Tag Archives: Democrat

Michigan to Overcome California Soon

Posted on December 26, 2009 | 1 comment

My only hope is that these Leftist States lead us out of darkness by their example fo what NOT to do:

Flint, Mich.

Michelle Berry runs a private day-care service from her home on the outskirts of this city, the birthplace of General Motors.

…

Ms. Berry owns her own business—yet the Michigan Department of Human Services claims she is a government employee and union member. The agency thus withholds union dues from the child-care subsidies it sends to her on behalf of her low-income clients. Those dues are funneled to a public-employee union that claims to represent her.

…

A year ago in December, Ms. Berry and more than 40,000 other home-based day care providers statewide were suddenly informed they were members of Child Care Providers Together Michigan—a union created in 2006 by the United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union had won a certification election conducted by mail under the auspices of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission. In that election only 6,000 day-care providers voted. The pro-labor vote turned out.

Awesome.

This woman, and thousands like her, are putting it on the line every day.  They are working.  They are sacrificing.  They are, in short, DO’ERS.  And yet, somehow, the moochers and the looters have arranged a deal in Michigan where these business owners are getting screwed.

I mean, for a sec, just for a bloody second, think about what is going on here.  Ms. Berry is the OWNER.  And she is supposed to pay into a Union?  If there were a union/employer relationship present here, it would be HER that the Union would organize against.

California or Michigan.  Michigan or California.

Which one is going to give us the clearest example of what NOT to be?

1 Comment

Posted in Politics: National

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Government Preventing Entire Class of People From Buying a Home

Posted on December 26, 2009 | 1 comment

The State of North Carolina claims that it is serving the people.  It claims that by relieving my money from, well, from me, they are helping other people in need.  Never mind for a second that I already help people in need through my various charity giving and other activities.  Or that the people I help are people that I think need help.  Or that, in any case, this decision on what to do with my money should be mine to make.  The State is helping an entire class of citizens, or so they claim:

Raleigh, N.C. — A program launched a year ago has helped more than 2,500 North Carolina homeowners avoid foreclosure, officials said Monday.

…

Birdsong will now receive mortgage assistance, including payments for property taxes and homeowner’s insurance for at least the next nine months and could benefit for as long as two years.

That’s one way of looking at it.  The other way, of course, is to look at it this way:

Raleigh, N.C. — A program launched a year ago has prevented more than 2,500 potential North Carolina homeowners from attaining affordable housing, officials said Monday.

…

Their goal of home ownership has been prevented because select citizens will now receive mortgage assistance, including payments for property taxes and homeowner’s insurance for at least the next nine months and could benefit for as long as two years.

But serious.  I’m sure that all the people who are in danger of losing their homes are good, hard-working people who almost certainly bought a home that was within their means and needs.  Right?  No?

She said she’s most relieved that her three children will be able to spend the holidays at home.

“Each one of them has their own room. They’re like, ‘It’s mine,'” said Birdsong, a widow. “I wouldn’t want to take that from them. They’ve had enough problems already.”

So, a single mother with one revenue stream over reaches, buys a FOUR BEDROOM HOME surprisingly finds herself in a financial pinch.  And because of that, the government takes my money, thereby preventing me from giving to who I think is deserving, props up this family and keeps what would otherwise become a more affordable home from falling into the hands of more responsible home owners?  Unbelievable.

For the record, I grew up in a house that had TWO bedrooms.  Sure, after a bit we added a bedroom, but that was when my family grew from 3 to 6.  That’s 2 rooms for 4 kids.  If only I could have had my own room.

Merry Christmas.

1 Comment

Posted in Economics, Politics: National, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , , , , , ,

The Logical End

Posted on December 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

When we begin to teach our children that it’s okay to grow up to depend on other to provide for us, this is what happens.

Leave a comment

Posted in Politics: National

Tagged , , , , ,

It's That Time of Year

Posted on December 21, 2009 | Leave a comment

Actually, you could say it’s that time of Decade [ you would be wrong, of course, the decade doesn’t end until December 31, 2010 ] but the point is this.  At around this time of year we begin looking for the “Best of” stuff.  Best movie, book TV or whatever.

I think that I have the “Best Quote”.  This idea is really Coyote’s, but I just HAD to post it here:

From the outset, the White House’s core claim was that reform would reduce health costs for individuals and businesses, and they’re sticking to that story. “Anyone who says otherwise simply hasn’t read the bills,” Mr. Obama said over the weekend. This is so utterly disingenuous that we doubt the President really believes it.

This is hilarious.  Not only had few people been able to slog through the old 2000+ page bill, but Harry Reid threw the whole thing out and substituted a double secret replacement bill on Saturday the NO ONE has read, Obama included.  So this statement is technically true, but reverse statement is also equally true – “anyone who agrees with the President simply hasn’t read the bill, either.”

Truly amazing.

Hope and Change people, Hope and Change.

Leave a comment

Posted in Health Care, Politics: National

Tagged , , ,

Government Run Health Care

Posted on December 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

In action!

ATLANTA – Hundreds of thousands of swine flu shots for children have been recalled because tests indicate the vaccine doses lost some strength, government health officials said Tuesday.

Render unto Caesar!

Leave a comment

Posted in Health Care, Politics: National

Tagged , , ,

When MSNBC is Bashing the Leftists…..

Posted on December 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

In a sign that the shine is wearing off I am beginning to see a change of tone in the selection of stories on some major news outlets.  For about 2 years, the only things we saw on such leftist sites as msnbc were stories that painted the liberal agenda.

However, in the last few months I have started to see more stories that are less than complimentary of the left.  This one included:

Automakers are promising that affordable plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be available in the next couple of years, but a new report contends that it will be decades before the fuel savings and lower emissions make up for the high cost of batteries.

In their eternal quest to regulate, the left continually misses the boat on larger picture issues.

I mean, how do you miss the obvious:

The per-mile cost of running an electric vehicle has been estimated at about a quarter of the equivalent cost for gasoline, which has led some experts and consumers to see plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, as the cure for what ails America’s energy economy.

The research council’s report, however, estimates that it could be 2028 or later before the fuel savings outweigh the additional up-front cost for plug-in vehicles.

When it comes to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, the report said regular hybrid vehicles such as the present-day Prius might well be more environmentally friendly — unless power companies start phasing out the use of coal and other fossil fuels for electricity generation.

Slow down.  Take your time.  Get it right.

Leave a comment

Posted in Global Warming, Politics: National

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Unintended Consequences

Posted on December 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

The world is full of ’em.  Heck, my family is full of ’em.  I tell my daughter to get her younger brother breakfast….?  I get milk and cereal all over the floor.  Unintended consequences.

Now, left to our own natural devices, we, as a group, as a society, will work to avoid negative unintended consequences.

But when drastic changes are made by only a few people with little or no “complete knowledge” bad bad things happen:

Cities around the country that have installed energy-efficient traffic lights are discovering a hazardous downside: The bulbs don’t burn hot enough to melt snow and can become crusted over in a storm — a problem blamed for dozens of accidents and at least one death.

“I’ve never had to put up with this in the past,” said Duane Kassens, a driver from West Bend who got into a fender-bender recently because he couldn’t see the lights. “The police officer told me the new lights weren’t melting the snow. How is that safe?”

The answer Duane?  It’s not.  It’s not safe at all.

And this is the problem that skeptics have with global warming.  It’s not that we think the globe isn’t warming.  It’s not that we don’t acknowledge man may play a part.

We object to stupid people doing stupid things that will cause massive massive loss of life.

Leave a comment

Posted in Global Warming, Politics: National

Tagged , ,

More of the Same

Posted on December 15, 2009 | 3 comments

Wanna know why we are in the trouble we’re in right now?  People spent too much money.  Many times, money they didn’t even have.  They either bought a house they had no business buying or they refinanced that house and spent the money somewhere else.

Either way, we simply spent too much money.

And the only way that we are going to be able to get better is to let this thing play out.  The over spending, and the bubble that it created,  has GOT to play out, and get out, of the system.  Pure and simple.

Which makes me shake my head when I read this:

Under the program, eligible borrowers who are behind or at risk of default can have their mortgage interest rate reduced to as low as 2 percent for five years. They are given temporary modifications, which are supposed to become permanent after borrowers make three payments on time and complete necessary paperwork, including proof of income and a hardship letter.

See, the Government has set up a program that allows folks who are in trouble with their mortgage to get help.  Ignore, for a second if you can, the fact that the government has no business stepping and helping these people.  Focus instead on if the program works or not:

Only one in three homeowners who have signed up for the Obama administration’s mortgage relief plan have sent back the necessary paperwork, highlighting continuing problems for the government’s effort to stem the foreclosure crisis.

