Month: November 2009

There They Go Again—Socialism

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Political Theory

Once again there are those that are using the term “socialist or socialism” when they refer to the Prez….but again there needs to be a correction in their thinking (if there is such a thing).  Personally, I am a bit weary of the analogy…..it would possibly a little more palatable if any truth were with in it…..but sadly, these a demented little toads that are doing NOTHING, but lying to the sheep that listen….sad indictment on the flock…..

This time it is a return visit from Rep. Bachmann of Minnesota:

“This is their intention from the start, Sean,” Bachmann answered. “This is cradle-to-grave governmentt takeover of the Pelosi health care nightmare known as this bill.”

Bachmann also called the bill a “horror picture show,” “the crown jewel of socialism,” “socialized medicine” and “unconstitutional.”

First of all, we should not allow morons to run for Congress, especially those that have NO idea about political philosophy, especially just what the hell socialism is…..I have tried several times to educate the idiots out there that keep using the socialism analogy….but so far they are NOT listening…..

Here we go…the Crown Jewel Of Socialism…is LABOR….beyond that…..socialist at the turn of the 20th century in the fledgling labor movement gave us today some of the issues that we take for granted…8 hour day, overtime pay, 5 day work week, minimum wage, paid holidays and laws against child labor…just to mention a few and I do not see anyone bitching about these things….

Sorry I digress…..if you want the truth and if health care was the crown jewel of socialism, then the Dems would be fighting harder for universal, single payer….but instead they seem to have forgotten that…..

NOTHING and I repeat for those with the IQ of their shoe size….NOTHING about the proposed health reform bills that smack of socialism….could we please move pass the bullsh!t?

The more I hear these so-called politicians bump their gums I am reminded of something Plato said, “The penalty good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves”.

Taxpayers Take Yet Another Screwing!

The bailout thing has been nothing but a good gang rape of the taxpayer from the beginning…..the bags of money delivered to Wall Street by the government  has done nothing for the taxpayer and everything for the greedy people on Easy Street…..

The Business journal is reporting:

CIT Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday after its board of directors approved of a plan to reorganize the giant small business lender.

The plan has also been approved by CIT’s creditors.

The bankruptcy of CIT is likely to hand the Treasury Department its biggest loss to date under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It invested $2.3 billion in CIT last December.

CIT was caught in a squeeze between loans gone bad as the economy worsened in the past year and being cut off from the unsecured debt market, which it relied on for about 75 percent of its funding. More stable bank deposits made up less than 5 percent of its funds.

Wait!  Did the article say that the creditors approved the action?  Since the taxpayer is on the hook for billions……did anyone ask them if they approved?  I did not get a note asking me….how about you?

When are the people going to start exercising their muscle on all this silliness?

Will Conservatism Make A Comeback?

With all the shenanigans this past summer and the economy’s slow pace to recovery…the country seems to be turning away form change and embracing conservative ideas….a recent Gallup Poll shows that 45% of Americans say they a conservative, 36% moderate and 20% liberal…so does this mean that the US is becoming more conservative?  If you want it to…then by all means cheer…but the Gallup is the ONLY poll that shows conservatives in the lead…..all others show that Americans identify themselves as moderate, then conservative and then liberal.

Writing about this subject E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post:

It’s important to note that there is a debate over what these ideological labels actually mean to voters. And polls that give respondents the chance of calling themselves “progressive” produce a substantially larger number on the left end of the spectrum, since many who won’t pick the “liberal” label do call themselves “progressive.” A study earlier this year by the Center for American Progress found that when progressive and libertarian were offered as additional options, the country was split almost exactly in half between left and right.

To answer the question…..will conservatism make a comeback?……it never really was gone…it has been replaced with paleo-conservatism…real conservatism is always alive and well…it is just not in power right now….

When a party that calls itself conservative tries to eliminate all others wothout the “proper” set of “values”….is a dying party….if they cannot tolerate dissenting members then the party is doomed….just look at a lot of the “left” parties of the 1900’s…split after split after split until there was nothing left to make it as viable party.

Could the election in NY 23rd be a precursor to 2010?  Will true conservatives have to run against paleo-conservatives in a third party?  I do not see where there is much choice we either crap on real issues and vote solely on values or we just stay home….something Americans are famous for on off year elections…..

This could be the beginning of TAPS for an old party of conservatives….a once respected party….but now a much laughed at party….sad…it need not die like this…it deserves better…..

Note:  Over the weekend, the GOP candidate in NY’s 23rd has bowed out of the race leaving the neo-con to face the Dem…..did she do this for the good of the Party or was she coerced?

These Political Types Are A Greedy Lot!

As always it is all about the cash not the service……the days of a person doing public service as their civic duty is long gone….now it is ALL about the GREEN……

I recall back in the day while grad school and studying the Revolutionary War period of US history…there were those that said that public service was a civic duty…that did not last long…..while I am not a Jefferson cheerleader, he was a statesman…..there is absolutely NO one in Washington that can be called that today.  In today’s political world it is all about power and money…..

The Senator from my state, left his post about a year early so he could get in under the cut-off date to become a lobbyist…he never worked for Mississippi…he diod work hard for Trent Lott…selfish SOB….

Look at Palin….she quite the governorship for the better of the state since there was so much legal wrangling going on…..she just wanted what wass best for Alaska…..is that echoing laughter I hear?…….

Let us be real….Palin left her duties as governor in pursuit of cash…she cared not for what was happening in Alaska…..$1.25 million advance on her book, as a client of a speakers bureau she asks for $75,000 + 3 first class plane tickets for a speech on a college campus and it looks like the going price for her to make a political speech is $100,000…..sound like a great gig if you can get it…….

I am not bad mouthing Palin…this is an all too common thing with ALL the Washington types…party matters not…….if the love of money is the root of all evil…..then Washington is crawling with evil……

This sounds like ALL our elected officials….not many in the government that are not millionaires……if not before they run, then after the are elected……maybe this explains a lot….what?….GREED…….Washington, Wall Street…….

These political types are a GREEDY lot!

Is It Defensive Or Preventive?

Both sides are screaming at each other over how to go about controlling the rising costs of health care……on the Repubs side…they throw tort reform in the mix…..it seems they think that if we limit medical lawsuits the cost of health care will decline….and then the Dems yell about a proper lifestyle with proper nutrition and doctor’s visits would go a long way at lowering the costs…..which is the most effective?

Repubs point to frivolous lawsuits as a cause of higher premiums for health care……they say tort reform will lower those premiums…..they say that doctors order many tests all to help cover their butts against lawsuits…..they say massive amounts of sometimes unnecessary tests.  What is defensive medicine:

Defensive medicine is the deviation from sound medical practice to avoid the threat of malpractice litigation.

According to a 2005 study in JAMA, over 90 percent of physicians surveyed admitted to practicing defensive medicine. This can range from “positive” defensive medicine, like ordering unnecessary tests, referring to consultants, or performing unneeded procedures; to “negative” defensive medicine, like avoiding high-risk patients or procedures.

Then there is the other side of the coin…Dems….they want all of us to practice preventive medicine…..such things like regular mammograms, tests that check blood chemistry, your colon, eat well, exercise…well you get the idea…..but what is preventive medicine?

Preventive medicine, is a medical discipline which focuses on preventing diseases and promoting a general state of health and well being. In both Europe and the United States, it is considered to be a board specialty, meaning that physicians can focus on preventive medicine while they get their medical degree, and use the skills they learn in school to reduce the outbreak of disease epidemics, improve public health, and increase the general quality of life for individuals all over the world. In the West, preventive medicine is practiced as an arm of public health, and is applied to the whole population, while in Eastern medicine, many doctors practice individual preventive medicine. Individual Western doctors are sometimes criticized for not practicing preventive medicine on a patient by patient basis, because insurance companies often feel that it is too expensive and time consuming, and will not compensate doctors for preventive measures.

Okay what is it?  Defensive or preventive?  It will depend on what your definition is…..basically they are pretty close to the same when it comes to testing….and there is where my problem lies……insurance companies bitch and sometimes refuse to pay for preventive tests…but they will pay for the massive tests when doctors are trying to cover their butts….why is this?

Confused?  Do not worry…we all are just as confused…..I appears to me that if you are an opponent of health reform then it is defensive and expensive and if you are all for health reform then in is preventive…that is best I can do with the little info that is available.

A word on tort reform…..the Repubs favorite issue for controlling health costs….it actually accounts for a bout 1% of the total health costs…..only thing that tort reform would help is insurance companies to keep them from paying off any lawsuits….and who would decide what was a frivolous lawsuit?  Just asking…….