About Me

In writing the "About Me" portion of this blog I thought about the purpose of the blog - namely, preventing the growth of Socialism & stopping the Death Of Democracy in the American Republic & returning her to the "liberty to abundance" stage of our history. One word descriptions of people's philosophies or purposes are quite often inadequate. I feel that I am "liberal" meaning that I am broad minded, independent, generous, hospitable, & magnanimous. Under these terms "liberal" is a perfectly good word that has been corrupted over the years to mean the person is a left-winger or as Mark Levin more accurately wrote in his book "Liberty & Tyranny" a "statist" - someone looking for government or state control of society. I am certainly not that & have dedicated the blog to fighting this. I believe that I find what I am when I consider whether or not I am a "conservative" & specifically when I ask what is it that I am trying to conserve? It is the libertarian principles that America was founded upon & originally followed. That is the Return To Excellence that this blog is named for & is all about.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Election Preview

"I Need You To Keep On Believing" was the literal cry of BO as he continues his endless 4 year campaign mode swing around the country trying to hold African-Americans, Hispanics, & the youth vote together to vote on Tuesday for people who support his socialist agenda. He has also directed his attention to women & illegal aliens who sense a kill if the current congressional majorities are maintained. Illegals are coming out of the shadows (& woodwork) volunteering to go door to door in some districts. Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce reports that an illegal alien has already been elected to office in Arizona in the past. Unfortunately for BO he may run out of time before election day & may not get to the criminal vote in penitentiaries for convicts he counts on cancelling out your vote.

A subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net writes "Know you have been working hard and are very anxious about the week ahead. We have been talking to a lot of people about the election, who is running here (ugh) and sorry to say so many negative responses to actually voting! The answers are the usual, too many liars, empty promises etc. Trying to get across that in order to get rid of the politicians we don't want, you have to vote but I never saw so many negative people. Will get back to you as to who we favor right now, so much mud slinging we don't know what to believe!!"

I referred the subscriber to the December 8, 2009 posting on the blog entitled "How To Vote The Bums Out." This posting is ideal for anyone who expresses the above negativity. I also recommend that everyone reread this posting plus others in December 2009 - they are a treasure trove of information that will test your courage in the voting booth.

It is reported that conservatives have a greater enthusiasm to vote in this election than Democrats notwithstanding the above comment. Since April the national rate of Tea Party activists has fallen to 17% of voters from 24%. This reduction is due to people saying they are in favor of the Tea Party in principle but not in practice as they see their own government benefits in jeopardy as a result of spending cuts the Tea Party advocates. The key going forward is to analyze the size of any victories on Tuesday, especially if there is low turn out, to gage what will happen in 2012 when all of BO's community organizing skills will be put to use once again in what will surely be a high turn out election.

I have identified in previous postings 11 Tea Party Senate candidates who are terrific & I hope will caucus with Jim DeMint & Tom Coburn if elected - what a difference this will make for America if they do. For instance Ron Johnson leads in the polls in Wisconsin over statist Feingold. Johnson has said that he is "not going to Washington to join a club but to join Jim DeMint in working for America." This is exactly what we need.

The Comedy Central Spoof Rally on the National Mall Saturday attracted 215,000 people according to CBS (Communist Broadcasting of Socialism) - I saw the crowd live & it was impressive. In contrast the Glenn Beck rally in August attracted 87,000 people according to CBS & the 9/12 rally of 2009 attracted 77,000 as reported by FNC based on Washington DC fire department estimates. My estimate of the latter event was @ least 400,000 people based on elevator space calculations I performed - see blog posting of September 15, 2009. In any event I was stunned to watch some of the Comedy Central Rally live to see the large number of people who could possibly believe in Stewart & Colbert enough to come to Washington for this event. The crowd was youthful so our hope is that as they get older they will mature but that will not help this Tuesday if these people vote.

We have first rate candidates all over the country but none finer than our two congressional FairTax supporting candidates who won their primaries in NJ - Anna Little & Mike Agosta. Both ran & won against the Republican machine in June & now are running against the Democrat machine. Anna Little has received some support from Steele & the Republican Party but Mike Agosta is an outstanding candidate who has not received any help from the Bergen County Republican Organization or the NRCC. Carol & I were honored to meet with Mr. & Mrs. Agosta in their home in August to provide a FairTax attack ad training session that was hardly needed because of their tremendous understanding of the principles of the FairTax. You could not do better than to vote for Anna or Mike if you live in districts #6 or # 9 respectively in NJ.

Mike's Campaign Manager recently wrote to Carol & me that "Michael Agosta stands for a return to the Constitution and the principles of the Founding Fathers." Sound familiar? Mike Agosta is running for public office for the first time in his life to help you & our country return to excellence.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

NJ FairTax Supporting Congressional Candidates Prepared For Misleading Attack Ads

As the campaigning for the mid-term elections winds down to the last few days before the election the number of attack ads against FairTax supporting congressional candidates like Anna Little have increased all over America - but we in FairTax NJ have been ready for them for quite some time. Both of our major party congressional candidates in NJ who won their primaries have been thoroughly trained in what to expect - although both of them expressed such understanding during the training that it was hardly necessary.

This past Saturday & Sunday nights Mike Huckabee graciously devoted the monologue portion of his TV show on FNC to combat the attack ads & to challenge any one who supports the attack ads to debate him on the purposely misleading claims of the ads versus the real principles of the FairTax.

In addition below is a Press Release distributed to newspapers in Congressional District #6 to let people see the lies they have been told. Attack ads against the FairTax have backfired against candidates in some states like Georgia when the electorate realized how badly they were being played for fools. It takes a time or two to learn all of the ropes but the more each of you do to help will only accelerate the ascent up the curve so that as quickly as we can we pass HR 25 - the most important piece of legislation in our lifetimes for America.

Press Release

Anna Little Attacked by Pallone Misrepresenting the FairTax

Twenty two year Democrat incumbent Frank Pallone has been airing advertisements in which he attacks his Republican rival, Anna Little, for supporting an unnamed 23% sales tax on the middle class. The national sales tax that Pallone refers to is known as the FairTax - a bill in Congress (HR-25) with 65 cosponsors. The ads are a misrepresentation along with similar ads used by the DCCC to attack FairTax supporting candidates across the country.

The ads, both false and purposely misleading, claim that the FairTax is a new tax that will hurt the middle class and are on top of all other current taxes. FactCheck.org confirms this is simply false, as the FairTax is a replacement tax. The FairTax replaces most all current federal taxes and eliminates the IRS. The facts are that the FairTax eliminates the income tax, Social Security & Medicare taxes, and death and gift taxes and replaces their revenue with a simple retail sales tax that will save $250 billion each year in tax compliance cost. Americans will then receive their entire paychecks free of federal taxes and when they spend their money they will be paying their taxes.

Americans will finally see their true tax burden for the first time in generations, as the tax will appear on every sales receipt. Today, by taxing businesses and all the labor and materials in the production of goods and services, much of our tax burden is hidden in the price of the things we buy. There are substantial hidden embedded taxes in the price of everything we buy today that will be eliminated by enactment of the FairTax - such as the corporate income tax, the employers' share of Social Security & Medicare taxes, and the corporate cost of compliance. These hidden taxes are paid by all of us when we buy American produced products. To make matters worse, we pay again when we lose our jobs because our companies' products are placed at a competitive disadvantage compared to foreign produced products that are shipped to America with a minimal tax component. Rather than hurt the middle class the FairTax is a tremendous boon to the American economy including a resulting increase in jobs.

The attacks by Pallone are attempts to preserve the status quo, where politicians have power never intended by our Founding Fathers. The FairTax eliminates this power by eliminating the buying and selling of tax favors which takes place under today's income tax system and corrupts our representative form of government resulting in an unresponsive and bloated government.




Monday, October 25, 2010

Federalists & Anti-Federalists Vs. The New Deal & Great Society

Below is my letter that was published today in the WSJ that was in response to a letter by an obvious statist who tried to make the case that the New Deal & Great Society were as American as the Anti-Federalists.  The point of my letter was to distinguish the American libertarian principles expressed by the Federalists & Anti-Federalists to the results of the New Deal, Great Society, & ObamaCare which are not American @ all.
 
Dear Editor:
 
In responding to Peter Berkowitz's "Why Liberals Don't Get The Tea Party" (op-ed October 16) David Hollinger writes that "the New Deal & the Great Society ...were as American as the Anti-Federalists" (Letters, October 16).  These two statist programs must be distinguished from the arguments the Federalists & the Anti-Federalists had because both of these groups were on the same side trying to make the best nation possible following our founding principles of limited government, personal responsibility, & free enterprise.  The New Deal & Great Society, & now Obamacare, changed the nation from the America the founders envisioned.
 
All of the Federalists & Anti-Federalists were libertarians who knew that human freedom would produce the greatest wealth & standard of living.  Who could doubt that George Washington & George Mason were on the same side for America, & yet these next-door neighbors fought mightily about how best to accomplish the same goal.  Starting with the New Deal America has deteriorated until we now are in a stage of "apathy to dependence," which is not American at all.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Juan Williams Test @ 30,000 Feet

The most interesting thing about liberal commentator Juan Williams being fired by NPR for recently expressing his feelings on FNC where he admitted he was afraid to fly on airplanes with passengers dressed in Muslim garb is that he made the exact same admission on the same FNC show (The O'Reilly Factor) shortly after 9/11 - why no outrage or firing then? Hamlet has the answer - "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Over the last nine years I have often used Williams original admission to point out to many holier than thou liberals how hypocritical most statist positions are. What I have referred to since the original airing as "the Juan Williams test @ 30,000 feet" is a perfect example of a statist doctrine falling apart when it applies to them in real life & perceived possible death situations.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Debate - Anna Little & Frank Pallone

Our marvelous congressional candidate in NJ's 6th district Anna Little had a busy Sunday last weekend. First she attended a rally with NJ Governor Chris Christie & then she participated in a debate with her opponent 22 year incumbent Frank Pallone. Please watch the debate to see exactly what America is facing as we depend on the very few people left like Anna Little for us to hang on to the principles of freedom & liberty that may only be missed by an apathetic society after we lose them.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Responses - Who Knew?

Below are three of the representative responses received re the inspirational patriotic ceremony conducted by 89 year old Navy veteran Marvin Hume @ Sunset Beach in South Jersey for the past 38 years that honors our military. I was surprised that so many people in our group have been there - but please check out the credentials I include for the first two responses & you won't be surprised @ all. Neither I nor the originator of the piece would have asked "who knew?" if we had known. Thanks for all of the responses. Carol & I plan to attend one of the ceremonies in 2011 - hope to see you there.

---Response #1 from a daughter whose father was in the Battle of the Bulge---

Oh, this is lovely: we spend 2 weeks every summer in Wildwood Crest, just north of Cape May -- I've been there. And what a wonderful way to go back. God bless this good man.

Thank you, Doug.

---Response #2 from a Navy vet---

Hi Doug,

My Family and I have been attending that ceremony for years! It's always tearful. It's always a good idea to get there a bit early and search for "Cape May Diamonds" and then see the ruins of the concrete ship!

---Response #3---

Extraordinary! Thanks for sharing!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Who Knew?

Thanks to a subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net for passing along this link to a very inspiring video of the ceremony 89 year old Navy veteran Marvin Hume presents each night seven days a week from Memorial Day to mid October in Sunset Beach in Cape May Point New Jersey. There have been almost 6000 ceremoinies over the last 38 years.

Mr. Hume asks children to volunteer to help lower the flag. Many families reserve a night for their children to lower the flag a year in advance. The children are shown the proper way to fold the flag. All of the flags @ Sunset Beach are from caskets of U.S. servicemen. The ceremony includes God Bless America sung by Kate Smith, the National Anthem & Taps.

Recommend attending if you can. As our subscriber said to me "who knew?"

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Holding Evil In Her Hands

Tuesday's message that highlighted the indoctrination of BO, MO, & the Clinton's in the Alinsky method of community organizing in the book "Rules For Radicals" brought a deluge of internet links on the subject.  I looked @ all of them.  Google this yourself if you need more than the six summary points I highlight below from the links presented along with a few non-link personal responses received.  Thanks to all who contributed.
 
When Carol picked up a copy of "Rules For Radicals" for us she told me she felt she was holding evil in her hands. 
 
Just compare the positive constructive engineering feat of the rescue of the 33 miners @ the San Jose Mine in Chile to the destructive forces of al Qaeda & the attempted dismantling of America by BO & the other followers of Saul Alinsky & you have to wonder just how apathetic we are to tolerate such intrusions to the excellence that could be our constant way of life.
 
---Six Points From The Links Re The Alinsky Method In "Rules For Radicals"---
 
1.  "Rules for Radicals" is written for the Have-nots on how to take power away from the Haves - the middle class.  Alinsky sees his work as giving tools to the "Have-nots" so they can take from the "Haves."  This principle was illustrated time & again by BO in the campaign when he said he wanted to "spread the wealth around" & that he was not interested in the amount of tax revenue generated but rather in the fairness of ability to pay that would produce an equality of the misery he planned to generate.
 
2.  "True revolutionaries do not flaunt their radicalism," Alinsky taught. They cut their hair, put on suits and infiltrate the system from within.  Alinsky viewed revolution as a slow, patient process. The trick was to penetrate existing institutions such as churches, unions and political parties.... Many leftists view Hillary as a sell-out because she claims to hold moderate views on some issues. However, Hillary is simply following Alinsky's counsel to do and say whatever it takes to gain power.  Just look @ BO & you can see he is doing the same on the very few issues he pretends to be reasonable toward America.
 
3.  BO spent years teaching workshops on the Alinsky method. In 1985 he began a four-year stint as a community organizer in Chicago, working for an Alinsky group called the Developing Communities Project. & later ACORN... Camouflage is key to Alinsky-style organizing. While trying to build coalitions of black churches in Chicago, Obama caught flak for not attending church himself. He became an instant churchgoer.  The organizer (unencumbered by truth) must gain the trust of people by looking and sounding just like them. "All effective actions," Alinsky writes in his Rules, "require the passport of morality." If the "people" are church-goers, the organizer had better go to church, too.
 
4.  Alinsky writes - "Even if all the low-income parts of our population were organized ... it would not be powerful enough to get significant, basic, needed changes."  He focuses on the middle class.
 
5.  Alinsky advises the organizer to target the middle class, rather than the poor:  "Organization for action will now and in the decade(s) ahead center upon America's white middle class. That is where the power is."  It's the numbers game & we lost in 2008.
 
6.  Hillary Clinton's 1969 Political Science Thesis ("There is Only the Fight") refers to Saul Alinsky's 1946 book "Reveille for Radicals."
 
 ---Response #1---
 
A fallen angel made so much confusion and noise he got his own kingdom on earth.  It was Lucifer.  I will find the exact quote. I believe he also said the means justifies the end. There are many words from Saul Alinsky that would make blood shoot from your eyes.  Rules For Radicals is their Bible.
 
---Response #2---
 
There are many references - I will say most college graduates know these rules well.  The more I debate the more I see they have been brain washed - this is their connection to a utopia.

 

 

 

    

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Responses - Three Inspirational Events

Below are two of the great responses I received re the subject message. With re to the second response - for those who do not know "Rules For Radicals" is a book written in 1970 by the father of community organization Saul Alinsky - a book that was studied by both BO & his wife MO & really is the basis of their work for dismantling America. The book provides the principles that propelled BO to the White House in 2008 via organizational skills that got many previously disinterested people to the polls - people who when added up totally outnumber the rest of us. For those who do not know who Lucifer is just look it up & watch BO the next time he appears on TV.

---Response #1---

What a well deserved compliment for you and Carol! Thanks for sharing....knowing that you two are working hard in NJ inspires me to do my part in IL....tomorrow is my day to make telephone calls...some people are getting testy...others ask questions. I never know what to expect, but I plan to do my level best for the cause of taking our state back!

---Response #2---

You are so right, Doug! Jim recently wrote a letter to the editor which included a scary quote from Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals........"the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he got his own kingdom...Lucifer." Jim went on to say what really concerns him is that our President and Sec of State both follow his teachings.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Three Inspirational Events

"Let me add my two cents worth. It's people like you who inspire and encourage people like me to get out of our comfort zones and do whatever we can to help get this country back to its basic principles. I wish there were more like you and Carol. Keep on keeping on!!!" Thanks for this message from a subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net.

Using the above as a backdrop I present two more inspirational events that Carol & I had this past week.

About 8 PM Tuesday night I received a call from a man from Mike Agosta's congressional campaign who wanted to review the list of volunteers I had sent to them following Candidates' Night & my Morristown Tea Party speech. After a short conversation the man told me I could leave the information he requested @ the Agosta campaign office & he would pick it up either on weekends or after 2 PM during the week when he came to work - he assured me he would be there every day between now & November 2. After just a few questions I learned that this young man is a high school senior who is volunteering his time. The respect that he has for Mr. Agosta is well deserved based on all of Mike's positions not just his support of the FairTax. I told the young man that I looked forward to working for his run for office one day in the future just like I am working for Mike Agosta & America now. It was a real upper.

Also on Tuesday I received a call from another subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net who let me know the results of his speech to the Franklin Township Republican Club on Monday that was attended by about 50 people. The speech was very well received but the most important point to me was not the technical information that was presented but rather was in the introduction when this first time FairTax speaker said "while I don't consider myself to be a FairTax expert I do believe it is important for me to share my strong support and passion for the FairTax."

The point of the above accounts is for us not to lose by sitting on the sidelines if we have something to contribute but rather as TR challenged us "to be the man in the arena ...who strives to do the deeds, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions... to dare greatly so that your place will never be with those cold & timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

The circle was completed for Carol & me with all three of these events - the first thanking us & the other two providing inspiration for us. All three indicate the type of people we want to share our lives with.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Poll Shows Anna Little Trailing & Needing Help

Well the Electoral Analysis message of a few nights ago & the responses last night continued to light up the board. Thanks to a dear friend & long time FairTax supporter who sent the report below showing
Tea Party candidate Anna Little trailing the detestable Frank Pallone by 12 points. I called Anna's campaign office & they referred me to a revision to this Monmouth University poll that shows Anna trailing by 9 points.

Not only do I have to wonder for America how a candidate of Anna's stature could be trailing the 22 year incumbent Pallone, I wonder who in the world would vote for him in the first place - it certainly is not a lover of the America we grew up in. Pallone is graded "F" by NTU with a 7% favorable rating.

Another of the many comments I received focuses on the problem indicated in the last paragraph of the original Electoral Analysis message re the apathy, disinterest, & obliviousness of our fellow citizens, friends, relatives, & acquaintances - "Hi Doug, quick note on the way to DE. Your thoughts re upcoming race is right on. Last paragraph..right also. But remember it has taken over 60 yrs for the Left to get us to this place.... forget your friends, relatives, etc....they're lost; we're not going to undo this with just 1 or 2 elections...we have to start to educate the next gen of responsible citizens."

Before we try to educate the next generation we have less than 4 weeks to work with this one before we take another step deeper into the Death of Democracy of the American Republic. The commenter is right - it will take more than one or two elections to undo the statist bent that fills more than fifty percent of America - the question is how many more Anna Little's will we find to run in these future elections if they lose this one.

Since Labor Day I have beat the bushes to find people who will work one afternoon for Anna Little &/or Mike Agosta. In a very few days Carol & I will no longer be trying to find helpers but we will volunteer ourselves - an easier job than trying to find help. Just let me know if you think you can do the least little thing to help.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone ahead of GOP challenger Anna Little, poll says

TRENTON — In Central Jersey's 6th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone leads tea party-backed Republican challenger Anna Little by 12 points, 53 percent to 41 percent, according to a Monmouth University poll released today.

That's a much closer margin than Pallone, a 22-year incumbent, typically faces in this district, where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two-to-one.

"A 12 point lead may look comfortable, but not when you consider the fact that Pallone regularly wins reelection by more than 30 points," said poll director Patrick Murray.

In 2008, Pallone coasted to reelection with 67 percent of the vote.

"District demographics are the key to this race. Little does well in independent-minded parts of the district. The question is whether it will be enough to overcome the built-in Democratic advantage here," said Murray.

Little, the mayor of Highlands and a former Monmouth County freeholder, upset GOP establishment-backed millionaire Diane Gooch, a newspaper publisher, in the primary.

Little, an immigration attorney, is heavily outfunded in the general election by Pallone, who has $4 million in campaign cash.

The two candidates are statistically tied in the Monmouth County portion of the district – with Pallone garnering 49 percent and Little getting 47 percent. But in the other half of the district, made up of parts of Middlesex, Union and Somerset counties, Pallone has a 25 point lead.

Forty-six percent of voters approved of Pallone's job performance, while 36 percent disapprove. The district's voters are split on President Obama's job performance, with 48 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving.

The Monmouth University Polling Institute surveyed 643 likely voters by automated telephone call from October 2 to 5. This sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Responses - An Electoral Analysis

Thanks to everyone who provided a response to the original subject message. Below are four excellent insights that add to the discussion. The fourth brings the last paragraph of the original message into perspective for all of us to reflect & relate to re the future of our country.


---Response #1---

Doug:

Perhaps there are under-currents that haven't surfaced with the same intensity like the issues you have addressed.

There still could be "unhappy Republican overhang" from 2008. Similar to discovering a cheating spouse not everyone can forgive and forget in two years. Our elected Republicans cheated on us, they had a love affair with Democrats. True, some members of the Republican Party did kiss and make up accepting the promise from their Republican leaders they will never cheat again. But many more Republican constituents are hurting and have not regained the trust that a political marriage demands. As with many adulterers the separation may end in divorce.

---Response #2---

Yes, I have a face book page, and a friend to this fellow with about 250 readers, I continuously have debates with quite a few, I might light a little spark at times but talk about dense gray matter, only a transplant will fix the problem.

---Response #3---

Your electoral analysis presentation was well written, As you know, I have mentioned several times in the past to you - Hispanics are the fastest growing population in U.S. This is fertile ground for Democrats. They are not rich, and can easily be swayed how to vote. If Democrats make a concerted effort to get their votes - election will be close.

---Response #4---

That last paragraph in your reflection is so true. Most of my friends and family won't even talk about the upcoming election, and do seem to be oblivious to the truth of what is happening to our country. I have talked to many people as a volunteer for our IL state senator candidate, and many are saying what's the use of even voting? It is so sad!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

An Electoral Analysis

Now that the Republican "Pledge To America" has had time to be studied the GOP lead in the polls has fallen nine points to a plurality of 46 to 43 in favor of the Republicans among likely voters according to a WSJ/NBC News poll. 
 
Although Tea Party candidates have defeated many establishment Republican candidates in several primaries only one third of likely voters in the November general election make up Tea Party supporters meaning that two thirds of the upcoming potential voters are something other than Tea Party supporters like establishment Republicans, Democrats, or Independents - how very sad.  The aforementioned survey found that African American, Hispanic, & the youth vote all are beginning to tighten around Democrats as the election draws closer & BO makes a pitch to reorganize & rejuvenate these people - none of whom have any idea or even more importantly care about the heritage & importance of America's roll in the world scheme of things re liberty, freedom, & real human worth.  Too, 59% of Independents said they were not Tea Party supporters.
 
Two postings ago I asked if the Tea Party makes up new people (voters) or just ones who are now more vociferous than ever before but bring no new voters to the booth in which case we are in the same electoral predicament as in 2008 - all things being equal meaning we are still out numbered.  Several people have told me that in their towns Tea Party candidates carry the day but that is a very limited statistical sampling.
 
Our electoral chances for success are getting slimmer & the question next month comes down to which side has the most motivation & in particular are the Tea Party voters more motivated in states & districts with strong Tea Party candidates.  This gives us a chance to now turn the statist tide which will surely be resurrected in 2012 with a vengeance following all of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.
 
