Issue #8

6-25-09

Points to Ponder: China blasted America for even thinking about "Buy American” when we were putting together our stimulus package. Now they are working on their own stimulus plan and telling their people (we ask - they tell) to buy Chinese - or else. No world outcry - only if we did it. And why don't we tell China, "If you can't reign in North Korea and their constant threats, we will arm Japan with atomic weapons." The statement alone might do wonders.

Why is it no media, none, (T.V. or paper) is challenging supreme court justice nominee Sotomayor's outspoken obvious position against our "Right to Bear Arms", a most basic fundamental right of U.S. citizens? I find this "silence" deafening, and disconcerting, and the more threatening I perceive the actions of our new administration, the more unconscionable this apathy becomes. Where is the public outcry? Where is the outrage?

"Senator" Barbara Boxer gave one more example of congressional arrogance running amok when she publicly chastised an Army Brigadier General for addressing "Her Highness" as Ma'am. She said she worked hard to become a Senator and would be addressed as "Senator." Grow up, Barbara! He worked harder than you to become a General, and was trained to call his "superiors" sir and ma'am. A male senator would be called "Sir." I would call you insolent, and classless.

Barney Frank of "Fannie" and Chris Dodd of "Freddy" were, in my opinion, both criminally negligent in their "overseeing" of our nationwide mortgage foreclosure debacle. Their insistence that everything was just fine, right up to our economic collapse was incompetence beyond belief. We now have 200 "Overseers," over­-seeing just about everybody and everything except these two pompous, arrogant and proven inept characters. How can that be? Overseeing with any credibility would have started with these two before all others, and why haven't overseers squawked about the executives of bailed out banks, regularly flying their corporate jets all over, for personal and family use? How quickly "outrage" dies out to, "Oh well" with the media. That's why I seem to be attacking Obama/Pelosi all the time. Fox news and I are about the only ones questioning what the heck is going on in America, to my mind.

We have all just seen the results of allowing any business to get so large it becomes "too big to fail." I don't want to hear that term ever again, but did we really learn anything at all? Will we chop them up? Are we making changes to make certain it never happens again? Or will history just repeat itself as we "forget" and return to loose and sloppy ways, and await the next crisis. Will we go back to home buyers putting down 20% of THEIR OWN money? Will Barney Frank EVER have somebody looking over his shoulder? Will our government ever spend only the money it has on hand? We just witnessed an obvious crooked election in Iran take place. Where more people VOTED than there were people! Can it happen in America? YOU BET. For expediency, and faster vote counting, we are turning to machines, not individual ballots. For every ballot there is a face and identification presented. There is not a machine made that can't be "messed" with. Add to that, only 64% of those eligible to vote in America actually bothered to vote, and we are wide open to cheating and corruption. A well organized group of people that aggressively "bus" people and "buy" people that ordinarily would never go vote, can swing states that are about 50/50, very easily. That is why I believe the "Winner" should be whomever gets the most votes "nationwide" - much harder to corrupt. A number of cities in our last election had MORE VOTES CAST than voters REGISTERED! And with a national average where only 64% (at best) vote!? A.C.O.R.N. is well organized nationwide, ag­gressive, busses people, is backed by billionaires and (although all for one party) gets funding from a two party government. A.C.O.R.N. scoffs at their accusers, when it is pointed out their people register voters like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and "Who's Who" from cemetery headstones, "But they don't vote, what's the problem?" I say, then why do you bother to register them? As long as there are (in numbers) MORE PEOPLE REGISTERED THAN VOTED, you avert suspicion. Do I seem cynical or suspicious? You bet I am. If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's Donald Duck!

I believe every living thing on Earth has some role to play on Mother Nature's stage. And I believe that we (mankind) have a responsibility to protect any species threatened with extinction. A while back, I think it was the endangered Spotted Owl that brought the Northwest timber industry to its knees. A great deal of animosity ensued between out of work loggers and environmentalists. There were a lot of bumper stickers in Oregon saying, "We love the Spotted Owl - tastes a lot like chicken!"

Well, now, the little Delta Smelt's decline is in the news. The two-year drought in California has put about 80,000 people out of work. So,"Would you like your smelt batter fried?" The water pumps, that drain the river, to fill the canals, to irrigate the crops, have been shut off. This is a terrible time to lose any avoidable jobs - especially when growing our own crops. I don't want any foreign dependency on any crops that our climate can grow here in America. We want jobs? Since when did farmers and all associated with farming not count as jobs? And food grown here and inspected here makes a lot of sense. But a stark reality of farming life is you need good soil and you need a reliable water source. Until we can make it rain when and where we want, Mother Nature dictates. It has been this way since time began. Farmers vary their crops according to moisture needs. Farmers move. If the water doesn't come to the farmer, the farmer goes to the water. Cycles happen. America has millions of suitable acres. I guess I'm with the smelt and the eco-system on this one. But we do need the jobs, too.

I have told you that A.C.O.R.N. is a corrupt organization with a sinister agenda, and even uses heavy-handed thug-style intimidation tactics on individuals and businesses. I don't care what it started out to be many years ago. What matters is what it has become. It is very, very bad. Today it is a tool of wealthy radicals and is favored and funded (at least to some degree) by our President. A.C.O.R.N. has many faces, and tentacles. Last week I told you Obama fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin, because Walpin exposed abuse of government funds by Kevin Johnson (Obama's good friend). Johnson filched $800,000 from Americorp. Both Obamas have ties to Americorp. A.C.O.R.N. has ties to Americorp - connect the dots! How much Walpin might have uncovered will never be known. He was illegally fired, and his good name smeared by, "Divine Intervention."

Why can't our government immediately cut OBVIOUS, wasteful spending wherever it is found? Much of it doesn't require any "study" or thought at all. The "people" are behind you (administration) more than anytime in history to tighten our collective belts. But all you do is spend more (unfathomable amounts of money that we don't have). Only idiots would SPEND HEAVILY to get out of DEEP debt. You idiots are spending my grandchildren's money. STOP IT!! I am now going to address the huge health care issue with my humble observations and interjections of common sense. First, we have medical care that could (and should) be the best in the world. Can it be improved? Yes. Cost wise? Absolutely! Start there! The government COULD appoint a panel of really knowledgeable "hands on" people who know where the waste is - and, THOSE INSIDE DO KNOW! The only member of congress allowed should, hold the gavel when they convene, shut up, and take notes.

I can tell you where huge sums can be saved right off the top of my head. "Shoot all the lawyers!" That is actually the punch line of an old joke, but really leads to the crux of the problem, Litigation. We are absolutely crazy in this country in our pursuit of suits. It's the old "Something for Nothing" syndrome. The TV is peppered with ads saying, "If you took such and such for such and such, you might be eligible for an award." It makes you wish you had had the hindsight to have taken "such and such" back then. But those ambulance chasing type ads are everywhere, placed by lawyers to entice people to come forth so "we can both make some easy, big money." The increasing erosion of morality bothers me.

Medical administration costs (paper work with lots of legal language) are through the roof, and many un­necessary expensive procedures and tests are ordered (to cover your a--!) because of asinine judgments in malpractice suits!! It seems to be every person's get rich quick scheme. It's so easy it brings out sharp "cons" to take advantage of dim-witted juries. They award "victims" heavily, by way of malpractice insurance companies, kind of like it all comes from the "tooth fairy" again. And they often add punitive charges to punish more on top of that. Now the insurance company charges the doctors and hospitals more premium (so they up your bill) and the totally unnecessary costs go higher still. The big JUMP in medical care costs COINCIDED exactly in time with UNCAPPED MALPRACTICE suits being allowed - this aint brain surgery, folks. Hundreds of BILLIONS could be cut right here IF Obama wanted to! So ...? Obama's in bed with the Trial Lawyers, too! BIG BIG BED! And he wants this system to fail anyway. When the government COULD occasionally do some "common sense" good for the "people," they are nowhere to be found, OR have a different agenda than "the people." They COULD just put realistic LIMITS on compensation allowed - over one weekend congressional session - and immediately end the BIGGEST COST BY FAR to medical care. Then the government could buy all of the "identical" drugs needed, from Canada for HALF the price, or (heaven forbid), China or India, for half of Canada's price. It is a shame the taxpayers don't have any lobbyists to "grease" some palms, so we could COMPETE with the Lawyers and Big Drug Companies! A real shame.

If Obama does not put serious limits on malpractice awards, and soon, you will know for certain (I already know) his stated concerns about existing high costs in medical care is ALL hogwash. YOU can wait for that to happen. I SAY, "Ready the pig for bathing." He doesn't care. He will use that correctable heavy expense to help "sell" his government controlled health program as cheaper. Always more government control. And now I hear the ABC Network is climbing into that big ole presidential bed, to help present the Nation with an upcoming Obama infomercial, pitching free health care for all. Slide over NBC, etc. etc. Everybody get your p'jammies on.
It's One American's View. Thanks for listening! Phil Faustman