It doesn’t.  And how could it?

Lenders, however, say the majority of borrowers either don’t complete the paperwork or don’t make the payments. At Bank of America, for example, only a quarter of the 65,000 borrowers in trial modifications have sent back their paperwork.

The bank blamed “ineffective communications with customers, shortcomings in document maintenance, misunderstandings about program requirements, and the inability to comply by some borrowers,” according to written remarks from Jack Schakett, Bank of America’s credit loss mitigation strategies executive.

I mean seriously.  Can you imagine going to the DMV for help on your mortgage?  Can you imagine the confusion that must reign at these offices?

Government.  Sheesh

3 Comments

Posted in Economy

Tagged , , , , , ,

When Down is Up

Posted on December 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Let’s say that you are running a lemonade stand.  You buy your cups, your ice, sugar and lemons.  All in, it costs you $0.10 to make a cup of lemonade.  Include your time and risk plus the profit you need and you sell it for $0.20 a cup.  Anything less and the risk of running the stand forces you to pack up shop and go back to work at the local grocery store.

Now, let’s say that the friendly neighborhood HOA comes over and says that some of your customers are kids who are thirsty because they are mowing lawns for the old ladies on the block.  They can’t afford the 20 cents you are asking but it’s just not fair that these kids don’t get to drink lemonade when they are so so thirsty and so so deserving.  You shake your head and kick your toes….you know what’s coming.

If you wanna keep selling lemonade on this street you have to sell lemonade to the kids for a nickel; a stinkin’ nickel!

What happens to your lemonade business model?  Well, you either:

  • Quit
  • Raise the price such that you compensate for the reduced price to kids
  • Move to another street so that none of your customers, including the poor deserving yet thirsty kids have ANY lemonade.

Right?

So how is that different than this?

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of lawmakers hopes to finally win a long struggle to ease curbs against importing low-cost prescription drugs…

Same thing, right?

Drug companies have a market that they sell into.  The prices currently are set such that they make the profits they need to exist.  In fact, those prices might ALREADY be higher than they would because foreign nations are already forcing prices below market levels.

Well, guess what will happen when/if this becomes law?  Our fearless reporter gets to it.  In the SIXTH paragraph:

…the billions of dollars drug companies would lose if Americans began buying large amounts of lower-priced pharmaceuticals from other nations — has prevented the proposal from being implemented for about a decade.

Good for our young reporter!  Finally he gets what might happen.  See, if the drug companies lose billions of dollars they are going to have to …. Ahh, what?  What did you say?  Our fearless reporter is continuing in ANOTHER direction?

“Does the pharmaceutical industry have a lot of clout? The answer is they sure do,” Dorgan said Wednesday. He said when it comes to a vote, he hoped “the interest of the American consumers will have as much clout in this chamber.”

Heh.  I should have known.  But lucky for us we can spot the key phrase:

the interest of the American consumers

And that means that this bill is a bunch of:

You Know What This IS

Leave a comment

Posted in Economics, Economy, Health Care

Tagged , , , , , ,

The Dangers of the Left

Posted on December 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Over at The Progressive Pulse Chris is talking about Medicare and how Medicare is playing a role in the Health Care debate.

One of the Republican talking points about the latest health care reform proposal is that it slashes Medicare benefits. It’s not true of course, but that doesn’t matter when you are trying to scare seniors.

I find the irony rich.  The whole point of Chris’ post is how hard it is to keep up with the right and how hard it is to separate truth from fiction.  I think Chris is both right and wrong.  I think he is right when he correctly points out a flaw in the Right’s tactics:

…Tea Party activists shouting “keep government’s hands off my Medicare,”…

However, he is completely wrong when he claims no shenanigans surrounding Medicare.

One of the tricks employed by the Democrats during this whole debate was that one which brought the Heal Care bill in under $1 trillion.  See, the Dems wrote the bill to include reduced Medicare spending.  A reduction such that the entirely of the bill would come in less than the politically unattractive trillion dollar mark.  The way around this?  They then would submit a SEPARATE bill that would delay such spending for 10 years.

So take your pick Chris.  Either the bill is a pig well over what the Dems are advertising or Medicare spending will be slashed.

Leave a comment

Posted in Health Care, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , , ,