The Coffee Shop

TRUE STORY FROM…             “THE HOUSTON  HERALD NEWSPAPER”  IN HOUSTON ,   TEXAS
MARCH 5th, 2009

Last Thursday Night Around Midnight, A Woman From Houston , Texas Was  Arrested, Jailed, And Charged With Manslaughter For Shooting A Man 6 Times In The Back  As He Was Running  Away With Her Purse.

The Following Monday Morning,    The Woman Was Called In Front Of The Arraignment Judge, Sworn In, And Asked To Explain Her Actions.  The Woman Replied,

“I Was  Standing At The Corner Bus  Stop For About 15 Minutes, Waiting For The  Bus To Take Me Home After Work.   I Am A Waitress At A Local Cafe…    I Was There Alone So I Had My Right Hand On My Pistol  That Was In My Purse That Was Hung  Over My Left Shoulder. ”

“All Of A Sudden I Was Being Spun Around Hard To My Left.   As I Caught My Balance, I Saw A Man Running Away From Me With My Purse.  I Looked Down At My Right Hand And I Saw  That My Fingers Were Wrapped Tightly Around My Pistol.  The Next Thing I Remember Is Saying Out Loud, ‘No Way Punk!  You Are Not Stealing My Pay Check And Tips.’”

“I Raised My Right Hand, Pointed My Pistol At The Man Running Away From Me With My Purse, And Squeezed The Trigger Of My Pistol 6 Times!”

When Asked By The Arraignment Judge,  “Why Did You Shoot The Man 6 Times?”

The Woman Replied Under Oath,
“Because, When I Pulled The Trigger The 7th Time, It Only Went Click.”

The Woman Was Acquitted Of All Charges. She Was Back At Work  At The Cafe, The Next Day!

Now that’s  Gun Control we can believe in ….

Don’t bet on it.  Nancy Pelosi, according to her statement recently says that if they are locked out from creating their health care plan she is planning to “pole vault in”, or “parachute in” to make their healthcare bill a reality this year.  And just exactly what is it she is planning to “pole vault” or “parachute” over?  It is the will of the American people who by significant majorities do not want a federal takeover of the American health care industry.

Recently Canadian members of Parliment have been in the news for traveling to the US for medical treatment.  Liberal MP Belinda Stronach traveled to California in June for breast cancer treatment.  Another MP was in the news in the last month for also traveling to the US for treatment.  No wonder US lawmakers who are trying to implement a similar system want to exempt themselves from it.  They know it will cause a drop in the quality of health care available in the US.  Unlike Canadian MPs they will not have another country with an outstanding health industry right on their southern border to fly to if they need care.

Congressional Representative John Fleming MD  from Louisiana’s 4th congressional district submitted a bill to require members of congress to  enroll in any “public option” they enact for the people of the US.    The following is a quote from his office on Feb 5th concerning this bill.

“Like many of you, I am deeply concerned that Congress will press forward to enact an intrusive government administered health care plan, despite the higher costs and lowered level of care other countries with similar systems have experienced.”

“You will be pleased to know that more than 100 Members of Congress joined in support of H. Res. 615, my common sense measure calling on Members who vote for an intrusive government-administered health care plan to enroll in that system.  Since launching this effort, nearly 3 million Americans like you have contacted my office in support of H. Res. 615.  In response I offered an amendment to the Democratic Leadership health care bill to automatically enroll all Members of Congress and all Senators in the public option.  Predictably, my amendment was rejected out of hand by the Majority and was not given a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

Numerous examples have surfaced in recent months of people from Canada, Britain, and other European countries that travel to the US for treatment because of  nonavailability of needed care or life-threatening delays to get such care under their publicly funded plans.   The US news media has been predictably quiet about such because of their blind support of the liberal leadership in Washington.

Many claim that the public health care system will lower costs, but the numbers simply don’t compute.  In Canada for example the average family pays 48% of their income in taxes each year.   Although the costs vary slightly by province, Ontario reports it spends 40% of total tax revenue for health care according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a group that campaigns for tax reform.

That implies that families in Canada are being taxed almost 20% of their total income for health care with no ability to opt out of it.  That much will buy one heck of a good health insurance program here in the US without the extensive delays to get access to specialists that is the norm for Canadians.   The Canadian Medical Association states that there is  an estimated four million of Canada’s 33 million population that don’t have a family doctor and more than one million people are currently waiting for treatment.  Those waits commonly run three to six months or more just for access to specialists, even for critical and life-threatening conditions.  These waits usually measure only a few days in the US.

Unfortunately, that is only the “tip of the iceberg”.  According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the system is suffering serious financial challenges. It calculates that at the current rates of cost growth,  by 2035 Ontario will be spending 85 per cent of its total budget on healthcare!

Doctors in my county are leaving the profession primarily because of the federal meddling in their profession now.  Medicare is grossly underfunded and only pays the doctors a very small percentage of their normally billed amounts for services.  That is why medicare patients often can not find family doctors.  Doctors simply can not afford to provide care when the “single payer” only pays them 10 to 20% of their normally billed fees.  In some cases of tests performed by outside services, but billed by the practitioner, the costs they have to pay for the tests are less than the medicare reimbursement they receive!  I know that figure sounds unbelievable, but my wife and I are on medicare and routinely review the records for our treatments. What I have quoted is common of the “authorized” amounts reimbursed by the medicare system that we have seen in the records of our care.

Older doctors are taking early retirements at an alarming rate and US medical schools are not keeping pace with replacements.  In our community, out of some 60 doctors in private practice that are 50 or more years old over 80% of them have told local sources they will immediately close their practices if the current bills are passed.

Congress is out of touch and out of control.  They are coming up with more and more federal programs that are taking away our liberty and destroying our economy.   They create bills that include “unfunded mandates” that require the states or local government to provide services without providing funds to do so.  They are bankrupting the states with their blatant violations of the 10th amendment and the usurpation of other authority denied to them under  the US Constitution.

The US Post Office is facing bankruptcy, medicare is facing bankruptcy, social security is facing bankruptcy, and the current administration is submitting a new federal budget that includes spending 30% more than it expects to take in for next year.  That is a pretty good definition that the government as a whole is currently bankrupt and yet it wants to continue spending more and more!

Current proposals are claimed to be necessary to provide needed health insurance to the uninsured.  Actually they will destroy the integrity of the outstanding health care industry we have today.  Why should we go down a road that our neighbors to the north are trying to figure out how to extradite themselves from today?

Simple legislation can correct the current problems that people in the US have in maintaining health insurance coverage.  1) Allow people to take their health care insurance with them when they change jobs, or states.  2) Eliminate the arbitrary restrictions that prevent Americans from purchasing health insurance outside of their state.  If you can buy automotive insurance out of state, why not health insurance?  3) Provide the much needed tort reform to reduce the nuisance lawsuits that add as much as 30% to the costs of health care.  The threats of unfounded lawsuits are driving doctors out of a number of critical medical specialties at a high rate.

There is no justification for an inept  government bureaucracy to take over control of the medical industry in the US, especially when the performance of such systems elsewhere is so demonstratively poor.  There should be no government bureaucrat standing between citizens and their doctor.  Contact your representative and senators and tell them to get Washington’s financial house in order and leave the greatest healthcare system in the world alone!

Last night was the best news for the freedom loving American people in the last twelve months. The voters have sent a message to leadership in both parties! They want a return to the principles embodied in the Constitution that made this country great. They want the people sent to Washington to actually represent them!

The American people were duped last year by a presidential candidate who campaigned as a moderate only to govern as a Socialist. The Republican wins of governors races in Virginia and New Jersey is a wake-up call, especially for the “Blue Dog Democrats” regardless of how the White House tries to spin it. Obama campaigned for the Democrats in both states and if anything at all his attempt to “help” likely hurt his democratic candidates there. The old tactic of trying to blame George Bush just doesn’t fly any more.

Anyone that thinks that Obama is still popular with voters needs to have his head examined. According to some polls he has lost more faith with the voters than anyone in the last century other than Nixon in ‘73. Yes he is a personable fellow and his face still gets favorable ratings, but his policies are overwhelmingly rejected by the people whenever they see them. The worsening economy, the attempt to nationalize industry, the government attempt to control first one industry after another and to restrict the rights and freedoms of the American people are not popular concepts. As people see the results of this direction of Obama and the Democratic party they object more and more. That objection showed up in the “Tea Parties” last summer and now at the ballot boxes last night. All indications are that this is just a tiny peek at what is to be expected next November.

The White House has tried to spin this as not a referendum against Obama and Obamacare, but the exit polls speak differently. People don’t like the direction of the country and they are turning against the party in power in a big way. Washington has ignored the “Tea Parties” this year and the people are showing their displeasure in a manner that can not be disputed by rational folks. Of course can you really say Obama and the Democratic leadership are rational folks?

What does this say for the likely 2010 mid term elections? It basically says that if the Republicans put up some straight talking conservative candidates they will likely sweep the slate! However, lest the Republicans grin about the prospects too much, it also showed that if the Republicans pull another “Scozzafava” then the question is up for grabs. People are getting sick and tired of the Republican leaderships actions as well.

There was no party primary in NY to pick a candidate. Party bosses picked an ultra liberal that by her voting record leans even to the left of her Democrat opponent!! In fact by some counts she leans to the left of the majority of her Democratic legislators in the NY assembly! Only on Second Amendment rights does she show any conservative principles. Even Newt Gingrich endorsed her under his concept of the “big tent” principle for the party . To his credit, when it became apparent that she was not a loyal Republican, he endorsed Hoffman and worked to try to help him get elected. Dede Scozzafava was given some $900,000 during the last month of her candidacy by the Republican party. This is money donated by persons who thought they are supporting candidates that stand for basic Republican principles and instead it goes to someone who would have voted right down the line with the Democrats and Obamaites in Washington!

She used that money primarily to campaign against her Conservative party opponent. He was a long time Republican who ran as the Conservative party candidate after he was repulsed by Republican party bosses. Then to add insult to injury, when she saw she was running third in a three party race she pulled out on the eve of the election and endorsed the Democrat!! Wow, what an insult to the donors of the Republican party.

As a result the conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman, lost the election by three points while Scuzzball still got 5% of the vote even though she has pulled out of the election. This was the largest percentage of the vote ever received in history by a Conservative Party candidate! Had the Republicans picked someone who represented republican views, or failed to support this RINO because of her far left record the Republicans would likely have another vote in the house next year.

This sends a real message to the Republican contributors. “If you want your donations to go to people that share your views, don’t give it through the Republican party.” This will definitely bite the Republican party on the posterior! Conservative Republicans will not be nearly so eager to donate their hard-earned cash to a party that will squander it on RINOs who don’t reflect their views.

Democrats should take note of the two governorships that were lost last night. If they continue as they have been doing and don’t pay attention to the people, they had best have another occupation lined up for when they get fired next November! Republicans need to recognize that there is no advantage to having someone with an “R” in their name that votes with the opposition the vast majority of the time.

Yep. This off year election carries a big message to both parties. The majority of Americans are still basically conservative people and do not want the socialist agenda we are seeing being forced on our country. We want our representatives to actually represent us, not George Soros. We want our Constitution back!

by Pam Geller See her other postings on her blog, “Atlas Shrugs”

I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied history all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes, these exist but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about 10 – 15 years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?). We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x 10. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla ,  Alaska.  All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not d ownright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course.  The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now. This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his “brown shirts” would bully them into submission.

And then he was duly elected to office, with a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think. How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world.

He did it with a compliant media – Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and .. . .. change. And the people surely got what they voted for. (Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.) Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though ..

Don’t forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years – a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency – it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course.  The road to Hell is paved with them.

About the author via Google…

Pamela “Atlas” Geller began her publishing career at The New York Daily News and subsequently took over operation of The New York Observer as Associate Publisher. She left The Observer after the birth of her fourth child but remained involved in various projects including American Associates, Ben Gurion University and being Senior Vice-President Strategic Planning and Performance Evaluation at The Brandeis School

Continue reading Something is Happening

This week  (March 11th) the “Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)” was introduced into both the House and the Senate.  The name is an Orwellian term for a bill whose purpose is to strip workers of the right to a secret ballot to decide on whether to form a union.

Under this legislation union bosses could pass out cards to workers and intimidate them into signing by requiring them to publicly fill out a card with no right to a secret or private ballot.  This places workers into the position of receiving peer pressure,  ridicule, intimidation, or outright physical threats to force them to sign the cards.  If they can pressure 50% plus one of the workers to sign the cards it would force a union on the workers without giving them having the right of a private ballot.   This removes the seventy year old rights of workers to have a private ballot to decide such issues.

Businesses, economists the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the vast majority of members of the American public oppose this. Recent polls have shown that a vast majority of Americans of all political backgrounds oppose this type of legislation, but unless we contact our representatives and senators it is going to be forced on us.  The poll conducted by “The Polling Company Inc” conducted in March of last year asked 1000 people  if they agreed with the statement, “Every worker should continue to have the right to a federally supervised secret ballot election when deciding whether to organize a union.”  The results indicated agreement by 82% of Democrats, 77% of Republicans, and 79% of Independents.  More recent surveys have shown even slightly higher opposition to this proposal among the American public.  When you consider that most elections in this country are decided by a majority of 55% or less, having nearly 80% united in opposition to something is an amazing majority!

Under the “Card Check” system, union organizers would be able to go into any small business, construction work site, or hospital and pressure workers into signing cards.  They can continue harassing these people until they accumulate 50% plus one cards and the workers are at that point forced into a union.  Then if the union and the management are unable to agree on a contract within a set period of time, the federal government will step in and impose one upon them.  This coerced unionization is just a new form of enforced taxation on the workers.  Workers will lose a portion of their wages to union bosses who can then use it as they see fit.  This includes political donations to parties and candidates that the workers oppose.

This is an amazing violation of individual rights.  No vote, no secret ballot, no right to  freely negotiate an acceptable contract and they have the nerve to call it  the “Employee Free Choice Act”. A more appropriate name might be the “Employee Forced Choice Act” or perhaps even the “Employee No Choice Act”! Even Warren Buffet, an  Obama supporter  opposes it and has gone on record in a recent CNBC interview saying  “I think the secret ballot’s pretty important in the country. I’m against card check to make a perfectly flat statement.”  (Link toVideo)

In addition to the loss of worker rights comes a very possible of loss of jobs.  According to an economist at the University of Chicago, Dr. Anne Layne-Farrar  for every three workers coerced into joining a union under Card Check, one job will be eliminated.   That means that about 600,000 jobs could be lost due to Card Check is just the first year.  To view Dr. Layne-Farrar’s full report visit http://ssrn.com/abstract=1353305.   We do not need an increase in unemployment at this time of recession and we certainly do not need to force more jobs overseas.

Why would there be a push to take away the rights of workers?   Very simple.  Promises made to union bosses in exchange for their support in the recent elections.  VP Joe Biden said it very effectively in a meeting with AFL-CIO leadership last week.  He stated,  “You all brought me to the dance a long time ago, and it’s time we start dancing.”  This is nothing more or less than political pay back without any regard to the will of the people who have consistently opposed such propositions.

More information is available at Saul Anuzis’ website.  Saul is a former teamster and a former Michigan Republican Chairman.  He is currently leading the opposition to this bill for American Solutions.

Contact your U.S. senator and representative and tell them what you think of the card check proposal and what it will mean to the American worker and the American economy.  Please do not delay as these bills are currently being debated in the house and the senate.