Republicans held all of the marbles for six years & squandered their chance & now the Democrats have done even worse if that is possible over the past four years.  Stan Donnelly writes re the 43 page Pledge - "the Contract with America fit on one page...if (the pledge) is too long to easily be remembered, it is not worth the paper it is written on."  And Allan Marter writes "the lack of a pledge to swear off earmarks is the biggest disappointment....It's too bad this looks like a missed opportunity."
 
People of substance do not want to be fooled again.  Establishment Republicans are not the answer.  Our only long term peaceful hope is that enough Tea Party candidates win in November & caucus with Jim DeMint & Tom Coburn to form a viable third party that gives us a real alternative.
 
If you don't believe the above just look @ your fellow citizens, friends, relatives, & acquaintances & you will realize how many of them are enemies to our way of life - their apathy, disinterest, & obliviousness provides the breeding ground for the statist forces that are tirelessly trying to take America down.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Healthcare By The Numbers

Congressman Frelinghuysen passed along his version of healthcare stats (below) that show how the first stages of the implementation of BO's massive government takeover falls short with respect to costs, premiums, preserving Americans' existing coverage, and providing full transparency and accountability.  Data out last week show that the price of healthcare insurance is rising even faster than before, the number of uninsured Americans is spiraling upward (ask McDonalds mini-med covered employees who are in jeopardy of losing their coverage or parents of the one million children who no longer can buy "child only" insurance), & the choices people have of doctors and health plans will be sharply constrained as a result.

But you can look to the current election campaigns for the best indicator - tell me one person running for office in November who voted for BO's healthcare bill that points that out in their campaign appearances?  Conversely the few Democrats that didn't shout this from the rooftops.

Healthcare Implementation by the Numbers:

4,103—Pages of regulations issued on the healthcare law from March 23, 2010 through September 17.

12—Number of final regulations not subjected to public scrutiny before taking effect.

40,000,000—Companies subject to the health law's new 1099 reporting requirements, which the National Federation of Independent Business called a "tremendous new paperwork compliance burden."

9—Regulations released to date that will increase premium costs for individuals and employers, according to the Administration's own estimates.

750,000—Reduction in the American labor force due to provisions in the law that "will effectively increase marginal tax rates, which will also discourage work," according to the Congressional Budget Office.

$310,800,000,000—Projected increase in healthcare costs as a direct result of the legislation, according to the Administration's own actuaries.

7,400,000—Reduction in Medicare Advantage enrollment as a result of the health care law, resulting in a loss of choice for seniors and millions of beneficiaries losing their current health plan.

51%—Percentage of American workers who will lose their current health coverage by 2013, according to the Administration's own estimates.

22—States that have joined legal actions to block all or part of the law from taking effect.

 

Friday, October 1, 2010

Check Your Premises

Thanks to one of the many subscribers to ReturnToExcellence.net who I have never met but who found the blog on the internet & sent this link of a video of President Reagan talking about the dangers of socialized medicine in 1961.  A longer version of this piece was posted on the blog some time ago but the backdrop photos in this one are current & educational.    
 
In the video President Reagan points out that one of the best ways of imposing socialism on a people is by way of medicine like disguising a medical program as a humanitarian project - sound familiar? 
 
Compassionate people, like Americans, do not want to reject medical care for people who can't possibly afford it & throw them out on the streets to die with no medical attention.  But thinking people will also wonder what insurance-less people did before employer provided medical insurance started in the 1940s & socialized medicine began in 1965 in America under LBJ?  Were there ever thousands of people dying on the streets of America or was there a different culture of personal responsibility & no incentive whatsoever for the current moral hazard that encourages people to prefer & even fraudulently game government welfare-dependent programs?
 
The questions like those above can always be presented to lead to a desired (emotional) conclusion but President Reagan knew how to re-direct & re-state the questions because he understood that whenever he faced a seeming contradiction of what was right or wrong that it was the supposed victims who really made the injustice possible.  In these occurrences he relied on one of the main principles of probably the best book he & many of us ever read - "whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises."