Before I tell this story, a little background on good parenting around potential pedophiles.
As the father of a 6-year-old girl whom I love more than anyone else in the world, I am always on the alert when in public for the loitering ne'er-do-wells. You know them when you see them. They are the ones at shopping centers or parks or sports functions who have no purpose associated with the surrounding activity. Sometimes, these people are simply lethargic and innocuous. Sometimes, they are potential threats.
You can usually assess whether they are threats by what draws their attention (little kids and frail women), how they focus that attention (intermittent intensity), and how they express their interest (momentary puerile look on face). After reading about these sublife forms for decades, I've learned that they are often masters of deception. They will feign mostly uninterest in the objects of their lascivious desire and move to a secluded spot (often bathrooms) near their victims without any ostensive pursuit.
They are often master predators, and they know well which victims are their best prey and which moments to pounce. Any caring parent is an alert parent, fully knowledgeable that these scum are ubiquitous and that eventually they will be in proximity to our children many times during our children's lives. They are out there as I write this (and as my child sleeps) scoping out some other parents' children. If we value our children, then our protection radar is always on (even during heavy conversation with friends). We consciously evaluate every public situation for full security (usually our close proximity and ability to handle a situation) to protect our highest value (or one of our highest values).
Now, the story. A man was sitting outside of a Stone Mountain Park restroom. A female off-duty GBI agent was finishing an impromptu hike down Stone Mountain. A female off-duty sheriff's officer was about to begin a five-mile run. A 13-year-old girl was about to head toward the restroom. The park was sparsely populated because of bad weather.
The two officers noticed the man and said later that he "was acting very strangely" and "he was checking out everyone who walked by." They continued what they were doing and occasionally looked back at the man. The girl went to the restroom. The sheriff's officer looked back again at the man and didn't see him. The officer headed toward the restroom.
Once inside, she saw a man's feet sticking out of the bottom of one of the stalls as he was kneeling. She heard muffled cries. She yelled in a commanding voice for the man to release the child. Nothing happened. She yelled again. The girl exited the stall and said a strange man was inside. The officer (not armed) escorted the girl outside and yelled for someone to call 911.
The GBI agent was already headed toward the bathroom carrying her Glock, which she'd gone back to her car to retrieve. The man tried to leave the bathroom and met the GBI agent and her Glock. He surrendered. His name is Patrick Leithead. Though he had very little time with the girl, he has been charged with aggravated child molestation and remains jailed without bond in Dekalb County, GA.
The two off-duty officers are heroes. I wish I could kiss them. They did their jobs perfectly. They served and protected according to the words on their cars. The girl may grow up knowing that these two brave individuals saved from her from something horrible, if not death.
But ... where were the parents? The stories on this girl do not mention where the parents or guardians were. How could any adult with this child not notice such a man sitting idly by with sinister notice on his forehead? Perhaps the parents of this child have learned their lesson (probably not), but how many other parents out there do not take these lurking monsters seriously ALWAYS?
My thoughts go back to my dear sleeping daughter. And my commitment to her safety is steadfast.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Shaken, stirred and on the rocks
Check out this amazing story of an unschooler mom who got her life together and found amazing fitness in rock climbing. I love stories like this!
The Google Books Library Project -- and rascals
Some of you may be familiar with the awesome thing Google has been trying to put together for years: amass millions of out-of-print books in electronic form and make them available to everyone in the world. Here's how Google explains it:
"In October 2008, Google announced a settlement agreement with a broad class of authors and publishers to make the world's books even more accessible online. If approved, the agreement will help readers access millions of hard-to-find, out-of-print books; it will provide new opportunities for authors and publishers to sell their works; and it will further the efforts of our library partners to preserve and maintain their collections while making books more accessible for people on their home computers, in their academic institutions, and in public libraries across the U.S.Authors, publishers, students, teachers, librarians, and civil rights organizations have voiced their support for the agreement over the past months. This site provides a snapshot of their views and some of the ways the settlement will increase access to information."
But not everybody is happy with Google, with the usual accusations of antitrust being leveled at Google, who has signed contracts with the appropriate people and settled suits with The Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers to ensure that its project goes forward.
The "Department of Justice" (apostrophes are mine) has weighed in on the matter and demands changes to the agreement, and a district judge is looking at the matter now. The district judge says that the agreement (which is contractual) "raises significant issues" (hmm, wonder what they might be?), but even more troubling, the district judge sort of likes the project because it "would offer many benefits to society."
Well, thank you, Mr. Collectivist. Glad you think Google is offering benefits to society. Hey, while you're at it, rascal, you might look up the meaning of "contract."
Thank you, Google, for being so fricking kick-ass! Luv ya, baby!
"In October 2008, Google announced a settlement agreement with a broad class of authors and publishers to make the world's books even more accessible online. If approved, the agreement will help readers access millions of hard-to-find, out-of-print books; it will provide new opportunities for authors and publishers to sell their works; and it will further the efforts of our library partners to preserve and maintain their collections while making books more accessible for people on their home computers, in their academic institutions, and in public libraries across the U.S.Authors, publishers, students, teachers, librarians, and civil rights organizations have voiced their support for the agreement over the past months. This site provides a snapshot of their views and some of the ways the settlement will increase access to information."
But not everybody is happy with Google, with the usual accusations of antitrust being leveled at Google, who has signed contracts with the appropriate people and settled suits with The Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers to ensure that its project goes forward.
The "Department of Justice" (apostrophes are mine) has weighed in on the matter and demands changes to the agreement, and a district judge is looking at the matter now. The district judge says that the agreement (which is contractual) "raises significant issues" (hmm, wonder what they might be?), but even more troubling, the district judge sort of likes the project because it "would offer many benefits to society."
Well, thank you, Mr. Collectivist. Glad you think Google is offering benefits to society. Hey, while you're at it, rascal, you might look up the meaning of "contract."
Thank you, Google, for being so fricking kick-ass! Luv ya, baby!
The mystics want my money
When you're connected to business folks on LinkedIn and other places, you never know what lurks inside the beast on the other side of the email address. One of these monsters evidently is an "evangelistic leader" and included me today in a very big GROUP email (see below) requesting money for her church. I'll let you, my dear reader, imagine what my response to her entire group was.
Oh, I forgot to mention that she called me a month ago about business and introduced herself as Evangelist Linda Hood. I asked her if "Evangelist" was her first name. She laughed and said, "Oh, I've never been asked that before. No, I'm an evangelistic leader." I said, "Oh, I'm an atheistic leader." The conversation didn't last long. Here's her email:
______________
Hello,
We need your help.....I'm asking everybody I know to please donate a pledge to my church...we've located a new building on Candler Rd.....that can purchased....we can't do that w'out your financial support I'm asking the ( Body of Christ for Help!!!!!!!!! whatever you GIVE WILL BE APPRECIATED AND ADDED TOWARDS THE $65,000...MAKE ALL
CHECKS PAYABLE TO: RHEMA CHRISTIAN MINSTRY.....SEND DONATIONS TO...
Evangelist Linda Hood, P.O.Box 830921....Stone Mountain,Ga.30083....phone # 404-246-6058.....OR JOIN US FOR OUR WORSHIP CELEBRATION SUNDAY @ 11:AM....WE
NEED YOUR PLEDGE ON THIS SUNDAY.....1st SUNDAY IN OCTOBER....THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT....IF I CAN EVER RETURN THE FAVOR PLEASE DN'T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME......ONLY FOR THE KINGDOM....HIS SERVANT........Evang.linda hood
Oh, I forgot to mention that she called me a month ago about business and introduced herself as Evangelist Linda Hood. I asked her if "Evangelist" was her first name. She laughed and said, "Oh, I've never been asked that before. No, I'm an evangelistic leader." I said, "Oh, I'm an atheistic leader." The conversation didn't last long. Here's her email:
______________
Hello,
We need your help.....I'm asking everybody I know to please donate a pledge to my church...we've located a new building on Candler Rd.....that can purchased....we can't do that w'out your financial support I'm asking the ( Body of Christ for Help!!!!!!!!! whatever you GIVE WILL BE APPRECIATED AND ADDED TOWARDS THE $65,000...MAKE ALL
CHECKS PAYABLE TO: RHEMA CHRISTIAN MINSTRY.....SEND DONATIONS TO...
Evangelist Linda Hood, P.O.Box 830921....Stone Mountain,Ga.30083....phone # 404-246-6058.....OR JOIN US FOR OUR WORSHIP CELEBRATION SUNDAY @ 11:AM....WE
NEED YOUR PLEDGE ON THIS SUNDAY.....1st SUNDAY IN OCTOBER....THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT....IF I CAN EVER RETURN THE FAVOR PLEASE DN'T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME......ONLY FOR THE KINGDOM....HIS SERVANT........Evang.linda hood
Monday, September 28, 2009
I confess I don't have health insurance
I wrote the following letter to the Wall Street Journal after it printed a good column on how ODE's fascist health insurance plan would simply be income redistribution.
_______________
I have a confession to make. I don’t have health insurance. I’m evidently a statistic, along with 47 million of my fellow Americans. And I choose to be.
I am 49 years old. I eat nutritiously and do 7 hours of high-intensity workouts each week on a program called P90X. I have 8% body fat and the body of a 25-year-old athlete – so I guess that sort of makes me one of those healthy 20-somethings that the Obama administration plans to confiscate cash from to pay for those who don’t take care of themselves or don’t save money in case they have health issues in later life.
I stopped paying 5K-plus a year ago in catastrophic health insurance after I broke my nose playing basketball a year before and had to foot a $6,000 tab (I had 10K deductible to keep my premiums down). I negotiated with my nose doctor and the outpatient clinic to make payments for three years on the bill; they said yes, and I got my nose fixed, and I paid the bill off in less than a year.
I have been much more careful playing basketball since. This is what happens when you must pay your own health bills. I wasn’t reckless before, but perhaps I wasn’t as careful as I should’ve been with my inside-the-lane “power” layup. But recklessness is exactly what is happening in America today – and what will happen on a much greater scale if Mr. Obama proceeds with his violation of individual rights and his income redistribution, as was described by Michael Leavitt, Al Hubbard and Keith Hennessey.
Those of us who take great care of our bodies and are careful to avoid accidents will be forced at the point of a government gun to pay for those who abuse their bodies and blithely expose themselves to danger. This will create not a winter of discontent for those of us who are responsible; it will create a decade (or century) of discontent and a simmering anger at those who are visibly out of shape and reckless in public.
_______________
I have a confession to make. I don’t have health insurance. I’m evidently a statistic, along with 47 million of my fellow Americans. And I choose to be.
I am 49 years old. I eat nutritiously and do 7 hours of high-intensity workouts each week on a program called P90X. I have 8% body fat and the body of a 25-year-old athlete – so I guess that sort of makes me one of those healthy 20-somethings that the Obama administration plans to confiscate cash from to pay for those who don’t take care of themselves or don’t save money in case they have health issues in later life.
I stopped paying 5K-plus a year ago in catastrophic health insurance after I broke my nose playing basketball a year before and had to foot a $6,000 tab (I had 10K deductible to keep my premiums down). I negotiated with my nose doctor and the outpatient clinic to make payments for three years on the bill; they said yes, and I got my nose fixed, and I paid the bill off in less than a year.
I have been much more careful playing basketball since. This is what happens when you must pay your own health bills. I wasn’t reckless before, but perhaps I wasn’t as careful as I should’ve been with my inside-the-lane “power” layup. But recklessness is exactly what is happening in America today – and what will happen on a much greater scale if Mr. Obama proceeds with his violation of individual rights and his income redistribution, as was described by Michael Leavitt, Al Hubbard and Keith Hennessey.
Those of us who take great care of our bodies and are careful to avoid accidents will be forced at the point of a government gun to pay for those who abuse their bodies and blithely expose themselves to danger. This will create not a winter of discontent for those of us who are responsible; it will create a decade (or century) of discontent and a simmering anger at those who are visibly out of shape and reckless in public.
Obama Dead Eyes loves dictators because he is one
The ODE administration has been demanding the return of Honduras' former dictator to power, even though the Honduran supreme court ousted him. I wrote the following letter to the editor to the Wall Street Journal on that subject.
_______________
Mary Anastasia O’Grady has been the one clear voice describing the Obama administration’s unprincipled actions against Honduras, and her adjective of “embarrassing” hits the mark for any constitutionalist American. But I have two adjectives the best explain the Obama administration’s detestable coercion: “sympathetic” and “frightened.”
Mr. Obama and his eminence rouge (Hillary Clinton) have tried (and are trying) to remake America into a socialist camp and therefore have great sympathy for former Honduran strongman Manuel Zelaya, as well as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the leaders of a half-dozen tin-pot dictatorships around the world whose good graces they continuously court. Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton do not see these “leaders” as mortal enemies of liberty; they seem them as paradigms for the takeover of private industry, capitalism and the invisible hand of free commerce.
What frightens Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton in the Honduran crisis is a constitutional judiciary dethroning a tyrant – just as crowned heads of state used to fear popular revolutions in neighboring countries. This is the reason that the Obama cabal will not comment on the particulars of the Zelaya removal. To utter any nonsense broadside against the proper judgment of the Honduran judiciary would highlight the eminence of the law over executive power.
And that might lead to arguments within the United States for the rule of law against the enormous welfare-state (socialistic) plans of this current administration – and, one might hope, for a judicial removal of any sitting president who so blithely ignores the U.S. Constitution in his quest to commit grand larceny against productive American citizens.
_______________
Mary Anastasia O’Grady has been the one clear voice describing the Obama administration’s unprincipled actions against Honduras, and her adjective of “embarrassing” hits the mark for any constitutionalist American. But I have two adjectives the best explain the Obama administration’s detestable coercion: “sympathetic” and “frightened.”
Mr. Obama and his eminence rouge (Hillary Clinton) have tried (and are trying) to remake America into a socialist camp and therefore have great sympathy for former Honduran strongman Manuel Zelaya, as well as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the leaders of a half-dozen tin-pot dictatorships around the world whose good graces they continuously court. Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton do not see these “leaders” as mortal enemies of liberty; they seem them as paradigms for the takeover of private industry, capitalism and the invisible hand of free commerce.
What frightens Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton in the Honduran crisis is a constitutional judiciary dethroning a tyrant – just as crowned heads of state used to fear popular revolutions in neighboring countries. This is the reason that the Obama cabal will not comment on the particulars of the Zelaya removal. To utter any nonsense broadside against the proper judgment of the Honduran judiciary would highlight the eminence of the law over executive power.
And that might lead to arguments within the United States for the rule of law against the enormous welfare-state (socialistic) plans of this current administration – and, one might hope, for a judicial removal of any sitting president who so blithely ignores the U.S. Constitution in his quest to commit grand larceny against productive American citizens.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Ayn Rand Center's Onkar Ghate on Pajamas TV
Onkar is perhaps the most eloquent spokesman for Objectivism around today, and he proves it again HERE as he and the terrific Pajamas TV interviewer discuss self-esteem and the modern-day wimps.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Just when I thought I could buy an American car ...
Here's some good news about technology and some typically bad news about government and its enablers (in this case, Ford).
Good news: The geniuses in the tech world have figured out a way to convert voice to text for cars, and Ford is looking into it for its future cars because many of its buyers are asking for it. Kudos!
Bad news: Ford is simultaneously endorsing a U.S. government proposal to ban texting while driving.
Huh? Anything sound fishy in a company seeking the banishment of an activity that will drive consumers to its product? And, by the way, what the hell is a maker of automobiles doing giving opinions on what private people do in the cars they drive that has nothing to do with the car itself?!
Many of you may remember my complimenting Ford for being the only U.S. automaker that didn't take bailout loot. And now the bastards go and fuck it all away! So I reckon I'll have to look across the Atlantic or Pacific for a new car -- or put a light on my bicycle.
Good news: The geniuses in the tech world have figured out a way to convert voice to text for cars, and Ford is looking into it for its future cars because many of its buyers are asking for it. Kudos!
Bad news: Ford is simultaneously endorsing a U.S. government proposal to ban texting while driving.
Huh? Anything sound fishy in a company seeking the banishment of an activity that will drive consumers to its product? And, by the way, what the hell is a maker of automobiles doing giving opinions on what private people do in the cars they drive that has nothing to do with the car itself?!
Many of you may remember my complimenting Ford for being the only U.S. automaker that didn't take bailout loot. And now the bastards go and fuck it all away! So I reckon I'll have to look across the Atlantic or Pacific for a new car -- or put a light on my bicycle.
Americans are watching 151 hours of TV EVERY MONTH!
OK, I NEVER watch TV. Well, practically never. I catch a little golf about once a month or so. I can certainly see how people might watch about an hour or so of quality TV every day on average, but FIVE hours of TV every day?!! That gives "addiction" a bad name.
When I read about the 151 hours (reported by Nielsen Ratings), I wondered what I do with that 151 hours each month. Here's a brief rundown.
1) 50 hours of engaging with my daughter in the 15 days I have her each month.
2) 32 hours of intense exercise.
3) 4 hours of TV watching.
4) 20 hours of quality NetFlix movies and book reading
5) 45 hours of reading newspapers and writing letters
Wow, that's exactly 151 hours. It is simply incomprehensible to me that Americans have become such couch potatoes with virtually no value pursuits outside of becoming TV vegetables.
I reckon that's why I see so many glum faces riding atop potato bodies at the mall. Yikes! And I guess it's why a large percentage of these brain-dead Americans voted for an impostor and poser for president, and they now seek "free" health care for their battered bodies and psyches.
Meanwhile, I work my ass off and am required at the point of a gun to surrender my cash to the lazy motherfuckers. I ain't happy 'bout that. Nope, not one bit.
When I read about the 151 hours (reported by Nielsen Ratings), I wondered what I do with that 151 hours each month. Here's a brief rundown.
1) 50 hours of engaging with my daughter in the 15 days I have her each month.
2) 32 hours of intense exercise.
3) 4 hours of TV watching.
4) 20 hours of quality NetFlix movies and book reading
5) 45 hours of reading newspapers and writing letters
Wow, that's exactly 151 hours. It is simply incomprehensible to me that Americans have become such couch potatoes with virtually no value pursuits outside of becoming TV vegetables.
I reckon that's why I see so many glum faces riding atop potato bodies at the mall. Yikes! And I guess it's why a large percentage of these brain-dead Americans voted for an impostor and poser for president, and they now seek "free" health care for their battered bodies and psyches.
Meanwhile, I work my ass off and am required at the point of a gun to surrender my cash to the lazy motherfuckers. I ain't happy 'bout that. Nope, not one bit.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Here's a health care list that'll give you an ulcer
Here's what's planned in "health care reform." Read it all -- I dare you not to get mad as hell.
___________
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)• Page 42: The “Health Choices Commissioner” will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Health card.• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.•
Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No “judicial review” is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.• Page 203: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” Yes, it really says that.• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected.”• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors’ time, their professional judgment, etc.• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries. (Essentially nationalization. SCB)• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!•
Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on “community” input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.•
Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient’s health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
___________
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)• Page 42: The “Health Choices Commissioner” will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Health card.• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.•
Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No “judicial review” is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.• Page 203: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” Yes, it really says that.• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected.”• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors’ time, their professional judgment, etc.• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries. (Essentially nationalization. SCB)• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!•
Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on “community” input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.•
Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient’s health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
With friends like Newt, who needs enemies?
The GOP is simply Liberal Light -- and equally less filling. I wrote the following letter to the Wall Street Journal a few minutes ago on a column by Newt Gingrich on (1) how there needs to be more freedom in health care, but (2) how the state has a duty to take care of everyone. Egads!
_______________________
The brilliant, eloquent and driven Newt Gingrich exemplifies what is fatally wrong with the GOP: the failure to link capitalism with morality.
Mr. Gingrich’s most recent Journal column on a “growth vision for health reform” was typically incisive for three-quarters of its length on economics but then states in its penultimate graph that “no American should suffer … because of a lack of health care.” Indeed? What about those who lead destructive lifestyles and refuse to work?
He also states in the same graph that there should be a “safety net” that should be propped up by “state high-risk pools to ensure coverage for everyone.” He then has the unprincipled temerity to state that that is “the American way of reform.”
No, the American way of reform is to revert back to total individual rights, like our Founders did, and insist that government get the hell out of the way of individuals making health decisions, doctors making medical decisions, insurance companies making business decisions – and all of us deciding for ourselves whom we will deal with and how much we’ll pay – just like at Best Buy.
Mr. Gingrich and his coterie of mealy-mouth Republicans suffer from a severe case of modern altruism, and it is a disease that is killing this country’s liberty. Until they stop buying into the bankrupt liberal discussion of “altruistic utility” and begin promoting reform that touts the individual’s right for self-determination in all things health and otherwise (and stop believing they must follow inane “compassionate conservatism”), the GOP will continue to flounder, fiddle and fuss – and never be invited to a true Tea Party.
_______________________
The brilliant, eloquent and driven Newt Gingrich exemplifies what is fatally wrong with the GOP: the failure to link capitalism with morality.
Mr. Gingrich’s most recent Journal column on a “growth vision for health reform” was typically incisive for three-quarters of its length on economics but then states in its penultimate graph that “no American should suffer … because of a lack of health care.” Indeed? What about those who lead destructive lifestyles and refuse to work?
He also states in the same graph that there should be a “safety net” that should be propped up by “state high-risk pools to ensure coverage for everyone.” He then has the unprincipled temerity to state that that is “the American way of reform.”
No, the American way of reform is to revert back to total individual rights, like our Founders did, and insist that government get the hell out of the way of individuals making health decisions, doctors making medical decisions, insurance companies making business decisions – and all of us deciding for ourselves whom we will deal with and how much we’ll pay – just like at Best Buy.
Mr. Gingrich and his coterie of mealy-mouth Republicans suffer from a severe case of modern altruism, and it is a disease that is killing this country’s liberty. Until they stop buying into the bankrupt liberal discussion of “altruistic utility” and begin promoting reform that touts the individual’s right for self-determination in all things health and otherwise (and stop believing they must follow inane “compassionate conservatism”), the GOP will continue to flounder, fiddle and fuss – and never be invited to a true Tea Party.
My video for my fitness company MLM is on YouTube's first page
One of my coaches with Beachbody (Larry) and I have put together a four-minute video for the company and placed it with a company that gets the video situated on the first pages with certain search phrases. Our video went out to several prominent web sites around midnight last night, and within our first 12 hours, we are on the front page of YouTube when people use the search "best mlm opportunity." We've already had 26 hits and expect hundreds of phone calls each month. Here's the video (or you can go to YouTube and do a search and see for yourself):
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Frank Lloyd Wright designed studio for Ayn Rand
Until a few moments ago, I didn't know that Frank Lloyd Wright had designed a cottage studio for Ayn Rand at her request in 1946. Here it is. It's lovely -- and five stories high!
Ayn was living in NYC at the time and planned to have the studio built, but she later decided to stay in NY, nixing the plans. Too bad. What a great place it would've been to visit and possibly have as a tourist destination to see how Ayn lived and how she would've loved such a paean to her spirit. The design is now for sale at the Edward Cella Museum in Los Angeles. Wish I had the bucks. Here's what Ayn wrote to Wright about the design:
"The house you designed for me is
magnificent. I gasped when I saw it.
It is the particular kind of sculpture in
space which I love and which nobody
but you has ever been able to achieve.
“Most personally: Thank you for
the fountain. That was as if you had
autographed both my house and my book.
This house is one of the greatest rewards
an author can receive."
Ayn was living in NYC at the time and planned to have the studio built, but she later decided to stay in NY, nixing the plans. Too bad. What a great place it would've been to visit and possibly have as a tourist destination to see how Ayn lived and how she would've loved such a paean to her spirit. The design is now for sale at the Edward Cella Museum in Los Angeles. Wish I had the bucks. Here's what Ayn wrote to Wright about the design:
"The house you designed for me is
magnificent. I gasped when I saw it.
It is the particular kind of sculpture in
space which I love and which nobody
but you has ever been able to achieve.
“Most personally: Thank you for
the fountain. That was as if you had
autographed both my house and my book.
This house is one of the greatest rewards
an author can receive."
Why we are moving toward socialized medicine
Here's an excellent article by Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute on the reasons why we are headed toward socialized health care and how we can move in the opposite direction toward freedom and capitalism.
Amazing woman talks about liberty at 9-12 rally
I've seen Dana Loesch a couple of times before on PajamasTV, but this speech she gave at a Missouri rally on 9-12 was goose-bumpy. What FIRE in this woman! What a passionate love of liberty. What a roaring broadside against the minions in our nation's capital!
THIS is how people should feel about this country and our freedom -- and the Democratic defilers!
THIS is how people should feel about this country and our freedom -- and the Democratic defilers!
Blame it on Hoover and, especially, FDR
Ever wonder what exactly caused The Great Depression? There's an excellent synopsis of it HERE, in case you're interested. You can download the PDF of the synopsis at the bottom of the page. It's fascinating and enlightening. I thought I knew a lot about it, but the info on Hoover stunned me. What a rat that Republican was -- albeit not nearly the giant, bloodsucking, two-faced, crippled, fireside-chat rat that went by the name Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But a rat, nevertheless.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
"We the Living"
The great adaptation of Ayn Rand's first novel, We the Living, is now available on DVD from the Ayn Rand Institute HERE.
This movie was produced illegally in Italy in 1942, but Ayn herself praised it highly and had a hand in the editing of it when it came to America. I first saw the movie in the early '90s and was astounded at how true to the book it was, as well as the main character, Kira, played with extraordinary talent by Alida Valli. It is a moving film, which I highly recommend.
This movie was produced illegally in Italy in 1942, but Ayn herself praised it highly and had a hand in the editing of it when it came to America. I first saw the movie in the early '90s and was astounded at how true to the book it was, as well as the main character, Kira, played with extraordinary talent by Alida Valli. It is a moving film, which I highly recommend.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I was a witness to a beating on Thursday
I was standing on my porch finishing up business with my friend Larry when the Vietnam vet pulled into his driveway with his 13-year-old daughter catercorner across the street. Larry and I stopped talking when we heard yelling coming from inside the car, whose windows were closed.
Then the daughter opened her passenger-side door a bit and we could hear the full-blown tirade of the father. We saw his hand being raised over and over and then heard the slaps onto the girl and her screeches each time. The father yelled each time before each hit "Yes or No!" ... "Yes or No!"
I pulled out my cell to call 911 and Larry flew across the street yelling, "Don't you do that! Don't you hit that girl!" As Larry stood by the vet's car demanding that the vet stop, the vet continued unabashedly to hit his daughter for another 30 seconds. The vet and I have had several conversations in which he makes no sense and tends toward stream of consciousness. I avoid him as much as possible. I did not join Larry at the house for that reason, as well as not knowing whether the vet was armed and the fact that my daughter often plays in my yard not 70 feet from the vet's own yard. I cannot watch her every minute.
I stayed on the phone with the 911 dispatcher as he dispatched the police and asked me to keep him updated on what played out in the vet's driveway. The vet eventually exited the car and argued with Larry saying that he had a right to hit his daughter to discipline her. The two men argued so loudly that the dispatcher could hear them. The girl stayed crouching inside the car.
The police arrived 5 minutes after the call, took statements from Larry, me, the girl and the vet. Soon afterward, they handcuffed the vet and took him to jail on a charge of simple battery and domestic abuse.
Last night, someone knocked on my door at 9:45. I opened the door slightly and saw the vet standing there with a pink children's camera in his hand and nothing in his other hand. I opened the door wide. He said, "Here. I want you to have this. I took pictures of my daughter's shoulder and there is only a tiny red mark. Nothing else. When I go to court, I would like you to testify that I brought this to you the day after the incident. Will you do that?"
"Yes," I said. "I will testify to everything that I know."
He nodded his head and tried to rationalize his behavior for a moment or two, saying that children have to be kept in line. I offered no response. He picked up on my disapproval and soon left.
One thing this revolting episode (which no doubt occurs tens of thousands of times each day for children in our country) brings up is one's values and how to act. I had, coincidentally, been discussing this very subject of intervention with strangers just two days before the vet episode, and I told my friend Chris at the time that I would only intervene if I thought that my four most important values weren't compromised or endangered then or in the future: my life, my business, my health and my daughter.
In this situation, my immediate thought was of myself and my daughter and the potential repercussions of dealing strongly with a potentially deranged man in our midst daily. These values trumped any physical action in the moment. It might've been a questionable call if Livy didn't live with me anymore and I felt like I could physically handle a potential threat from the vet at any time, but because the vet wasn't using his fists on the girl, she was not in mortal danger, so I probably wouldn't have gotten physical anyway.
Cherishing my lovely daughter, I can hardly imagine any parent EVER hitting their child even once, much less repeatedly. Incidents such as this really bring home the gulf between the rational and irrational in our world. I'm glad my daughter has two wonderful parents and will never know the physical and psychological pain of even a single abuse. I'm sorry that the girl across the street must live with the threat of abuse daily. I hope that the jail-time and more than $1,000 in expenses will go some way toward mitigating the vet's abuse.
Then the daughter opened her passenger-side door a bit and we could hear the full-blown tirade of the father. We saw his hand being raised over and over and then heard the slaps onto the girl and her screeches each time. The father yelled each time before each hit "Yes or No!" ... "Yes or No!"
I pulled out my cell to call 911 and Larry flew across the street yelling, "Don't you do that! Don't you hit that girl!" As Larry stood by the vet's car demanding that the vet stop, the vet continued unabashedly to hit his daughter for another 30 seconds. The vet and I have had several conversations in which he makes no sense and tends toward stream of consciousness. I avoid him as much as possible. I did not join Larry at the house for that reason, as well as not knowing whether the vet was armed and the fact that my daughter often plays in my yard not 70 feet from the vet's own yard. I cannot watch her every minute.
I stayed on the phone with the 911 dispatcher as he dispatched the police and asked me to keep him updated on what played out in the vet's driveway. The vet eventually exited the car and argued with Larry saying that he had a right to hit his daughter to discipline her. The two men argued so loudly that the dispatcher could hear them. The girl stayed crouching inside the car.
The police arrived 5 minutes after the call, took statements from Larry, me, the girl and the vet. Soon afterward, they handcuffed the vet and took him to jail on a charge of simple battery and domestic abuse.
Last night, someone knocked on my door at 9:45. I opened the door slightly and saw the vet standing there with a pink children's camera in his hand and nothing in his other hand. I opened the door wide. He said, "Here. I want you to have this. I took pictures of my daughter's shoulder and there is only a tiny red mark. Nothing else. When I go to court, I would like you to testify that I brought this to you the day after the incident. Will you do that?"
"Yes," I said. "I will testify to everything that I know."
He nodded his head and tried to rationalize his behavior for a moment or two, saying that children have to be kept in line. I offered no response. He picked up on my disapproval and soon left.
One thing this revolting episode (which no doubt occurs tens of thousands of times each day for children in our country) brings up is one's values and how to act. I had, coincidentally, been discussing this very subject of intervention with strangers just two days before the vet episode, and I told my friend Chris at the time that I would only intervene if I thought that my four most important values weren't compromised or endangered then or in the future: my life, my business, my health and my daughter.
In this situation, my immediate thought was of myself and my daughter and the potential repercussions of dealing strongly with a potentially deranged man in our midst daily. These values trumped any physical action in the moment. It might've been a questionable call if Livy didn't live with me anymore and I felt like I could physically handle a potential threat from the vet at any time, but because the vet wasn't using his fists on the girl, she was not in mortal danger, so I probably wouldn't have gotten physical anyway.
Cherishing my lovely daughter, I can hardly imagine any parent EVER hitting their child even once, much less repeatedly. Incidents such as this really bring home the gulf between the rational and irrational in our world. I'm glad my daughter has two wonderful parents and will never know the physical and psychological pain of even a single abuse. I'm sorry that the girl across the street must live with the threat of abuse daily. I hope that the jail-time and more than $1,000 in expenses will go some way toward mitigating the vet's abuse.
Telling an officer I'm about to be robbed by the biggest gang in history
I wrote the following letter to the Wall Street Journal concerning my knowledge about a giant conspiracy.
________________________
It was a joy to read the column by David Rivkin and Lee Casey on mandatory insurance being unconstitutional, and it echoed comments by me and my friends for the last couple of months. It also brought to mind a half-joking thought experiment I’ve suggested to my friends.
I walk into my local police station and state that a gang is conspiring to rob me of up to $3,800 each year for the rest of my life. I tell the nice police officer that the gang has 536 members and that its leader calls himself Barack Obama, and he lives in a big plush white house kept up by the loot accumulated from a century of robberies dating back to something the gang calls “the glorious tax amendment of 1913.” (The gang reportedly secretly calls wealthy Americans once a year in February, the month of ratification of the amendment, and harasses entrepreneurs and wealthy people with its enchanted slogan: “Yes, we shot you down, you wealthy, ingrate bird; remember, remember February 3rd.”)
The gang has been around for more than a hundred years and has had such infamous “initials” leaders as TR and FDR and LBJ and has used such pass-codes as “Social Security” and “Welfare” and “New Deal” and “Great Society” for its major heists, including the biggest gold robbery in the history of civilization in April 1933 and trillions of counterfeit inflationary dollars.
The other 535 members of this capital (not to be confused with “capitalist”) gang nest nearby on a hill (though the “liberal lion” of that gang has recently died and reduced the gang’s number by one). The gang has bizarre beliefs, such as that the CO2 that I exhale is a pollution, that having lots of money is very very bad and suggests some sort of immorality, and that other gangs are OK as long as they call themselves “unions” or an “acorn” or “dictatorships.” The gang’s leader is so busy with a score of planned thefts that he has czars to help with planning and execution.
This giant gang is, however, not without empathy. After it robs me of my $3,800 (and 40% of the rest of my hard-earned money), it doesn’t plan to just use it on its own private, er, public jets and cruises and “fact-finding” missions to exotic locales; it also plans to give my money away to people who choose not to work or who choose not to manage their finances properly or who choose to not take care of their bodies or who choose to not plan for getting old and frail or who choose to give the gang lots of hush money and run big companies into the ground and beg the gang for a couple of billion here and there.
I will, of course, warn the nice police officer that he or she is up against a mighty arsenal. The gang has at its disposal 50 militias and a million or so brave people in fatigues who may become unwitting mercenaries for the gang if the nice police officer decides to try to arrest any member of the gang. I won’t begrudge the officer if he or she tells me I’m on a fool’s errand or that the forces of evil are simply too big to challenge – even if I emphatically remind the nice officer that what the gang is doing is pathetically unconstitutional.
________________________
It was a joy to read the column by David Rivkin and Lee Casey on mandatory insurance being unconstitutional, and it echoed comments by me and my friends for the last couple of months. It also brought to mind a half-joking thought experiment I’ve suggested to my friends.
I walk into my local police station and state that a gang is conspiring to rob me of up to $3,800 each year for the rest of my life. I tell the nice police officer that the gang has 536 members and that its leader calls himself Barack Obama, and he lives in a big plush white house kept up by the loot accumulated from a century of robberies dating back to something the gang calls “the glorious tax amendment of 1913.” (The gang reportedly secretly calls wealthy Americans once a year in February, the month of ratification of the amendment, and harasses entrepreneurs and wealthy people with its enchanted slogan: “Yes, we shot you down, you wealthy, ingrate bird; remember, remember February 3rd.”)
The gang has been around for more than a hundred years and has had such infamous “initials” leaders as TR and FDR and LBJ and has used such pass-codes as “Social Security” and “Welfare” and “New Deal” and “Great Society” for its major heists, including the biggest gold robbery in the history of civilization in April 1933 and trillions of counterfeit inflationary dollars.
The other 535 members of this capital (not to be confused with “capitalist”) gang nest nearby on a hill (though the “liberal lion” of that gang has recently died and reduced the gang’s number by one). The gang has bizarre beliefs, such as that the CO2 that I exhale is a pollution, that having lots of money is very very bad and suggests some sort of immorality, and that other gangs are OK as long as they call themselves “unions” or an “acorn” or “dictatorships.” The gang’s leader is so busy with a score of planned thefts that he has czars to help with planning and execution.
This giant gang is, however, not without empathy. After it robs me of my $3,800 (and 40% of the rest of my hard-earned money), it doesn’t plan to just use it on its own private, er, public jets and cruises and “fact-finding” missions to exotic locales; it also plans to give my money away to people who choose not to work or who choose not to manage their finances properly or who choose to not take care of their bodies or who choose to not plan for getting old and frail or who choose to give the gang lots of hush money and run big companies into the ground and beg the gang for a couple of billion here and there.
I will, of course, warn the nice police officer that he or she is up against a mighty arsenal. The gang has at its disposal 50 militias and a million or so brave people in fatigues who may become unwitting mercenaries for the gang if the nice police officer decides to try to arrest any member of the gang. I won’t begrudge the officer if he or she tells me I’m on a fool’s errand or that the forces of evil are simply too big to challenge – even if I emphatically remind the nice officer that what the gang is doing is pathetically unconstitutional.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Kanye West and the modern culture
I've never watched the VMA and probably never will, but the "singer" Kanye West got so much publicity for "dissing" the sweet Taylor Swift that I had to check out the YouTube video. And then K-West did himself one better with his mealy-mouth, head-hanging, poor-little-me shtick with Jay Leno the next day. Notice how he doesn't hardly look Leno in the eye and he doesn't explain explicitly and extensively how he outright shit on Swift and her achievement. Luckily, the classy Beyonce gave Taylor a second chance to talk DURING Beyonce's own award presentation. Luv ya, Beyonce.
K-West's jungle antics came just a few days after this preciously threatening tirade by Serena Williams at the U.S. Open tennis tournament HERE and HERE. The line judge said that Williams threatened to kill her. So far, confirmation on what Williams said is this: "I swear to god I'm fucking going to take this fucking ball and shove it down your fucking throat! You hear that? I swear to god!"
When you consider rap music and the in-your-face antics of modern sports, there's undoubtedly a decline in sportsmanship and a lack of gentlemanly behavior that characterized previous eras. Even my cherished bastion of relief from modern culture (Sunday golf on TV) has descended into occasional catcalls and "You-da-man!" Eloquence and high-mindedness have been supplanted by stuttering, butchered grammar and low-brow threats.
My hero Jack Nicklaus of the 1960s and 1970s never threw a golf club, never cussed, never blamed anyone but himself. Tiger Woods (who is perhaps even better than Nicklaus in his prime and a wonder to watch) does all of the above -- and he's often a smoldering brat. The heroes of yesteryear could be boring, but they were never brutish. They could be too even-keeled, but they were never stage hogs. Their stoicism often punctuated for us viewers some mysterious inner struggle to maintain concentration and perfection on the grand stage of sports.
They were men and women of dignity. They were dignified. They were classics.
K-West's jungle antics came just a few days after this preciously threatening tirade by Serena Williams at the U.S. Open tennis tournament HERE and HERE. The line judge said that Williams threatened to kill her. So far, confirmation on what Williams said is this: "I swear to god I'm fucking going to take this fucking ball and shove it down your fucking throat! You hear that? I swear to god!"
When you consider rap music and the in-your-face antics of modern sports, there's undoubtedly a decline in sportsmanship and a lack of gentlemanly behavior that characterized previous eras. Even my cherished bastion of relief from modern culture (Sunday golf on TV) has descended into occasional catcalls and "You-da-man!" Eloquence and high-mindedness have been supplanted by stuttering, butchered grammar and low-brow threats.
My hero Jack Nicklaus of the 1960s and 1970s never threw a golf club, never cussed, never blamed anyone but himself. Tiger Woods (who is perhaps even better than Nicklaus in his prime and a wonder to watch) does all of the above -- and he's often a smoldering brat. The heroes of yesteryear could be boring, but they were never brutish. They could be too even-keeled, but they were never stage hogs. Their stoicism often punctuated for us viewers some mysterious inner struggle to maintain concentration and perfection on the grand stage of sports.
They were men and women of dignity. They were dignified. They were classics.
Proof that the media do not count (double entendre meant)
The Tea Party folks that showed up in D.C. on Saturday numbered between 1 million and 2 million -- or just the tens of thousands, if you're in the media.
Capitol police have been handling such demonstrations for hundreds of years and they estimated the crowd at 1.2 million. ABC actually was one of the very few media outlets that was, for once, honest about something related to the liberty protests. ABC estimated the crowd at 1.5 million. Other estimates topped out at 2 million.
The modern media in America has completely swallowed the agenda of the early 20th century "progressives," who sought to cripple industry, capitalism and liberty, thus relegating the media to the position of eminence grise (gray eminence) -- the power behind the thrown, the unofficial advisor and propagator of the official socialistic line. They can be counted on to virtually never be objective and rational; they are the mouthpieces and (in the case of vermin like Paul Krugman) the intelligentsia giving rationale to authoritarian legislation.
To say the media are the bedfellows of fascists/socialists is to soil the metaphor. Let us say they are the accomplices, the henchmen, the bullies, the enablers.
Let us say that they are an essential point in the Axis of Evil: presidency, congress, media. They no longer count in the fight for liberty -- and they cannot count.
Capitol police have been handling such demonstrations for hundreds of years and they estimated the crowd at 1.2 million. ABC actually was one of the very few media outlets that was, for once, honest about something related to the liberty protests. ABC estimated the crowd at 1.5 million. Other estimates topped out at 2 million.
The modern media in America has completely swallowed the agenda of the early 20th century "progressives," who sought to cripple industry, capitalism and liberty, thus relegating the media to the position of eminence grise (gray eminence) -- the power behind the thrown, the unofficial advisor and propagator of the official socialistic line. They can be counted on to virtually never be objective and rational; they are the mouthpieces and (in the case of vermin like Paul Krugman) the intelligentsia giving rationale to authoritarian legislation.
To say the media are the bedfellows of fascists/socialists is to soil the metaphor. Let us say they are the accomplices, the henchmen, the bullies, the enablers.
Let us say that they are an essential point in the Axis of Evil: presidency, congress, media. They no longer count in the fight for liberty -- and they cannot count.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The fight is coming
Dead Eyes and the rest of his Vandals want to make me buy insurance -- health, not auto, which government has already successfully coerced Americans into. The Vandals also seek to take more of my hard-earned money to hand out to losers. The Vandals are printing money faster than even their own jackals can take it away from those of us who live responsible lives, thereby causing inflation and reducing the already diminished power of my dollar.
At what point do I and the rest of the liberty lovers in America say, "It's time for a revolution"? For me, it's now, though it would be fruitless. There would have to be a critical mass of sentiment like mine that could conceivably topple the Vandals and intimidate the obsequious, licentious masses.
So, for the moment, we teach the liberty lovers why they need to revolt, and we teach those who may be liberty lovers why they need to revolt. And when we get enough of them on our side, we revolt. We then make America better than America ever was. We make it truly free. We make government our servants again instead of our masters.
The fight is coming.
At what point do I and the rest of the liberty lovers in America say, "It's time for a revolution"? For me, it's now, though it would be fruitless. There would have to be a critical mass of sentiment like mine that could conceivably topple the Vandals and intimidate the obsequious, licentious masses.
So, for the moment, we teach the liberty lovers why they need to revolt, and we teach those who may be liberty lovers why they need to revolt. And when we get enough of them on our side, we revolt. We then make America better than America ever was. We make it truly free. We make government our servants again instead of our masters.
The fight is coming.
To the moon, Alice!!
It's long been my policy that if somebody's gonna steal from me, they had better at least use the loot wisely. Well, that's not exactly a "policy," but ...
So, if I had a choice between being robbed by government to the tune of $800 billion for welfare recipients (including Bank of America et al) or being robbed to the tune of $3 billion so NASA can make regular manned trips to the moon and Mars, then the latter gets my vote -- well, if I actually VOTED.
But not so, says the jackals (that's the "government," to you unwashed liberals), who, with their fearful leader, have poo-pooed any NASA plans for such an extraordinary sum -- which, by the way, is about equal to one day's debt by this formerly great country.
If my calculations are correct, for an extra $5 billion, we could rocket all the occupants of the White House and Congress to a base on the moon. That $5 billion would not pay for a protective dome in a vacuum bombarded by solar radiation. But then, look what the jackals did under their current dome. Doubt they need it.
So, if I had a choice between being robbed by government to the tune of $800 billion for welfare recipients (including Bank of America et al) or being robbed to the tune of $3 billion so NASA can make regular manned trips to the moon and Mars, then the latter gets my vote -- well, if I actually VOTED.
But not so, says the jackals (that's the "government," to you unwashed liberals), who, with their fearful leader, have poo-pooed any NASA plans for such an extraordinary sum -- which, by the way, is about equal to one day's debt by this formerly great country.
If my calculations are correct, for an extra $5 billion, we could rocket all the occupants of the White House and Congress to a base on the moon. That $5 billion would not pay for a protective dome in a vacuum bombarded by solar radiation. But then, look what the jackals did under their current dome. Doubt they need it.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Would you walk into store, rip it off and run out?
All my friends know that I LOOOOOOOOVE technology. It has made all of our lives richer by making businesses more efficient, thereby lowering prices -- and the gadgets, well, the gadgets are just mind-blowing.
Technology has also made it easier to be immoral. You can steal with stealth. You can copy CDs, DVDS, Internet music and movies and games and much more with just a flick of the finger. No need to walk into stores anymore and risk being seen by cameras or the eagle-eyed clerk. Just click. The "savvy" shopper can get almost anything he or she wishes.
Technology has become the new litmus test for morality. With things so easy for you to steal and get away with it (without actually doing all that physical stuff like walking and running and grabbing and looking around), can you blank out your mind for just a few seconds and then, Voila, you have new stuff. "Wow, that was so easy! Hey, look at this!"
I bring this up again because an acquaintance of mine just blithely mentioned that he had copied some DVDs from a friend, and the DVDs pertained to a company I'm now working for: Beachbody. That theft now means that Beachbody's profits will be less and, therefore, my profit-sharing with the company will be less. Beachbody and I both got ripped off. He'd also nicely asked in his email if I would help him with his workouts. Hmmm.
This acquaintance obviously doesn't know me too well, or he would not have approached me with all this information. He does know NOW. I asked him to burn the DVDs and buy new ones, if he still wanted the fitness videos.
I bring all this up again because I want to stress the importance of remaining completely integrated in thoughts and actions, so that your morality doesn't slip. It is wrong to steal. Period. If you do it, you have no right to complain when others do it to you, and you certainly can't live with your conscience long-term if you do. It eats away at self-esteem and tells you, essentially, that you are not competent enough to handle reality with your own mind and actions.
Objectivism is the only philosophy that provides that kind of intellectual understanding to give you the moral fortitude to reject the electronic snatch and grabs -- as well as everything else. When you buy a product, you do honor to those who created it. When you steal it, you shit on them. Which will it be?
Technology has also made it easier to be immoral. You can steal with stealth. You can copy CDs, DVDS, Internet music and movies and games and much more with just a flick of the finger. No need to walk into stores anymore and risk being seen by cameras or the eagle-eyed clerk. Just click. The "savvy" shopper can get almost anything he or she wishes.
Technology has become the new litmus test for morality. With things so easy for you to steal and get away with it (without actually doing all that physical stuff like walking and running and grabbing and looking around), can you blank out your mind for just a few seconds and then, Voila, you have new stuff. "Wow, that was so easy! Hey, look at this!"
I bring this up again because an acquaintance of mine just blithely mentioned that he had copied some DVDs from a friend, and the DVDs pertained to a company I'm now working for: Beachbody. That theft now means that Beachbody's profits will be less and, therefore, my profit-sharing with the company will be less. Beachbody and I both got ripped off. He'd also nicely asked in his email if I would help him with his workouts. Hmmm.
This acquaintance obviously doesn't know me too well, or he would not have approached me with all this information. He does know NOW. I asked him to burn the DVDs and buy new ones, if he still wanted the fitness videos.
I bring all this up again because I want to stress the importance of remaining completely integrated in thoughts and actions, so that your morality doesn't slip. It is wrong to steal. Period. If you do it, you have no right to complain when others do it to you, and you certainly can't live with your conscience long-term if you do. It eats away at self-esteem and tells you, essentially, that you are not competent enough to handle reality with your own mind and actions.
Objectivism is the only philosophy that provides that kind of intellectual understanding to give you the moral fortitude to reject the electronic snatch and grabs -- as well as everything else. When you buy a product, you do honor to those who created it. When you steal it, you shit on them. Which will it be?
Now THIS is how you talk to a jackal ... er, Congressman
A young lady stood up at a town hall meeting in front of her jackal-congressman and gave a two-minute philosophical tongue-lashing and ended it with a goosebump, jump-out-of-the-chair flare. You've GOT to see this video, my friends.
As my friend Dan Puckett (who sent me this link) said: If only every American would do (and think) as this great American girl does!
As my friend Dan Puckett (who sent me this link) said: If only every American would do (and think) as this great American girl does!
Two letters in same day at WSJ on Trotsky and the Scots
I had two letters published at the Wall Street Journal in the same day a week ago, one on Leon Trotsky allegedly being a "good man," and the other on how the Scottish need to do a sequel to "Braveheart" called "Meekheart," after their recent release of the mass murderer in the Lockerbie plane crash.
First time I've ever seen a letter writer get two letters printed in the same edition of the WSJ, so I'm very proud of that.
First time I've ever seen a letter writer get two letters printed in the same edition of the WSJ, so I'm very proud of that.
Had to happen. Obama Dead Eyes is copying Hitler
I wrote the following letter to the Wall Street Journal on Dead Eyes' attempt to turn the brains of schoolchildren to the "nation" instead of their own individuality.
________________________
The main question I had when Barack Obama said he would talk directly to the schoolchildren of our country was this: “Why is the president of the United States talking to schoolchildren instead of doing the only job he has the privilege to do: protecting Americans?”
The primary objective of any proper government is two-fold: Keep citizens safe from the initiation of force or fraud and prosecute those who attempt to initiate force or fraud against us. There should be a complete separation of state and religion, economics (including health care), consumption, post office, roads and, yes, schooling.
When the line between state and any of the above is violated, you hear such slavish, guilt-ridden altruism directed at Americans as “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” or, in the case of Mr. Obama, “If you quit on school, you’re not quitting on yourself – you’re quitting on your country.”
Indeed? You’re not quitting on yourself? Your country is more important than your own education and your own happy, productive endeavors? If the citizens of this country ever needed an insight into our current commander-in-chief, they need look no further than his sentence above. Adolph Hitler understood perfectly that to breed a new generation of do-gooder nationalists who put country above their own happiness and life-goals, he must first indoctrinate the youth and place foremost in their minds the nation, not individuality. Our current leader understands, explicitly or subconsciously, that you first change philosophy – the body will later follow.
This country’s great Founders made some small mistakes in this regard, but they generally understood that the best government was that government which, to use a modern metaphor, acted like a good software program: non-intrusive, behind the scenes, essential, effective and protective. Our current president will have none of that. He’s a scene-stealing, in-your-face, ubiquitous Orwellian presence, who has now taken his statist message directly to those most vulnerable to his sacrificial-lamb ideology: our children.
He’s not stupid. I’ll grant him that.
________________________
The main question I had when Barack Obama said he would talk directly to the schoolchildren of our country was this: “Why is the president of the United States talking to schoolchildren instead of doing the only job he has the privilege to do: protecting Americans?”
The primary objective of any proper government is two-fold: Keep citizens safe from the initiation of force or fraud and prosecute those who attempt to initiate force or fraud against us. There should be a complete separation of state and religion, economics (including health care), consumption, post office, roads and, yes, schooling.
When the line between state and any of the above is violated, you hear such slavish, guilt-ridden altruism directed at Americans as “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” or, in the case of Mr. Obama, “If you quit on school, you’re not quitting on yourself – you’re quitting on your country.”
Indeed? You’re not quitting on yourself? Your country is more important than your own education and your own happy, productive endeavors? If the citizens of this country ever needed an insight into our current commander-in-chief, they need look no further than his sentence above. Adolph Hitler understood perfectly that to breed a new generation of do-gooder nationalists who put country above their own happiness and life-goals, he must first indoctrinate the youth and place foremost in their minds the nation, not individuality. Our current leader understands, explicitly or subconsciously, that you first change philosophy – the body will later follow.
This country’s great Founders made some small mistakes in this regard, but they generally understood that the best government was that government which, to use a modern metaphor, acted like a good software program: non-intrusive, behind the scenes, essential, effective and protective. Our current president will have none of that. He’s a scene-stealing, in-your-face, ubiquitous Orwellian presence, who has now taken his statist message directly to those most vulnerable to his sacrificial-lamb ideology: our children.
He’s not stupid. I’ll grant him that.
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