something better?
- And Hillary Rodham Clinton pawing through FBI files of suspected enemies. Is this the best the liberals can offer??
- - Apologies to Senator Joe Lieberman - I think the billionaire Hollywood types have taken over his party.
- And Chicago trained Barack Hussein Obama wanting to hide his middle name,
- - Is he ashamed of his Muslim upbringing? Profane "reverend" Jeremiah White preaches like a Black Muslim of the 1970s.
- - Talks "change", and selects long time New Jersey policical hack for vice president -
- I have found clear distinctions between
liberals
- - never mentions liberty or freedom or democracy - only what government/dictator should do for us
- - think that the army and secret police should have all the guns-
- - so that the Hitler, Stalin and Huey Long types may sleep peacefully
- - peace through weakness
- if we are weak, the bullies of the world, Osama Bin Laden, Putin ... won't bother us
conservatives
- - thinks liberty and freedom and democracy are good things, worth working for -
- - think that citizens should have guns, power to the people.
- - peace through strength
- if we are strong, the bullies of the world, Osama Bin Laden, Putin ... won't bother us
- What irritates me most is the newspapers have a monopoly position in most cities. I can't question or talk back. Might as well watch TV "news".
- I really irritate my liberal friends when I say I listen to talk radio - where I *can* question and talk back.
And what is with the pro-Muslim media? They have convinced some of my more simple relatives and friends that quaint folks who believe that the world was created say 6,000 years ago are more dangerous than Muslim Terrorists who kill and maim tens of thousands - can you figure that?- While I'm getting into trouble - What ever happened to feminists? They seem to have gone under a rock since the 9/11 heroics of firemen. One of my daughters-in-law liked to look me in the eye and threaten "There is no crime too heinous in defense of feminism." One would think feminists would have some comment about Taliban and Iran ... or do they secretly wish to be covered, at home and silent? Or are they spending their energies Bush Bashing for some odd reason? And what is with the ACLU? Three young Duke lacrosse players tormented for a year by a demented democratic DA in Durham, NC - and the ACLU sits on its fat backside!! - whining about the rights of foreign terrorists.
If you have comments or suggestions, Send e-mail to Ed Thelen