August 20, 2009
Congress’ Job Approval Ratings Grow More Polarized
Democrats approve; Republicans and independents increasingly disapprove
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup polling conducted in the first few days of Congress' August recess -- a time when many members of Congress were preparing to meet their constituents in town hall meetings back in their districts -- finds public approval of Congress on par with the lowest reading since February, a month after the 111th Congress convened. Thirty-one percent of Americans in Gallup's Aug. 6-9 survey approve of the job Congress is doing while 62% disapprove.
Congress' latest job approval score is similar to where the reading stood in February, when 31% approved and 61% disapproved. The percentage approving climbed to 39% in March and remained within a few points of that number through May, but has since fallen back to the low 30s.
On a longer-term basis, the current rating of Congress is only slightly worse than the average rating Gallup has recorded over the prior two decades. From 1988 through 2008, approval of Congress averaged 36% and disapproval 55%. The average approval rating of Congress thus far in 2009 (32%) is somewhat better than those seen in the early '90s and is similar to those measured in the first few years of the Republican majority in Congress in 1995 and 1996. It is substantially worse than those recorded from 1998 through 2004, when (even before the 9/11 attacks in 2001) approval was consistently greater than 40%.
Partisan Breach
Sharp partisan differences are evident in Americans' ratings of Congress. A majority of Democrats approve of the job Congress is doing, but much larger majorities of Republicans and independents disapprove.
In Gallup polling each month since March, at least half of Democrats have approved of the job the Democratic-led Congress is doing, including 55% in the latest survey. Approval among independents has typically been closer to 30%, although it dropped to 24% in July and to 22% in August. Positive evaluations of Congress by Republicans have been sparse, exceeding 20% only once; but the current 13% is the lowest yet.
Such partisan differences may seem normal, but they are actually a sharp departure from 2007-2008 when, despite the presence of a Democratic majority in both the U.S. House and Senate, Democrats were not much more positive than Republicans about the job Congress was doing. This may have reflected Democratic frustration with the lack of congressional action on the Iraq war as well as on immigration and other issues of concern to Democrats.
By contrast, during most of the Republican-led Congress from 2000 to 2006, Republicans' approval of Congress was substantially higher than Democrats'.
Bottom Line
The 111th Congress, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, appears to be meeting the expectations of most rank-and-file Democrats, earning a 55% job approval rating from Democrats nationwide in early August. In turn, Democratic support has kept Congress' overall rating above 30% thus far in 2009 -- a respectable level in the history of congressional approval ratings. No doubt the transition from a Republican presidential administration to a Democratic one has helped improve Democratic satisfaction with the job Congress is doing.
At the same time, the 22% approval rating of Congress from independents is little improved over last year, and not much better than the meager 13% rating from Republicans. And the descent in approval among independents and Republicans since March suggests that the same legislative activity in recent months that is satisfying to the Democratic base (including healthcare reform) may be draining support for Congress elsewhere.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Liberal Lion
The married Ted Kennedy was driving a car down the road. Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign aide was his companion when he drove off a bridge into the water. He said he tried several times to rescue her but could not. Failing, he swam back to shore and checked back into his hotel, and a short time later lodged a noise complaint with the desk clerk. The people in the room next to his were partying and it was interfering with his sleep. Then he asked the desk clerk for the time.
According to the Aug. 4, 1969 edition of Newsweek, that clerk, Russell E. Peachey, told Kennedy it was 2:25 a.m., then asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No, thank you," Kennedy replied.
According to the Aug. 4, 1969 edition of Newsweek, that clerk, Russell E. Peachey, told Kennedy it was 2:25 a.m., then asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No, thank you," Kennedy replied.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Stolen Thoughts
Thinking that others will be fair with us if we're nice to them is like thinking the bull won't attack you if you're a vegetarian.
Friday, August 28, 2009
More Socialized Medicine... er.. "Health Insurance Reform" Remarks
The only people that lack health insurance are, by definition, people under 65, over 21, and who make more than poverty because those three groups are all covered by existing programs. Some people don't apply, but they're all covered.
Congresswoman Betsy Markey of Colorado, a Democrat, strong supporter of this bill, told her town hall meeting there's going to be some people who are going to give up some things honestly for this health care reform to work, but we will do this because we're are Americans. And she spoke about the cuts in Medicare that are coming.
Regarding the h/c bill Obama says, "I don't have any cuts in benefits. There's nothing here that says I won't cover cancer or I won't cover heart disease. But there is something in the bill that says that you have to cut $500 billion out of Medicare over 10 years." Gingrich listed cuts he would make in Medicare for his plan of reform. Obama says, "We'll set up a commission that will make the decision as to what to cut, and Congress will have a very limited window to modify it or override it, effectively no way of doing it." [Oh... so there actually WILL be a panel which decides when treatment to get is warranted (live) or when it's not (death.) He's just not going to be on it. And it's listed in both the Senate and House versions even before you get to page 100 in either bill!]
He also says, "We're going to cut reimbursement rates to hospitals." Ok, so hospitals will not get as much money from their number one purchaser. And they're going to be able to keep all the professional staff they have to provide care? The call buttons will get answered a bit slower? Lab tests will still be done accurately and timely? The wait in X-ray won't be as long? Your mom won't lie in her own urine and feces for more than she already has?!? The bills will still be as accurate as they are now? Payments to providers will be timely as well??
In the words of Earl Pitts, Uhmerican -- "WAKE UP, AMERICA!" This latest attempt at government take-over will worsen the delivery of the world's best health care deliverers! Note what I said -- it's the deliverers that I mention not the way it's delivered now. Other systems in 'freer' markets, i.e. Singapore, Brunei, et.al. have better delivery but most of their people are TRAINED IN THE UNITED STATES! They do it cheaper and more efficiently because they've learned what NOT to do here and other countries. By the way, NONE of them are scrambling to implement socialized medicine.
_______________________________
One more thought....
There is an advertisement from the League of American Voters which is not favorable to Obama's health care reform -- the 1500 page document which started off as health care reform and is now labeled as health "insurance" reform. The ABC and NBC major networks have said they will not air the ad: In October 2008 ABC refused to air an Alliance for Climate Protection ad criticizing "big oil" for "spending hundreds of millions of dollars" on lobbyists and ads to "block clean energy." The ad shows a picture of the Capitol Dome for about 1 second so ABC's excuse was:[Per our Guidelines, national buildings may be used in advertising provided the depictions are incidental to the advertiser’s promotion of the product or service. Given the messages and themes of this commercial, the image of the Capital building is not incidental to this advertising. Please replace the image with one that is not of another national building or monument. Thank you.] Oh, wait... we're on to health care... sorry 'bout that. Here's what ABC says about that: 'CNN refused to carry an ad during an Obama speech because it "suggests that Obama is pro-life."' Oh... again, my apologies... HERE'S what ABC said about the anti-health care ad: "The ABC Television Network has a long-standing policy that we do not sell time for advertising that presents a partisan position on a controversial public issue," spokeswoman Susan Sewell writes. "Just to be clear, this is a policy for the entire network, not just ABC News."
Whew! I'm glad she got that out. They probably wouldn't have aired it last June when the hour-long prime time 'interview' with Obama and a live audience introducing and explaining possible health care reform.
Is there someone who really doesn't think this is political bias? Is there someone who vehemently denies media bias? Joe! JOE!! Say it ain't so, Joe!!!!
Congresswoman Betsy Markey of Colorado, a Democrat, strong supporter of this bill, told her town hall meeting there's going to be some people who are going to give up some things honestly for this health care reform to work, but we will do this because we're are Americans. And she spoke about the cuts in Medicare that are coming.
Regarding the h/c bill Obama says, "I don't have any cuts in benefits. There's nothing here that says I won't cover cancer or I won't cover heart disease. But there is something in the bill that says that you have to cut $500 billion out of Medicare over 10 years." Gingrich listed cuts he would make in Medicare for his plan of reform. Obama says, "We'll set up a commission that will make the decision as to what to cut, and Congress will have a very limited window to modify it or override it, effectively no way of doing it." [Oh... so there actually WILL be a panel which decides when treatment to get is warranted (live) or when it's not (death.) He's just not going to be on it. And it's listed in both the Senate and House versions even before you get to page 100 in either bill!]
He also says, "We're going to cut reimbursement rates to hospitals." Ok, so hospitals will not get as much money from their number one purchaser. And they're going to be able to keep all the professional staff they have to provide care? The call buttons will get answered a bit slower? Lab tests will still be done accurately and timely? The wait in X-ray won't be as long? Your mom won't lie in her own urine and feces for more than she already has?!? The bills will still be as accurate as they are now? Payments to providers will be timely as well??
In the words of Earl Pitts, Uhmerican -- "WAKE UP, AMERICA!" This latest attempt at government take-over will worsen the delivery of the world's best health care deliverers! Note what I said -- it's the deliverers that I mention not the way it's delivered now. Other systems in 'freer' markets, i.e. Singapore, Brunei, et.al. have better delivery but most of their people are TRAINED IN THE UNITED STATES! They do it cheaper and more efficiently because they've learned what NOT to do here and other countries. By the way, NONE of them are scrambling to implement socialized medicine.
_______________________________
One more thought....
There is an advertisement from the League of American Voters which is not favorable to Obama's health care reform -- the 1500 page document which started off as health care reform and is now labeled as health "insurance" reform. The ABC and NBC major networks have said they will not air the ad: In October 2008 ABC refused to air an Alliance for Climate Protection ad criticizing "big oil" for "spending hundreds of millions of dollars" on lobbyists and ads to "block clean energy." The ad shows a picture of the Capitol Dome for about 1 second so ABC's excuse was:[Per our Guidelines, national buildings may be used in advertising provided the depictions are incidental to the advertiser’s promotion of the product or service. Given the messages and themes of this commercial, the image of the Capital building is not incidental to this advertising. Please replace the image with one that is not of another national building or monument. Thank you.] Oh, wait... we're on to health care... sorry 'bout that. Here's what ABC says about that: 'CNN refused to carry an ad during an Obama speech because it "suggests that Obama is pro-life."' Oh... again, my apologies... HERE'S what ABC said about the anti-health care ad: "The ABC Television Network has a long-standing policy that we do not sell time for advertising that presents a partisan position on a controversial public issue," spokeswoman Susan Sewell writes. "Just to be clear, this is a policy for the entire network, not just ABC News."
Whew! I'm glad she got that out. They probably wouldn't have aired it last June when the hour-long prime time 'interview' with Obama and a live audience introducing and explaining possible health care reform.
Is there someone who really doesn't think this is political bias? Is there someone who vehemently denies media bias? Joe! JOE!! Say it ain't so, Joe!!!!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
"VA's backlog of claims and appeals was more than 905,000 as of July 18, according to VA statistics. That represents an INCREASE of some 15% from last year.
"VA's backlog includes over 732,000 YET UNPROCESSED CLAIMS -- of which about 20% had been PENDING BEYOND 180 days -- and approximately 173,000 appeals awaiting decisions."
VFW Magazine, Sep 2009, page 10.
Furthermore, USPS - bankrupt, Medicare - bankrupt, Medicaid - bankrupt, Social Security - bankrupting.... I can hardly wait until they take over the rest of health care!
"VA's backlog includes over 732,000 YET UNPROCESSED CLAIMS -- of which about 20% had been PENDING BEYOND 180 days -- and approximately 173,000 appeals awaiting decisions."
VFW Magazine, Sep 2009, page 10.
Furthermore, USPS - bankrupt, Medicare - bankrupt, Medicaid - bankrupt, Social Security - bankrupting.... I can hardly wait until they take over the rest of health care!
Random Thoughts Today
MIT Professor Richard Lindzen’s peer reviewed work states “we now know that the effect of CO2 on temperature is small, we know why..."
Never let a good crisis go to waste is the Democrats next campaign slogan.
_____________________________
Ok, I'll help pay for the uninsured's insurance. But they're gonna have to turn in their cell phones, plasma tvs, cable or satellite connections, computers, and gold chains... knowudimsayin. Oh yeah, it'll be illegal for them to participate in the tax invented exclusively exploiting the poor --- state lotteries.
_____________________________
What care would Teddy have received under this proposed plan? As a "common man" (born into aristocracy, obviously never knew hunger) Ted would have presented in the ER with headaches. The nurse would interview the 'headache in bed 5' and find out just how severe these headaches were. Having a current history of alcohol abuse and type II diabetes his A1C would have been around 20% so we'd know this guy was non-compliant and an abuser. Since he's never had a job it's probably safe to say he's a malingerer after a prescription. "Goddamn, I'm sick of these people using the system to get their drugs but I'd rather write 'em one than see them again tomorrow."
By the time the prescription was used up the tumors would have been causing some loss of vision and a bunch of other symptoms. There would not have been time to go to his 'summer estate' and enjoy his final days knowing everything had been done.
_____________________________
Popsicles are a really good invention.
_____________________________
Why is it that since I'm a home owner I pay property taxes to educate children who live in apartments and don't pay them? Nah, I don't buy that they pay them through their rent, they only pay part of them.
_____________________________
The End (today)
Never let a good crisis go to waste is the Democrats next campaign slogan.
_____________________________
Ok, I'll help pay for the uninsured's insurance. But they're gonna have to turn in their cell phones, plasma tvs, cable or satellite connections, computers, and gold chains... knowudimsayin. Oh yeah, it'll be illegal for them to participate in the tax invented exclusively exploiting the poor --- state lotteries.
_____________________________
What care would Teddy have received under this proposed plan? As a "common man" (born into aristocracy, obviously never knew hunger) Ted would have presented in the ER with headaches. The nurse would interview the 'headache in bed 5' and find out just how severe these headaches were. Having a current history of alcohol abuse and type II diabetes his A1C would have been around 20% so we'd know this guy was non-compliant and an abuser. Since he's never had a job it's probably safe to say he's a malingerer after a prescription. "Goddamn, I'm sick of these people using the system to get their drugs but I'd rather write 'em one than see them again tomorrow."
By the time the prescription was used up the tumors would have been causing some loss of vision and a bunch of other symptoms. There would not have been time to go to his 'summer estate' and enjoy his final days knowing everything had been done.
_____________________________
Popsicles are a really good invention.
_____________________________
Why is it that since I'm a home owner I pay property taxes to educate children who live in apartments and don't pay them? Nah, I don't buy that they pay them through their rent, they only pay part of them.
_____________________________
The End (today)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Personal Thank You From Brad
Last evening I got another personal response from Brad Sherman, my representative in Congress. It looks pretty important with the scanned in pieces from his office letterhead informing all who receive it a listing of Brad's committees, so I've got THAT going for me now.
Here is the text of Brad's letter thanking me for my comments about an important policy issue, and letting me know how much he appreciates hearing from me, followed by a commercial. (He uses the 'return' key too much, I think):
Dear Mr. Locke:
Thank you very much for contacting me. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me.
Hearing from you is very important to me because it provides me with insight into your thoughts and concerns on the major issues facing Congress today. I look forward to your continued input and will keep your concerns in mind.
Only part of my job is voting in Washington. Another important part of my job is helping resolve problems that constituents are experiencing with federal agencies. If you are interested in any of these services, please contact my district office at (818) 501-9200 or visit my website at http://BradSherman.house.gov.
You can also follow me on Twitter by visiting Twitter.com/BradSherman, or become my fan on Facebook. My official government Facebook page is registered as "Congressman Brad Sherman."
Again, thank you very much for contacting me and sharing your views. I hope to hear from you further in the future.
Sincerely,
Brad Sherman
Member of Congress
Please note that Brad Sherman respects your privacy. If you sign up for Congressman Sherman's email updates or participate in a questionnaire, your email information will never be sold, traded or rented to any outside company. If you wish to contact me further, I welcome your correspondence. However, please do not reply to this message. Instead, please visit my website, http://bradsherman.house.gov/sherman/contact, and e-mail me through the webform provided. Thank you very much for contacting me.
Here is the text of Brad's letter thanking me for my comments about an important policy issue, and letting me know how much he appreciates hearing from me, followed by a commercial. (He uses the 'return' key too much, I think):
Dear Mr. Locke:
Thank you very much for contacting me. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me.
Hearing from you is very important to me because it provides me with insight into your thoughts and concerns on the major issues facing Congress today. I look forward to your continued input and will keep your concerns in mind.
Only part of my job is voting in Washington. Another important part of my job is helping resolve problems that constituents are experiencing with federal agencies. If you are interested in any of these services, please contact my district office at (818) 501-9200 or visit my website at http://BradSherman.house.gov.
You can also follow me on Twitter by visiting Twitter.com/BradSherman, or become my fan on Facebook. My official government Facebook page is registered as "Congressman Brad Sherman."
Again, thank you very much for contacting me and sharing your views. I hope to hear from you further in the future.
Sincerely,
Brad Sherman
Member of Congress
Please note that Brad Sherman respects your privacy. If you sign up for Congressman Sherman's email updates or participate in a questionnaire, your email information will never be sold, traded or rented to any outside company. If you wish to contact me further, I welcome your correspondence. However, please do not reply to this message. Instead, please visit my website, http://bradsherman.house.gov/sherman/contact, and e-mail me through the webform provided. Thank you very much for contacting me.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sarah's Death Panel Comment
SP is taking a lot of heat because she used a phrase in one of her remarks on BO's .... uh... hi, uh.. ever-changing, ever-revised-once-people-read-it-and-mention, his... views on health care in America and where he wants it to be -- America, that is.
Actually, Sarah is saying things that free thinkers are coming up with. BO's plan is to get people talking about what HE thinks his health care "reform" will provide for The Sheeple. Sarah's plan is to talk about what his health care "reform" will actually do to the health care delivery system as we know it. And as a health care worker for some 40 years, please indulge me while I provide one hourly worker's viewpoint and observations.
I remember when DRGs were introduced by some think tankers from an Ivy League school. Diagnostic Related Groups were the initial foray into socialized medicine. It's exactly when the patients ceased to exist and became diagnoses. He was no longer Mr. Harris in 310-1 with cholecystectomy and choledocolithotomy, with daily charges, charges for each dressing change, use more-pay more, physician-driven actual health care delivery.
It became the gall bladder in 310... -----(comments heard in administrative offices: “and he had stones? Great, we can bump him into the next DRG. A simple gall bladder operation will get only $4378” (I'm making these numbers up but you'll get the idea) “but if he had gallstones we'll get $5139. We'll get that because we're a "rural" health care delivery establishment in an area of less than 100,000 people. Now, if we were in a metropolitan area of over 100,000 we would get $6293!”-----
It doesn't matter if the patient is hospitalized for 2 days or 7, they're still going to get the same dollar amount. The record keeping gets a bit tedious for the hospital because now they keep dollars per bed ratios per physician. If the lengths of stay exceed what the administration wants, the doc gets a letter… or more often a “visit in the lounge.” Oh, those pesky patients demanding treatment! They’re just a necessary evil in the scheme of things – just like voters are to politicians.
Remember when hospitals became smoke-free environments about 20 years ago? (Rightfully so, and I am a former smoker.) There were signs posted in various health-care facilities saying things like, "We're phasing in a non-smoking environment for the health of our patients!" "We care about your health so we're eliminating smoking!" The real reason is the US Government was going to withhold Medicare funds from any facility that permitted smoking, the those guys are the NUMBER ONE HEALTHCARE INCOME PRODUCERS for all hospitals.
The rural vs. metropolitan "reimbursements?" You probably have experienced costs in a large city compared with a small city. Well, the DRGs take that into account, by golly. That's how a little podunk hospital in Marietta, Ohio gets a lot of money. They have small town expenses but they're considered a metropolitan area because of Parkersburg, WV being nearby.
My former mother-in-law passed away years ago and I helped get the paperwork organized from those final weeks. The primary cause of death was breast cancer. Up until the last few weeks she was getting chemotherapy on an out patient basis. I vividly recall some of the crap on the bills for just one of the times she went in to get a dose of chemo. How is it done? The drug was injected directly into a vein and given there were no complications like an anaphylactic response she was released to go home for the puking part. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Well, the government is involved so here we go.
There were separate charges for:
medication preparation (drawing it into the syringe)
injection site preparation (wiping the arm with an alcohol sponge)
venipuncture (sticking the needle in)
aspiration (making sure it’s in the right spot)
medication delivery (pushing the plunger of the syringe)
site dressing (wiping the blood off and putting a band-aid on)
bio-hazardous waste disposal (throwing out the syringe and needle)
Physicians and Surgeons sent staff to dozens of meetings and classes to learn how to get more out of the system, how to codify diagnoses to wring the maximum payment for each visit. Now it’s time to give Sarah’s comments a view:
The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.
Isn't not paying for something like passing judgment? Isn't not paying for healthcare the practice of medicine?
Sarah's comments are not so out of line, huh?
Actually, Sarah is saying things that free thinkers are coming up with. BO's plan is to get people talking about what HE thinks his health care "reform" will provide for The Sheeple. Sarah's plan is to talk about what his health care "reform" will actually do to the health care delivery system as we know it. And as a health care worker for some 40 years, please indulge me while I provide one hourly worker's viewpoint and observations.
I remember when DRGs were introduced by some think tankers from an Ivy League school. Diagnostic Related Groups were the initial foray into socialized medicine. It's exactly when the patients ceased to exist and became diagnoses. He was no longer Mr. Harris in 310-1 with cholecystectomy and choledocolithotomy, with daily charges, charges for each dressing change, use more-pay more, physician-driven actual health care delivery.
It became the gall bladder in 310... -----(comments heard in administrative offices: “and he had stones? Great, we can bump him into the next DRG. A simple gall bladder operation will get only $4378” (I'm making these numbers up but you'll get the idea) “but if he had gallstones we'll get $5139. We'll get that because we're a "rural" health care delivery establishment in an area of less than 100,000 people. Now, if we were in a metropolitan area of over 100,000 we would get $6293!”-----
It doesn't matter if the patient is hospitalized for 2 days or 7, they're still going to get the same dollar amount. The record keeping gets a bit tedious for the hospital because now they keep dollars per bed ratios per physician. If the lengths of stay exceed what the administration wants, the doc gets a letter… or more often a “visit in the lounge.” Oh, those pesky patients demanding treatment! They’re just a necessary evil in the scheme of things – just like voters are to politicians.
Remember when hospitals became smoke-free environments about 20 years ago? (Rightfully so, and I am a former smoker.) There were signs posted in various health-care facilities saying things like, "We're phasing in a non-smoking environment for the health of our patients!" "We care about your health so we're eliminating smoking!" The real reason is the US Government was going to withhold Medicare funds from any facility that permitted smoking, the those guys are the NUMBER ONE HEALTHCARE INCOME PRODUCERS for all hospitals.
The rural vs. metropolitan "reimbursements?" You probably have experienced costs in a large city compared with a small city. Well, the DRGs take that into account, by golly. That's how a little podunk hospital in Marietta, Ohio gets a lot of money. They have small town expenses but they're considered a metropolitan area because of Parkersburg, WV being nearby.
My former mother-in-law passed away years ago and I helped get the paperwork organized from those final weeks. The primary cause of death was breast cancer. Up until the last few weeks she was getting chemotherapy on an out patient basis. I vividly recall some of the crap on the bills for just one of the times she went in to get a dose of chemo. How is it done? The drug was injected directly into a vein and given there were no complications like an anaphylactic response she was released to go home for the puking part. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Well, the government is involved so here we go.
There were separate charges for:
medication preparation (drawing it into the syringe)
injection site preparation (wiping the arm with an alcohol sponge)
venipuncture (sticking the needle in)
aspiration (making sure it’s in the right spot)
medication delivery (pushing the plunger of the syringe)
site dressing (wiping the blood off and putting a band-aid on)
bio-hazardous waste disposal (throwing out the syringe and needle)
Physicians and Surgeons sent staff to dozens of meetings and classes to learn how to get more out of the system, how to codify diagnoses to wring the maximum payment for each visit. Now it’s time to give Sarah’s comments a view:
The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.
Isn't not paying for something like passing judgment? Isn't not paying for healthcare the practice of medicine?
Sarah's comments are not so out of line, huh?
Friday, August 21, 2009
Nine Trillion
How much is $9,000,000,000,000? If you had a stack of $1000 (one thousand) dollar bills it would be nearly 700 miles high.
Nine trillion seconds is going on 300,000 years.
This guy has been the President for just over 7 months. I am literally shaking my head in disbelief at him. He finally admits his brief Presidency will result in a staggering debt of a "little" over nine trillion dollars. I remember reading a quote perhaps falsely attributed to Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois, "A billion here, a billion there... pretty soon it adds up to some serious money."
BO promised no earmarks -- and his first 'stimulus' bill contained EIGHT THOUSAND pork barrel projects the Democrats had been saving up while the Republican majority fucked us.
The Republicans had control of the House, the Senate, the Executive branch, and the Supremes. I guess abandoning every principle in the platform was supposed to help America. Actually, they abandoned every principle and every living breathing United States citizen in a stupid, foolhardy, rancid, idiotic, shallow, and I-don't-know-what-else attempt to "keep" control. Congress currently has a 62% DISAPPROVAL rating, which is down from 82% a year ago. Yet we re-elected 98% of them in the last election. Why? BECAUSE IT'S NOT "MY GUY" IT'S "YOUR GUY" that's the problem! Here's a newsflash, folks - IT'S ALL OF THEM! GET THEM THE FUCK OUT OF THERE! PUT REAL, TRUE, HONEST STATESMEN IN THERE.
Fucking Robert "Shakey" Byrd has spent more of my money than Boxer and Feinstein combined yet I don't get a chance to send that piece of shit back to West Virginia. The Bureau of Public Debt is in Parkersburg, WV. They handle all the savings bonds and keep track of how much the government owes. They do this in West Virginia -- the 49th Ranked Educational state -- above only Nevada (and Washington, DC.) To their credit 50% of the students qualify for reduced-price lunches ... so they've got THAT going for them... which is nice.
I want something. I want a say in how my money gets allocated and spent by someone other than MY representative. I want a vote in my state, but I also want a vote in another state of my choosing. I would look at Senafuckintor Byrd and say what they say when you leave Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles.
Sayonara, muchacho.
Nine trillion seconds is going on 300,000 years.
This guy has been the President for just over 7 months. I am literally shaking my head in disbelief at him. He finally admits his brief Presidency will result in a staggering debt of a "little" over nine trillion dollars. I remember reading a quote perhaps falsely attributed to Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois, "A billion here, a billion there... pretty soon it adds up to some serious money."
BO promised no earmarks -- and his first 'stimulus' bill contained EIGHT THOUSAND pork barrel projects the Democrats had been saving up while the Republican majority fucked us.
The Republicans had control of the House, the Senate, the Executive branch, and the Supremes. I guess abandoning every principle in the platform was supposed to help America. Actually, they abandoned every principle and every living breathing United States citizen in a stupid, foolhardy, rancid, idiotic, shallow, and I-don't-know-what-else attempt to "keep" control. Congress currently has a 62% DISAPPROVAL rating, which is down from 82% a year ago. Yet we re-elected 98% of them in the last election. Why? BECAUSE IT'S NOT "MY GUY" IT'S "YOUR GUY" that's the problem! Here's a newsflash, folks - IT'S ALL OF THEM! GET THEM THE FUCK OUT OF THERE! PUT REAL, TRUE, HONEST STATESMEN IN THERE.
Fucking Robert "Shakey" Byrd has spent more of my money than Boxer and Feinstein combined yet I don't get a chance to send that piece of shit back to West Virginia. The Bureau of Public Debt is in Parkersburg, WV. They handle all the savings bonds and keep track of how much the government owes. They do this in West Virginia -- the 49th Ranked Educational state -- above only Nevada (and Washington, DC.) To their credit 50% of the students qualify for reduced-price lunches ... so they've got THAT going for them... which is nice.
I want something. I want a say in how my money gets allocated and spent by someone other than MY representative. I want a vote in my state, but I also want a vote in another state of my choosing. I would look at Senafuckintor Byrd and say what they say when you leave Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles.
Sayonara, muchacho.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Everyone Knew Her As Nancy
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's home district includes San Francisco. Star-Kist Tuna's headquarters are in San Francisco, Pelosi's home district. Star-Kist is owned by Del Monte Foods and is a major contributor to Pelosi. Star-Kist is the major employer in American Samoa employing 75% of the Samoan workforce.
Paul Pelosi, Nancy 's husband, owns $17 million dollars of Star-Kist stock. In January 2007 when the minimum wage was increased from $5.15 to $7.25, American Samoa was exempted from the increase. This would make obvious price discrepancies between products. When the huge bailout bill was passed, an earmark was added to the final bill adding $33 million dollars for an 'economic development credit in American Samoa.'
Now, as far as a comment goes: SNOPES writes she could find no "direct" evidence one way or the other on the above. Sounds like a non-denial non-denial non-admission non-Republican answer.
SNOPES also writes this story is a "mixture of true and false" statements. In other words, this story is basically true or rather, it's a smoking gun. We all know how the left and the right differ on smoking guns.
Prior to 2007, the U.S. territories of Northern Marianas and American Samoa were exempt from federal minimum wage standards; instead, a committee appointed by the U.S. Department of Labor established the minimum wage standards in those territories. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (H.R. 2), introduced to Congress in January of that year, sought to revise U.S. federal minimum wage standards, including the gradual rising of the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour.
Samoa is represented by a Democrat, Del. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega.
Faleomavaega's campaign coffers have been well stocked by the tuna industry that dominates his island economy. StarKist owns one of the largest canneries on the island, and Del Monte Foods, StarKist's parent company, is based in San Francisco, which Pelosi represents.
Speaker Pelosi was the Congressional leader of the party that sponsored H.R. 2 (214 of the bill's 222 cosponsors were Democrats), and it is true that Del Monte Foods' San Francisco headquarters are located within the boundaries of the California district she represents in Congress. Democrats maintained that Speaker Pelosi did not work on the details of the bill, and that the exemption for American Samoa was created at the behest of the island's Congressional delegate: A spokesman for Pelosi said the bill excluded American Samoa at the request of nonvoting Delegate Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat who represents the Pacific island territories in the House did indeed strongly advocate that American Samoa be allowed to retain its exemption from federal minimum wage standards:
Faleomavaega had an epiphany: A "decrease in production or departure of one or both of the two canneries in American Samoa could devastate the local economy, resulting in massive layoffs and insurmountable financial difficulties," he said.
[HERE'S THE BIG STUFF, FOLKS!!] He went on to say "The truth is the global tuna industry is so competitive that it is no longer possible for the federal government to demand mainland minimum wage rates for American Samoa without causing the collapse of our economy and making us welfare wards of the federal government."
*****READ THAT AGAIN AND THINK ABOUT IT ***** [What that says is an accurate microcosm of our Great Society LBJ beefed up. To paraphrase Faleomavaega, ‘why not let the market decide wages and prices, because if we interfere with a minimum wage, prices will go up, employers won't be able to afford to hire more people, business will drop, more people will be on welfare, etc.’ He wants a FREE MARKET ECONOMY for American Samoa!
I can hear Nancy and the rest of the left saying, “but it’s different for us.”
Yeah, reet.
Paul Pelosi, Nancy 's husband, owns $17 million dollars of Star-Kist stock. In January 2007 when the minimum wage was increased from $5.15 to $7.25, American Samoa was exempted from the increase. This would make obvious price discrepancies between products. When the huge bailout bill was passed, an earmark was added to the final bill adding $33 million dollars for an 'economic development credit in American Samoa.'
Now, as far as a comment goes: SNOPES writes she could find no "direct" evidence one way or the other on the above. Sounds like a non-denial non-denial non-admission non-Republican answer.
SNOPES also writes this story is a "mixture of true and false" statements. In other words, this story is basically true or rather, it's a smoking gun. We all know how the left and the right differ on smoking guns.
Prior to 2007, the U.S. territories of Northern Marianas and American Samoa were exempt from federal minimum wage standards; instead, a committee appointed by the U.S. Department of Labor established the minimum wage standards in those territories. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (H.R. 2), introduced to Congress in January of that year, sought to revise U.S. federal minimum wage standards, including the gradual rising of the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour.
Samoa is represented by a Democrat, Del. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega.
Faleomavaega's campaign coffers have been well stocked by the tuna industry that dominates his island economy. StarKist owns one of the largest canneries on the island, and Del Monte Foods, StarKist's parent company, is based in San Francisco, which Pelosi represents.
Speaker Pelosi was the Congressional leader of the party that sponsored H.R. 2 (214 of the bill's 222 cosponsors were Democrats), and it is true that Del Monte Foods' San Francisco headquarters are located within the boundaries of the California district she represents in Congress. Democrats maintained that Speaker Pelosi did not work on the details of the bill, and that the exemption for American Samoa was created at the behest of the island's Congressional delegate: A spokesman for Pelosi said the bill excluded American Samoa at the request of nonvoting Delegate Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat who represents the Pacific island territories in the House did indeed strongly advocate that American Samoa be allowed to retain its exemption from federal minimum wage standards:
Faleomavaega had an epiphany: A "decrease in production or departure of one or both of the two canneries in American Samoa could devastate the local economy, resulting in massive layoffs and insurmountable financial difficulties," he said.
[HERE'S THE BIG STUFF, FOLKS!!] He went on to say "The truth is the global tuna industry is so competitive that it is no longer possible for the federal government to demand mainland minimum wage rates for American Samoa without causing the collapse of our economy and making us welfare wards of the federal government."
*****READ THAT AGAIN AND THINK ABOUT IT ***** [What that says is an accurate microcosm of our Great Society LBJ beefed up. To paraphrase Faleomavaega, ‘why not let the market decide wages and prices, because if we interfere with a minimum wage, prices will go up, employers won't be able to afford to hire more people, business will drop, more people will be on welfare, etc.’ He wants a FREE MARKET ECONOMY for American Samoa!
I can hear Nancy and the rest of the left saying, “but it’s different for us.”
Yeah, reet.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Don't Take My Word For It
Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada's doctors
By Jennifer Graham (CP) – 1 day ago
SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.
Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made.
"We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"We know that there must be change," she said. "We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands."
The pitch for change at the conference is to start with a presentation from Dr. Robert Ouellet, the current president of the CMA, who has said there's a critical need to make Canada's health-care system patient-centred. He will present details from his fact-finding trip to Europe in January, where he met with health groups in England, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands and France.
His thoughts on the issue are already clear. Ouellet has been saying since his return that "a health-care revolution has passed us by," that it's possible to make wait lists disappear while maintaining universal coverage and "that competition should be welcomed, not feared."
In other words, Ouellet believes there could be a role for private health-care delivery within the public system.
He has also said the Canadian system could be restructured to focus on patients if hospitals and other health-care institutions received funding based on the patients they treat, instead of an annual, lump-sum budget. This "activity-based funding" would be an incentive to provide more efficient care, he has said.
Doig says she doesn't know what a proposed "blueprint" toward patient-centred care might look like when the meeting wraps up Wednesday. She'd like to emerge with clear directions about where the association should focus efforts to direct change over the next few years. She also wants to see short-term, medium-term and long-term goals laid out.
"A short-term achievable goal would be to accelerate the process of getting electronic medical records into physicians' offices," she said. "That's one I think ought to be a priority and ought to be achievable."
A long-term goal would be getting health systems "talking to each other," so information can be quickly shared to help patients.
Doig, who has had a full-time family practice in Saskatoon for 30 years, acknowledges that when physicians have talked about changing the health-care system in the past, they've been accused of wanting an American-style structure. She insists that's not the case.
"It's not about choosing between an American system or a Canadian system," said Doig. "The whole thing is about looking at what other people do."
"That's called looking at the evidence, looking at how care is delivered and how care is paid for all around us (and) then saying 'Well, OK, that's good information. How do we make all of that work in the Canadian context? What do the Canadian people want?' "
Doig says there are some "very good things" about Canada's health-care system, but she points out that many people have stories about times when things didn't go well for them or their family.
"(Canadians) have to understand that the system that we have right now - if it keeps on going without change - is not sustainable," said Doig.
"They have to look at the evidence that's being presented and will be presented at (the meeting) and realize what Canada's doctors are trying to tell you, that you can get better care than what you're getting and we all have to participate in the discussion around how do we do that and of course how do we pay for it."
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
By Jennifer Graham (CP) – 1 day ago
SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.
Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made.
"We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"We know that there must be change," she said. "We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands."
The pitch for change at the conference is to start with a presentation from Dr. Robert Ouellet, the current president of the CMA, who has said there's a critical need to make Canada's health-care system patient-centred. He will present details from his fact-finding trip to Europe in January, where he met with health groups in England, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands and France.
His thoughts on the issue are already clear. Ouellet has been saying since his return that "a health-care revolution has passed us by," that it's possible to make wait lists disappear while maintaining universal coverage and "that competition should be welcomed, not feared."
In other words, Ouellet believes there could be a role for private health-care delivery within the public system.
He has also said the Canadian system could be restructured to focus on patients if hospitals and other health-care institutions received funding based on the patients they treat, instead of an annual, lump-sum budget. This "activity-based funding" would be an incentive to provide more efficient care, he has said.
Doig says she doesn't know what a proposed "blueprint" toward patient-centred care might look like when the meeting wraps up Wednesday. She'd like to emerge with clear directions about where the association should focus efforts to direct change over the next few years. She also wants to see short-term, medium-term and long-term goals laid out.
"A short-term achievable goal would be to accelerate the process of getting electronic medical records into physicians' offices," she said. "That's one I think ought to be a priority and ought to be achievable."
A long-term goal would be getting health systems "talking to each other," so information can be quickly shared to help patients.
Doig, who has had a full-time family practice in Saskatoon for 30 years, acknowledges that when physicians have talked about changing the health-care system in the past, they've been accused of wanting an American-style structure. She insists that's not the case.
"It's not about choosing between an American system or a Canadian system," said Doig. "The whole thing is about looking at what other people do."
"That's called looking at the evidence, looking at how care is delivered and how care is paid for all around us (and) then saying 'Well, OK, that's good information. How do we make all of that work in the Canadian context? What do the Canadian people want?' "
Doig says there are some "very good things" about Canada's health-care system, but she points out that many people have stories about times when things didn't go well for them or their family.
"(Canadians) have to understand that the system that we have right now - if it keeps on going without change - is not sustainable," said Doig.
"They have to look at the evidence that's being presented and will be presented at (the meeting) and realize what Canada's doctors are trying to tell you, that you can get better care than what you're getting and we all have to participate in the discussion around how do we do that and of course how do we pay for it."
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Wish I'd Said That
Re: the actor from India who complained about being detained at a US airport>>>>"Shahrukh Khan's troubles were "yet another example of American paranoia post-9/11", director Kabir Khan said. "It saddens me to say this but I don't think the US will ever be cured of Islamophobia."
DK's response: We'll be cured of "Islamophobia" just as soon as the Islamofascists are cured of not-blowing-up-innocent-people-ophobia.
Followers of the "religion of peace" seem to have an incurable need to kill everyone not Islamic, or even other Islamofascists who aren't the right sect of Islamofascist. When they're cured of that, we'll probably be a little less "Islamophobic."
And don't give us the "it's all racist" crap either. You don't see us going after Buddhists or Shinto people do you? And when was the last great Hindu attack we foiled? Not exactly white Catholic types, are they?
Tell you what India. As soon as you make peace with Pakistan, we'll stop worrying about the Islamofascists.
BTW, didn't Mumbai teach you anything?
DK's response: We'll be cured of "Islamophobia" just as soon as the Islamofascists are cured of not-blowing-up-innocent-people-ophobia.
Followers of the "religion of peace" seem to have an incurable need to kill everyone not Islamic, or even other Islamofascists who aren't the right sect of Islamofascist. When they're cured of that, we'll probably be a little less "Islamophobic."
And don't give us the "it's all racist" crap either. You don't see us going after Buddhists or Shinto people do you? And when was the last great Hindu attack we foiled? Not exactly white Catholic types, are they?
Tell you what India. As soon as you make peace with Pakistan, we'll stop worrying about the Islamofascists.
BTW, didn't Mumbai teach you anything?
Real Sicko
Did you know paying for your own health care is unlawful in Canada? Check this out:
http://www.freemarketcure.com/brainsurgery.php
Yeah, yeah.. it's just one story, one patient, one situation. It's one situation too many. The politicians are squawking that not everyone has health insurance! They're right, they don't have health insurance -- but they have access to health care. We spend billions on health care for those without insurance. Medicare is fucked, broken, full of fraud, and near bankrupt.... but the Democrats think the government will do a better job by taking over the whole system? Health care was actually headed in the right direction before DRGs came into the picture. Diagnostic Related Groups, thought up by some liberals at some Ivy League school no doubt. Remember when Blue Cross/Blue Shield was not-for-profit? Things ran pretty smoothly. Here's a thought -- before the government takes our health care system hostage, why not revert the insurance companies to not-for-profit? HEY!!!!!! If you're listening in Washington, give this a shot, willya? Why subject all of us to the torture of a single payer system in the hands of the same folks who dish out food stamps?
http://www.freemarketcure.com/brainsurgery.php
Yeah, yeah.. it's just one story, one patient, one situation. It's one situation too many. The politicians are squawking that not everyone has health insurance! They're right, they don't have health insurance -- but they have access to health care. We spend billions on health care for those without insurance. Medicare is fucked, broken, full of fraud, and near bankrupt.... but the Democrats think the government will do a better job by taking over the whole system? Health care was actually headed in the right direction before DRGs came into the picture. Diagnostic Related Groups, thought up by some liberals at some Ivy League school no doubt. Remember when Blue Cross/Blue Shield was not-for-profit? Things ran pretty smoothly. Here's a thought -- before the government takes our health care system hostage, why not revert the insurance companies to not-for-profit? HEY!!!!!! If you're listening in Washington, give this a shot, willya? Why subject all of us to the torture of a single payer system in the hands of the same folks who dish out food stamps?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Brad Sherman, my Congressman (person)
My Congressman is Brad Sherman. He's a nerd, always was always will be. He'll never be cool but sometimes he looks as though he's thinking he is. I've never met the guy and if his responses to my letters are anything like him I'm glad I've never met him. He would really piss me off in person. Once I called his office to find out how he was going to vote on a particular bill. The chickie who answered the phone said she couldn't speak on behalf of the Congressman and said she didn't know how he was going to vote. Fuck you, Brad.
Check this out: I sent an email asking if Congress was serious about buying those jets when the rest of the US is in the tank. His emailed response came about 10 days later. (10 days to click "reply" is a bit too long. In fact, there's got to be a machine that automatically sends the response.) It's a very polite response and even includes a little commercial-- Notice how they hit the return key a lot to spread it out --
Dear Mr. Locke:
Thank you very much for contacting me. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me.
Hearing from you is very important to me because it provides me with insight into your thoughts and concerns on the major issues facing Congress today. I look forward to your continued input and will keep your concerns in mind.
Only part of my job is voting in Washington. Another important part of my job is helping resolve problems that constituents are experiencing with federal agencies like the Social Security Administration or Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. If you are interested in any of these services, please contact my district office at (818) 501-9200 or visit my website at http://BradSherman.house.gov.
You can also follow me on Twitter by visiting Twitter.com/BradSherman, or become my fan on Facebook. My official government Facebook page is registered as "Congressman Brad Sherman."
Again, thank you very much for contacting me and sharing your views. I hope to hear from you further in the future.
Sincerely,
Brad Sherman
Member of Congress
Please note that Brad Sherman respects your privacy. If you sign up for Congressman Sherman's email updates or participate in a questionnaire, your email information will never be sold, traded or rented to any outside company. If you wish to contact me further, I welcome your correspondence. However, please do not reply to this message. Instead, please visit my website, http://bradsherman.house.gov/sherman/contact, and e-mail me through the webform provided. Thank you very much for contacting me.
HEY, BRAD!!!! What the fuck?!?!?!? What about the airplanes?!?!? Is it any wonder you guys have a single digit approval rating?
Check this out: I sent an email asking if Congress was serious about buying those jets when the rest of the US is in the tank. His emailed response came about 10 days later. (10 days to click "reply" is a bit too long. In fact, there's got to be a machine that automatically sends the response.) It's a very polite response and even includes a little commercial-- Notice how they hit the return key a lot to spread it out --
Dear Mr. Locke:
Thank you very much for contacting me. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me.
Hearing from you is very important to me because it provides me with insight into your thoughts and concerns on the major issues facing Congress today. I look forward to your continued input and will keep your concerns in mind.
Only part of my job is voting in Washington. Another important part of my job is helping resolve problems that constituents are experiencing with federal agencies like the Social Security Administration or Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. If you are interested in any of these services, please contact my district office at (818) 501-9200 or visit my website at http://BradSherman.house.gov.
You can also follow me on Twitter by visiting Twitter.com/BradSherman, or become my fan on Facebook. My official government Facebook page is registered as "Congressman Brad Sherman."
Again, thank you very much for contacting me and sharing your views. I hope to hear from you further in the future.
Sincerely,
Brad Sherman
Member of Congress
Please note that Brad Sherman respects your privacy. If you sign up for Congressman Sherman's email updates or participate in a questionnaire, your email information will never be sold, traded or rented to any outside company. If you wish to contact me further, I welcome your correspondence. However, please do not reply to this message. Instead, please visit my website, http://bradsherman.house.gov/sherman/contact, and e-mail me through the webform provided. Thank you very much for contacting me.
HEY, BRAD!!!! What the fuck?!?!?!? What about the airplanes?!?!? Is it any wonder you guys have a single digit approval rating?
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Plagerism
All right, all right... here is a little bit of plagerism onaccounta (that's a Beaver Cleaver word).. onaccounta these folks say it better than I can. Here's one such passage:
Abridged letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors - followed by a response from our son, Gregory Knox: Dear Employee, Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis.....................As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard. Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support. Troy Clarke President General Motors North America
QUOTE
From Gregory Knox, In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me. You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream". The dream is over! The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities and that still the masses will line up to buy our products Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting. Mr Clark, the president of General Motors, states: There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not. You're right, it's not JUST management, how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors. What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. Time to pay for your sins, Detroit . I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day and something else would happen. Where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work if we would let it work! But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work; that we need the government to step in and "save us". Save us, hell we're nationalizing and unfortunately too many of this once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what's really happening but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams yeah THAT'S important. Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?... How can that be??? Let's see - - Fuel efficient - Listening to customers - Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul - Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming 4 decades ago - Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans - Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy" - Efficient front and back offices - Non union environment - Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know in their hearts I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into. My children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way). I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through. Radical concept, huh? Am I there for them in the wings? Of course but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people, it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away" I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the vote count was tallied "we might not do it in a year or in four"! Where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office Stop trying to put off the inevitable! That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000! People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits! That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year! That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home! Let the market correct itself people, it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has and doesn't live beyond its means and gets back to basics and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world and probably turns back to God. Sorry, don't cut my head off. I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news" Gregory J Knox President Knox Machinery, Inc. Franklin, Ohio 45005
HERE'S A RESPONSE TO KNOX:
This letter by Knox infuriates me because I am the owner of a Bobcat 843 that was made with union labor in '81. Present status, still running with over 30,000 hours. I have put in one or two hydraulic pumps, replaced the outside Timken wheel bearings on all four wheels, and replaced the mechanical fuel pump with an electric supply pump. Total cost: About 1,600 to 2,000 dollars. I still use it about an hour every day.
I have also owned a JI Case tractor that went for 23,000 hours without touching the motor. Finally decided to drop the oil pan and replace the rod and main bearings. Turned out I didn't need to. The bearings were as smooth as a baby's behind. I put 3,000 more hours on the tractor before I salvaged it for parts.
My conclusion: Mr. Knox thinks his dream will stay alive if the working man will work for next to nothing. Mr. Knox doesn't say one thing about all the hell created by deregulating various sectors of our economy. Mr. Knox doesn't say one thing about our enormous trade deficits that were created by our disastrous trade agreements and our never ending gluttonous quest for more oil. No, Mr. Knox thinks that if we extend a proper and good hatred towards the working man and our "newly elected Messiah" we will soon find our pot of gold. Sorry, my mistake Mr. Knox, your pot of gold.
HERE'S MY RESPONSE TO THE RESPONSE: Gosh, sir, our never ending gluttonous quest for more oil? Talk to your fellow dems about not being permitted to harvest the oil when we find it. Talk to them about not allowing any company to build more refineries. Talk to them about giving "stimulus money" to oil companies to build just one more, and to use AMERICAN oil to refine our gasoline. (Think of the dry ice we'll have, too! It's a by-product of making gasoline.) You think it's happenstance that companies outsourced jobs? They did it to get away from paying ludicrous wages for 60% productivity. Have you ever hired an illegal Mexican to work on projects? They work all fucking day! It's not that he wants to pay "next to nothing" as you insist. No, he just wants to pay a fair wage for a fair day's work. The market will dictate what that fair wage is if allowed; not a minimum wage law... or a union. We are way past the point of needing unions in this world. When is the last time you went to a "working man" or a poor man to get a job? Nope, you always go to the owner of the company, the one who's taken the risk, the one who's put up his own money to make something, the one who's taking an idea a step further than thinking about it, or... dare I say it... the one with money to pay you!! Kiss the employer's ass, Mr. Dissenter. You need him, he doesn't need you. It's just like your union.. you need them they don't need you. Notice how when you go on strike the union officials still get paid?
Whew! :-)
Abridged letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors - followed by a response from our son, Gregory Knox: Dear Employee, Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis.....................As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard. Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support. Troy Clarke President General Motors North America
QUOTE
From Gregory Knox, In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me. You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream". The dream is over! The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities and that still the masses will line up to buy our products Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting. Mr Clark, the president of General Motors, states: There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not. You're right, it's not JUST management, how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors. What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. Time to pay for your sins, Detroit . I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day and something else would happen. Where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work if we would let it work! But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work; that we need the government to step in and "save us". Save us, hell we're nationalizing and unfortunately too many of this once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what's really happening but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams yeah THAT'S important. Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?... How can that be??? Let's see - - Fuel efficient - Listening to customers - Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul - Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming 4 decades ago - Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans - Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy" - Efficient front and back offices - Non union environment - Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know in their hearts I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into. My children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way). I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through. Radical concept, huh? Am I there for them in the wings? Of course but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people, it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away" I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the vote count was tallied "we might not do it in a year or in four"! Where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office Stop trying to put off the inevitable! That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000! People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits! That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year! That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home! Let the market correct itself people, it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has and doesn't live beyond its means and gets back to basics and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world and probably turns back to God. Sorry, don't cut my head off. I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news" Gregory J Knox President Knox Machinery, Inc. Franklin, Ohio 45005
HERE'S A RESPONSE TO KNOX:
This letter by Knox infuriates me because I am the owner of a Bobcat 843 that was made with union labor in '81. Present status, still running with over 30,000 hours. I have put in one or two hydraulic pumps, replaced the outside Timken wheel bearings on all four wheels, and replaced the mechanical fuel pump with an electric supply pump. Total cost: About 1,600 to 2,000 dollars. I still use it about an hour every day.
I have also owned a JI Case tractor that went for 23,000 hours without touching the motor. Finally decided to drop the oil pan and replace the rod and main bearings. Turned out I didn't need to. The bearings were as smooth as a baby's behind. I put 3,000 more hours on the tractor before I salvaged it for parts.
My conclusion: Mr. Knox thinks his dream will stay alive if the working man will work for next to nothing. Mr. Knox doesn't say one thing about all the hell created by deregulating various sectors of our economy. Mr. Knox doesn't say one thing about our enormous trade deficits that were created by our disastrous trade agreements and our never ending gluttonous quest for more oil. No, Mr. Knox thinks that if we extend a proper and good hatred towards the working man and our "newly elected Messiah" we will soon find our pot of gold. Sorry, my mistake Mr. Knox, your pot of gold.
HERE'S MY RESPONSE TO THE RESPONSE: Gosh, sir, our never ending gluttonous quest for more oil? Talk to your fellow dems about not being permitted to harvest the oil when we find it. Talk to them about not allowing any company to build more refineries. Talk to them about giving "stimulus money" to oil companies to build just one more, and to use AMERICAN oil to refine our gasoline. (Think of the dry ice we'll have, too! It's a by-product of making gasoline.) You think it's happenstance that companies outsourced jobs? They did it to get away from paying ludicrous wages for 60% productivity. Have you ever hired an illegal Mexican to work on projects? They work all fucking day! It's not that he wants to pay "next to nothing" as you insist. No, he just wants to pay a fair wage for a fair day's work. The market will dictate what that fair wage is if allowed; not a minimum wage law... or a union. We are way past the point of needing unions in this world. When is the last time you went to a "working man" or a poor man to get a job? Nope, you always go to the owner of the company, the one who's taken the risk, the one who's put up his own money to make something, the one who's taking an idea a step further than thinking about it, or... dare I say it... the one with money to pay you!! Kiss the employer's ass, Mr. Dissenter. You need him, he doesn't need you. It's just like your union.. you need them they don't need you. Notice how when you go on strike the union officials still get paid?
Whew! :-)
Saturday, August 8, 2009
After a week in Sin City
After a week in Sin City what is going on? Well, unemployment is down to a mere 9.4% -- no, the press "reports" unemployment "fell" a tenth of a percentage point. Wow. And I thought we were in trouble. Whew! I sure am glad that stimulus package went through as quick as it did through those Evelyn Woods scholars! BO said if it wasn't passed, America would "never recover." Yep, we would "never recover" if that stimulus package including literally thousands of corrupt projects wasn't passed. Never is a long time, dontchaknow. Now he's hitting us with the "healthcare" crisis saying we will never have another chance to pass it. Pay close attention to what these guys are saying. Sometimes they will say 40 million Americans are without "coverage" or "insurance." Well, of COURSE they have healthCARE! They can go to any number of Emergency Rooms and hospitals, get healthcare, and not pay a single dime! YOU and I pay for them! Illegals get healthcare out the wazoo. We transplant them. The fiasco in the Carolinas a few years ago where the wrong blood type organ was put into the little girl who subsequently died? She was here illegally to get transplanted. Pregnant females wait at the border until they're in labor, then cross to deliver their "anchor" babies. We've got to get rid of that clause. Illegals are just the most in-your-face and blatant example of how the US is mortgaging the future at the speed of light. They populate our welfare rolls, our schools, our hospitals, and our prisons. Send them home. We need to release tens of thousands of prisoners in California -- send the illegals home. Put them on planes and take them home under armed jet escort.
Up to now the United States has aided and sent aid to millions and millions of peoples throughout the world, at all times. The only land we asked for in return was enough to bury our dead.
If we continue to give away our children's children's fortune we will be the ones asking for help.
Up to now the United States has aided and sent aid to millions and millions of peoples throughout the world, at all times. The only land we asked for in return was enough to bury our dead.
If we continue to give away our children's children's fortune we will be the ones asking for help.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)