1st Ever National Tea Party Convention

It’s been a week since I first made my journey south to Nashville, TN, to attend the first ever National Tea Party Convention put on by Tea Party Nation (TPN), and unfortunately, due to rescheduled flights and Snowmageddon, I haven’t had the opportunity to write about it before now — so here it goes:

I have to honestly say that the Tea Party has been characterized and painted in such a dishonest way by the media.  Everyone I met was incredibly excited to be involved in politics and their government.  There were people from all genders, age groups, and yes, there were minorities at the conference. The tea party represents a broad and expanding group of Americans who are simply “sick and tired of being sick and tired,” with their government and their representatives. {Only 600 tickets were sold to the event so this was just a small representation}

It is accurate to say that many who are part of the tea party movement are not fond of Obama’s policies or his ideology, but it would be disingenuous to stop there.  Most tea partiers are trying to return this country to a republic rather than the oligarchy it is heading towards.  The constitution is the law of the land and should be adhered to and treated as such.  The members of this grassroots movement are average, everyday Americans; many of which have jobs or are retired.  They pay taxes, work hard, believe in personal responsibility, a hand up not a hand out, fiscal responsibility, small government, and strong national defense.

I guess I have difficulty understanding how the media could paint citizens engaging in debate, in civics, in government, and expressing peaceful dissent, as being extremists, nationalists, and racists.  What is so wrong with expressing the principles you believe in?  Protesters were “in” when they were protesting the Iraq War and anything Bush; holding up swastikas, BusHitler signs, and even making a fake guillotine with a Bush head.  But now the media doesn’t like the dissent when it goes against the very principles they espouse.  There is something very wrong when the 4th column can’t remain objective.  I have no problem if you are liberal and in the media, but when you are ‘on duty’ act like it, then take your opinions and ideology home with you.

With that being said – there will always be people on both sides of the aisle that are considered extreme or fringe, which is normal.  The left and right both have their fair share to deal with when it comes to that, but nobody should categorically try to make an assumption of the whole based on its parts.

I personally hope that the tea party remains an independent entity and doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming an established political group.  What is so attractive to the movement is its appeal to all parties that share the same conservative principles.  Many would be surprised that many Democrats (i.e. JFK Democrats) are more conservative especially when it comes to fiscal policy.  Independents are also conservative in different aspects.  I, for one, have never been part of a registered party and have always considered myself unaffiliated because the establishment on both sides of the aisle needs reform.

All in all, I had a blast, and the entire convention surpassed my expectations.  I met a lot of great people, and had tons of fun – believe it or not, Conservatives definitely know how to have a good time! 🙂 There are lots of people working hard to put the right people into office so we the people can clean up our government.  It’s important to note that many involved are still very new to politics and grassroots activism so mistakes and missteps will be made along the way – but as long as we can remember Calvin Coolidge’s words referring to Persistence, the Tea Party can become a force to be reckoned with:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Here are some photos of the event:

Many people were excited to see Sarah Palin on Saturday – one of her fans taped her poster to his balcony!

The Tea Party Presser where both Judson Phillips & Mark Skoda spoke – the MSM was there in droves

The Presser was held at lunchtime on Friday – Angela McGlowan would speak later that evening and give a wonderful speech and also announce her candidacy as a Republican running in Mississippi. The other men next to her were part of a documentary crew that have already made one movie about the tea party.

There were so many great people who attended and I was afforded the opportunity to have lunch and hang out with Adam Andrzejewski who unfortunately lost the Republican primary for Governor in IL, but I have a feeling there is more in store for him!

The men who wore costumes from our founding era were awesome – many of them were in the Tea Party documentary and it made the event a lot of fun.

Here is a very small portion of the line awaiting Sarah Palin and the tea party banquet on Saturday night (people were in line by 3:30/4pm when the doors weren’t evening opening until 6pm).

Sarah Palin arrives to eat dinner at the banquet – We got some great seats that were about 50 feet away.

We got to hear a new song for the movement, I believe it was called “American Heart” by Jon David.

Sarah Palin begins her speech (I had to take these pictures with my blackberry so the lighting is very bad).

The view from the jumbotron

Top off the night by celebrating a successful convention with people like Andrew Breitbart, Glenn Reynolds (aka Instapundit), and so many others – Saturday night was a blast!

Of course we had to end the night by signing the official flag for the Tea Party convention. {that’s my friend Burnsy BTW}

Children of the Political Corn

What is it with liberals and their childish, spoiled behavior?

I was recently at a rally in downtown Annapolis last Wednesday night, held by several organizations to get the state of Maryland back on the side of the people rather than under the thumb of one-party rule.  Several liberals who were protesting the event decided they would start acting up and what better way to act up than to scream racist at every individual who walks by? What good does that do anybody and for what reason? Why is it the liberals who are always pointing out the differences in people rather than what unites us and makes us equal?

These ‘children’ outside of the rally started whining to the police officers that broke up the chaos.  It immediately turned into the blame game – heaven forbid any one of them act like grown-ups, apologize, and let it go. This tends to be the norm from what I have observed from liberals; spoiled children who want everything their way and have no concern for those around them as long as they get what they want.

I like the following analogy; Veruca Salt is to Oompa Loompas as Liberals are to public policy.  I can hear them now: “But, Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa NOW!” They want immediate gratification like a 5 year old in a toy store, throwing a temper tantrum if an adult says ‘NO,’ in hopes that the parent will eventually kowtow to the child (which has unfortunately become the norm in society).

Liberals want policy NOW – they don’t tend to read the bills, but because they sound nice, based on the game of semantics (loved by every liberal politician), they think that 2,000 page bureaucratic nightmares will create some type of Utopia in America. 

The problem I have with Veruca Salt is her attitude problem and the sheer fact that she doesn’t even know what is involved in caring for an Oompa Loompa because she doesn’t know what it is; but because this new and exotic creature sounds and looks cool – she has to have it! She could wind up killing the poor thing because she doesn’t know what to do with it once she gets it or there could be tons of unintended consequences, and somebody inevitably is always left cleaning up the mess. 

To be honest, I can understand why somebody under 30 still acts like Veruca Salt.  Perhaps they are too sheltered, perhaps they have never experienced hard times, perhaps they still believe that Utopias exist, or perhaps they just haven’t worked long enough to owe the government.  Those who I don’t understand, and feel have no business acting that way, are adults, especially politicians who have a hand in running our country — Case in point: Chuck Shumer.

Chuck Shumer is the epitome of egotistical elitist; a snob so to speak, who would seemingly say anything or stoop to any level just to remain ‘powerful’ in regards to the political arena.

Growing up in Connecticut and living around the limousine liberal elite has taught me that these individuals are nothing more than empty vessels floating along a shallow river of condescension and entitlement.

Chuck Shumer isn’t the only liberal to carry this haughty attitude – it certainly became patently obvious during his BFF, Martha Coakley’s campaign. Their hatred of average Americans is transparent, unlike the healthcare coverage on CSPAN that was promised by Obama’s administration.

I have to wonder, how intelligent or even how mature these politicians think they are when calling their peers names like tea-baggers? Do they believe that calling individuals perverted terms makes them look like pillars of the community? Do they think it makes them sound more intelligent and credible? If that is the case, they are sadly mistaken, because to most it makes them look like bitter, immature, adolescents; the same adolescents currently running amok in our government and spending money like a 16 year old with Daddy’s credit card.  These are the very same congress critters who have been in the majority since 2006 and were running our economy into the ground during the stock market crash. 

It’s easy for Americans to place blame on one individual like George Bush for the disaster called our economy in 2008, but guess what? Congress has more influence over the economy and over the regulations and oversight of the market than the president.  And guess who was supposed to be in charge of those two things when this crisis hit? The liberals, yes, that’s correct, and I dare ask anybody who disagrees to look it up. 

Speak of the devil, Barney Frank would like to change the rules in case Scott Brown wins Teddy Kennedy’s seat today… who cares about all the little people of America who elect these individuals that turn out to be wannabe dictators, right?

I don’t care if you were the valedictorian of your class at Harvard take the cotton out of your ears and stick it in your mouth – The American public no longer wants to hear what you have to say, we just want you to start listening! 

I think it’s time to take a look at some of the best quotes illustrating liberal arrogance in recent history:

Chuck Shumer: Then the flight attendant came by again and told Schumer that everyone on the flight was waiting for him to turn off his phone. He asked to finish his conversation but was told he could not; he then hung up and, according to the aide, he argued about the rule banning him from speaking on the phone.

When the flight attendant walked away, the aide told Politico, Schumer turned to Gillibrand and referred to the woman as a “bitch.”

New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who famously hammered then-Sen. Alfonse D’Amato for calling him a “putz-head” in their hot 1998 campaign, was accused Thursday of stepping into the gutter himself after he sent out a fundraising e-mail in which he called Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown a “far-right tea-bagger.” 

Obama: “You got into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

John Kerry: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” 

Harry Reid:  “My staff tells me not to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway, in the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it’s true.” 

Don’t forget that Harry also thinks the only reason Barack Obama was electable was his “light skin” and lack of “negro dialect.”

Chris Matthews: Video of Chris Matthews saying that all of the “teabaggers” are white, while talking with Mark McKinnon.

Matthews said, “they’re all white, all of them, every single one of them is white.” Mark McKinnon agreed with Matthews saying “I think that’s a fair characterization, predominately no question.”

Barney Frank: In this view, the role of the great majority of Americans is simply to buy the products produced, work happily for their wages, and leave all of the significant economic decisions to the capitalists.

Nancy Pelosi: Out of touch and calling the middle class (making up the majority of the tea party protests) “Astroturf” & wealthy: What we want is a new direction. In fact, in the President’s initiative – in the Recovery and in the Budget – 95% of the American people get a tax cut. This is a tax cut for the great middle class. This initiative is funded by the high end – we call call it astroturf, it’s not really a grassroots movement. It’s astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class.
Barbara Boxer: “Do me a favor,” she said, “could say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am?’ It’s just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it, yes, thank you.”

More from that exchange:

Boxer: “Sir, they passed it. They passed it. Now, also, if that isn’t interesting you to we’ll quote John Grant, who is the CEO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta.” [She goes on to read quote.]

Alford: “Madam Chair, that is condescending to me. I’m the National Black Chamber of Commerce and you’re trying to put up some other black group to pit against me.”

Boxer: “If this gentlemen were here he would be proud that he was being quoted.”

Alford: “He should have been invited!”

Alan Grayson: If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That’s right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.

Now, that brings us back around to the Massachusetts Senate race, which will give us a new Senator tonight:

The public can choose a cookie cutter liberal with a bad attitude like the ones referenced above, or a new face, with new ideas, who stands for more than entitlement to a seat and his own ego.

People like Shumer and Coakley are New England elites with law degrees; you don’t need to be a genius or a lawyer to hold a seat in our government; in fact the founding fathers never intended for that in the first place.  Scott Brown may have graduated from law school but he’s spent years serving our country in a more important capacity, as a leader; as a member of our armed services.

Martha Coakley is a special interest, union loving, lobbyist kow-towing, big spending, big government, entitled, limousine liberal.  I’m tired of the same old same old and it’s time for a change, especially in a liberal hot-bed like Massachusetts.  (I can at least spell the state correctly, unlike Martha and her staff). 

Martha Coakley’s new slogan is open mouth, insert foot.  She is quickly replacing Joe Biden as Obama’s Czar of Gaffe. 

Martha Coakley states that there aren’t terrorists in Afghanistan, just weeks after 8 CIA agents were killed by terrorists in that very country.  She believes in freedom of religion, but thinks devout Catholics shouldn’t work in emergency rooms, she spelled Massachusetts wrong in an ad she recently placed on air, adding an extra ‘E’ at the end, and we can’t forget the push heard round the world, when her aide pushed down a conservative reporter and she stood there and did nothing. My personal favorite is of course the double standard – Martha flew down to DC just a week before the special election in MA, to meet with the real fat cats for a fundraiser, some of which were lobbyists from the health care industry – where’s the outrage liberal friends?…crickets*

Martha as of late has also tried to air attack ads painting Brown as a UPS truck driver who will ship jobs overseas, offending not only UPS, but truck drivers, along with Obama’s comments this weekend that anyone can afford a truck… Excuse me sir, but that’s not true – at least not for a majority of people who are jobless at the moment – maybe your liberal elite buddies can afford such luxuries but not the average American just trying to make a living. 

Coakley has also aired an ad using the old World Trade Center as a connection to greed and of course back to Bush, Republicans, and Scott Brown.  The only greed I have seen are the rich Democrats who basically run the hedge funds and Wall Street… a lot of these individuals are part of that ‘evil’ 1% who pay top dollar for CPAs to find loopholes in the tax code.  Stop blaming everything on Republicans when Democrats are evenly split on commercial bank contributions and take the cake when it comes to hedge funds and Fannie & Freddie.

Martha should just quit while she’s… behind… painting herself as disconnected and completely detached from the people.  As recently as yesterday, she told a radio station the American public is basically too stupid to know enough about health care.

I’m getting so tired of the name calling, the fear mongering, and the condescending attitudes of the Democrat party.  It’s time to usher in a new era of principled, uncorrupted individuals.  It’s high time we give some new faces the chance to turn around a ship that’s headed for an iceberg. We need people who understand that serving in this great country means serving their constituents and not themselves.  We need people who have worked in the private sector or don’t feel that they deserve a seat just because it was held by a late senator of the same ideology.  We need people who want to put government back on the side of the people.  I don’t want anymore career politicians and neither should you – let’s start electing grown-ups with standards. 

I hope that Massachusetts does the right thing in electing Scott Brown – it’s time that people vote based not on party affiliation but on trust and who they believe will be honest, sincere, and do the best job. 

Good Luck to Scott, Massachusetts, and to America!

Narcissist in Chief Gives Himself a B+ for the Year

Jake Tapper Reports:

“Good, solid B-plus,” the president said. 

Explaining, he said, “we have inherited the biggest set of challenges of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

“We stabilized the economy, and prevented possibilities of a Great Depression or a significant financial meltdown. The economy is growing again.

“We are on our way out of Iraq. I think we’ve got the best possible plan for Afghanistan.

“We have reset our image around the world.

“We have achieved an international consensus around the need for Iran and North Korea to disable their nuclear weapons.

“And I think that we’re going to pass the most significant piece of social legislation since Social Security, and that’s health insurance for every American,” he concluded.

Pressed by Oprah as to why only a B-plus, the president said, “B-plus because of the things that are undone. Health care is not yet signed. If I get health care passed we tip into A-minus.”

If this doesn’t scream sheer ego and arrogance, I don’t know what does.  Most intelligent individuals usually know that when a question of this sort is thrown at you, the proper response would be “I believe the American people are more apt at giving me a grade than I would be…” But of course, Mr. Mirror, mirror on the wall, had to answer and gave himself a high score.

If recent polls like Gallup or Rasmussen are any indication of how the American public actually feels about him and his grade, it would seem that he really needs some extra credit or maybe some one-on-one time with his professor, the public.  Obama’s approval rating has taken a nose dive while he sits at only 44% approval and he technically still has 1 more month until he reaches his one year mark.

All of the things that Obama mentions are outright lies as far as being accomplishments or things that most people look at much differently than he does. 

Take for example the assertion that he has stabilized the economy; many argue that just because stocks are rising that does not mean the economy has stabilized or gotten better.  We are on unprecedented territory and the unemployment rate is still in double digits.  Stocks also correct themselves for inflation which is what would appear to be happening, as well as the fact that many businesses have had to cut their workforces and become more efficient with less people.  For now, companies are reaping the rewards of more efficiencies, but eventually that will plateau if they want to move forward and stay ahead of their competition. There is still a chance that the economy could experience a double dip, and if it doesn’t, the most likely situation will be heavy inflation or Japanese style deflation with no growth for years to come.

How long until people get fed up with his blame game rhetoric that he has inherited this situation?  He has inherited the situation from every corruptocrat dating back more than just Bush’s 8 years.  We should throw in Greenspan, Clinton and even Carter for that matter if we want to really get at the heart of the issue.  He should also include himself since was in fact legal council for ACORN and lead the charge in the 90’s to obtain a settlement on a lawsuit indicating that credit scores are apparently discriminatory and the CRA should be expanded – hence subprime… I could go on, but I’ve vented enough on that topic.  I just can’t stand people who continuously play the victim, meanwhile, as they point the finger, opportunities and life pass them by.  I have no respect for individuals who can’t take responsibility – and this is supposed to be the leader of the only super power left in the world!?

I’m not sure where he comes off saying that we are pulling out of Iraq?  I’ll believe it when I see it.  Seems like he is carrying out Bush’s policies for now.  I think that stating his plans for Afghanistan are the best are delusional at best.  Maybe, if he had listened to his general in the first place, we wouldn’t have had so many killed over the couple of months (more so than any time when Bush was in office).  He still did not give them the # of troops requested but merely cut the request in half – I will forever call it Halfghanistan.

We have reset our image around the world? Funny, those whom I know living abroad who were excited about Obama, even after I tried to tell them the truth about his record and his ideology, are only now realizing what a disaster he is.  He continues to snub our allies, bow to other leaders, and apologize for all of America’s perceived wrongs on his travels abroad — this has made him a laughing-stock.  The liberal media lets him get away with it, but I don’t expect it to continue forever, if he continues to decline in the polls — eventually real sentiment will bubble to the surface.

When has Obama done anything about North Korea or Iran? His foreign policy seems to be avoidance.  He has not called for harsher sanctions, he is not using anything other than words to try to disarm Iran.  While he stares at himself in the mirror and relishes the media attention, Iran is creating weapons of mass destruction with their plutonium/uranium enrichment plants.

Health care legislation will definitely be significant but significance doesn’t always mean good.  It is absolutely maddening that those in DC could care less about the polls on health care. Most of America disapproves of this bill and the way the government is handling it.  I’ve seen the way government has screwed up business, the economy, and everything else it has touched, there is no way I want them making decisions about my health! 

So continue to grade yourself a B+ Mr. Ego… I can only hope that one of these days somebody in the media has a ‘Come-to-Jesus’ moment of clarity and decides to do his/her job for the good of the country. 

I suspect that the true grade will come for Mr. President in November 2010 – EPIC FAIL.

Crikey! The Government Is Monitoring Twitter & Facebook

*Banging head against the keyboard* – the government is monitoring the internet more now than ever.  If I wasn’t so politically charged, I probably wouldn’t care, nor would I really hear much about this, but much of my twitter and Facebook use is for political activism and pontificating on the issues of the day. If that gets me into trouble with the government, then so be it.  I’d rather get carted off for practicing my first amendment right of free speech than for doing something that was truly illegal like stealing my neighbor’s car. 

Both parties are at fault for this obvious breach of personal privacy, but I believe one could make the argument where there are certain circumstances that warrant wire tapping or other similar techniques if it saves lives and stops terrorism.  However, the slippery slope is easily becoming not just a theory, but a reality.  I do not see the need to monitor Facebook or twitter.  These are mainly tools used by citizens to get short points across that consist of 140 characters.  Some people tweet articles, some tweet opinions, some tweet their daily activities, while others tweet photos – why should that be monitored by the government?  Does the government seriously care that I just got back in touch with Sally Muckenfuch from 3rd grade? 

I don’t want to seem like a ‘Debbie Downer’ but would terrorists really be using twitter? “Just strapped a bomb onto my back, headed to airport, can’t wait for virgins.” I am not naive, either, and believe that anything could be used for the wrong purpose, but twitter just doesn’t seem like the place to strategize and plan an attack.  Information can definitely be sent out to meet up, but whole terror plots are difficult to type in 140 characters or less, let alone hope that ADD riddled people already tweeting will follow.  Based on the latest NY Times editorial, however, that is not the intent of the government’s monitor at all though:

The government is increasingly monitoring Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites for tax delinquents, copyright infringers and political protesters. A public interest group has filed a lawsuit to learn more about this monitoring, in the hope of starting a national discussion and modifying privacy laws as necessary for the online era.

Wired magazine reported in October:

America’s spy agencies want to read your blog posts, keep track of your Twitter updates — even check out your book reviews on Amazon.

In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA and the wider intelligence community, is putting cash into Visible Technologies, a software firm that specializes in monitoring social media. It’s part of a larger movement within the spy services to get better at using ”open source intelligence” — information that’s publicly available, but often hidden in the flood of TV shows, newspaper articles, blog posts, online videos and radio reports generated every day.

This is what scares common sense independents about the government — we allow them to have more power than ever should have been necessary and our rights and personal freedoms continue to disappear right from under us because we allow them to be taken PROGRESSIVELY… funny how we appear to be turning into those much storied frogs that are unable to jump out of a pot of luke warm water after it has boiled.

And as Noel Sheppard of Newbusters points out, the fact that this isn’t being reported as much as it would be if a Republican was in office, is just another hypocritical chink in the liberal media’s armor:

So be careful with your next Tweet or Facebook status, for you never know who’s watching.

On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how Obama-loving media follow this story.

After all, the press were constantly bashing the Bush White House concerning electronic surveillance designed to protect the nation from terrorist attacks.

The Times might be pleased with itself by publishing an editorial on this subject in its opinion section, but under the previous administration, this would have resulted in a front page story with thousands of words.

Gorebbels Reads a Climate Change Poem to CNN

Meet the new Robert Frost; Al Gore:

I think CNN may have had a Gore-basm… Sad, really.

FCC Implementing Net Nuetrality Rule (Monday)

Tomorrow, the FCC will make an announcement that it proposes to implement a new net neutrality rule for the Internet. We had been warned previously that rather than a new Fairness Doctrine, other rules/laws would be passed that could potentially affect content of the Internet and over the airwaves. 

Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, plans to propose a new so-called net neutrality rule Monday that could prevent telecommunications, cable and wireless companies from blocking Internet applications, according to sources at the agency.

Genachowski will discuss the rules Monday during a keynote speech at The Brookings Institute. He isn’t expected to drill into many details, but the proposal will specifically be for an additional guideline on how operators like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast can control what goes on their networks. That additional guideline would prevent the operators from discriminating, or act as gatekeepers, of Web content and services.

The guidelines in place today have been criticized by applications developers like Google and public interest groups for not going far enough to clarify what is defined as discriminatory behavior. Comcast is fighting in federal court an FCC ruling that it violated the guidelines by blocking a video application last year. AT&T and Verizon have said existing rules are sufficient, and more regulation is unnecessary. However, they have also said they wouldn’t fight against an additional guideline that focuses on discriminatory behavior.

Julius is not somebody who is non-partisan either.  As any appointees, they have connections to a political party and ideology.  Julius was Obama’s communications and Internet campaign manager during the 2008 election.  As we have discovered with Mark Lloyd and Cass Sunstein, Genachowski is probably no different. 

After reading various comments and arguments for this rule, I can understand how people believe net neutrality would be a good thing.  Most people who are unaware think that more regulation will actually help the consumer, and if that truly is the case, I would be all the more for it.  However, cable, phone, Internet, and wireless companies are some of the most highly regulated companies in the United States, but people still despise them.  Since there is already so much government interference wouldn’t it be safe to say that the government would inevitably make things worse rather than better? 

One issue at play is that enterprises like AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, etc. use “public” airwaves but they pay billions of dollars in licensing fees for the privilege of using the AIR! The government is already regulating that “air” and the argument has to do with the amount of regulation that already exists. To force mobile carriers to treat all internet traffic the same is ridiculous because this kind of free for all will crash many of the major carriers’ networks! There is a natural free market revolution going on which is allowing these private companies to upgrade their networks to meet the demands of their customers. Government intervention is not the answer. AT&T is responding to anger in NYC and SF by adding tons of capacity to meet the needs of its users before they leave AT&T for another carrier. If the government forces net neutrality on wireless carriers, all iPhone and smart phone users will take all of the bandwidth in order to watch streaming video and music, which sounds fine if you are an iPhone user but think about the downside and unintended consequences. If these major wireless carriers are forced to treat all traffic the same there will be no more unlimited data packages for $35/month. They will start to charge per MB in order to ensure their networks dont crash for all of their users. There were no wireless data networks to speak of 10 years ago and now we have 3G and 4G LTE coming everywhere within the next 18 months. The free market is doing this not a govt mandate, unfortunately, what a lot of people have failed to recognize is the reality and universality of the “law of unintended consequences”.

Which brings to the forefront, the second issue: at face value, net neutrality sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, nearly everything the government does ultimately warps the motives of companies and individuals in a bad way.  The presumption by most is that the government actually has the ability to “make things better”. In my experience, that is almost never the case.  The slippery slope argument is not fear-mongering, when one merely needs to look back through history to see plenty of laws that were intended for the right purpose, which were used for something incredibly distorted and wrong. The content originally regulated would most likely be something routine and mundane – very basic data, however, it could suddenly change to ideological content.  Mark Lloyd has been talking about diversity on the Internet and over the airwaves, as well as anti-discrimination.  Sunstein, the newly appointed regulation czar feels the same way and would like to regulate the Internet based on any perceived falsehoods – who decides what is false and what is not – there is too much room for political bias. 

If this is implemented officially, I want to hear what those lauding it say after 5 years, and after majorities switch hands to the other party.  I better not hear any outcry from the liberals if Republicans come into power and continue to use net neutrality…

An Inconvenient Health Care Truth For Media Conveniently Afraid Of Statistics

The media during Bush’s 8 years certainly was not afraid to pull out any statistics that would discredit Republicans or the administration.  One of their favorite statistics was the number of deaths during the Iraq War. 

However, now that there are wars still being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, the media has conveniently left that tiny issue to the way-side.  The only individual who still has her principles is Cindy Sheehan.  I may not agree with Ms. Sheehan’s politics, but I can at least commend her for her consistency. (via the Examiner): 

After receiving the email, I asked Sheehan to give me a call, so I could verify that the note in fact came from her.  She did, and we discussed her plans to protest next week in Martha’s Vineyard, where President Obama will be vacationing.  “I think people are starting to wake up to the fact that even if they supported Obama, he doesn’t represent much change,” Sheehan said.  “There are people still out here who oppose the war and Obama’spolicies, but it seems like the big organizations with the big lists aren’t here.”

I asked Sheehanabout the fact that the press seems to have lost interest in her and her cause.  “It’s strange to me that you mention it,” she said.  “I haven’t stopped working.  I’ve been protesting every time I can, and it’s not covered.  But the one time I did get a lot of coverage was when I protested in front of George Bush’s house in Dallas in June.  I don’t know what to make of it.  Is the press having a honeymoon with Obama?  I know the Left is.”

I have more appreciation for those who stay true to their beliefs no matter what those beliefs are, rather than changing them based on whichever way the political wind is blowing, especially when your guy won the biggest office in the land. 

So I sit here scratching my head wondering why the media hasn’t reported the latest news coming out of Canada and their health care system?  The new president of the Canadian Medical Association states that Canada’s health care is imploding.  Canada has also encouraged its citizens to buy and use private insurance to ween them off of government-run health care. 

The former president of the Canadian Medical Association was on O’Reilly last night and confirmed the same thing.  Although O’Reilly, as usual, wasn’t letting him get his statements in completely, he intimated that there are not enough doctors able to cover the volume of people covered under their system.  This leads to rationing of care and increased costs to attempt to fund everyone.  Rationing is the only way to say you are covering everyone, and try to cut costs at the same time.

France also reported that it’s health care system is going bankrupt, nearly two weeks ago.  No mention of their single-payer system and the nightmare it created for the citizens of that country by the MSM.

The English system also has horrible statistics.  Their rate of survival for any cancer or serious illness is significantly worse than it is in the States.  The National Center for Policy Analysisalso conducted a study and concluded the NHS was putting the patient last.  If NHS was a business it would fail miserably based on its standard operating procedures and business practices that it chooses to implement.

The CBC has just released new statistics that show Americans’ life expentency is on the rise while deaths are not.  But I thought American health care was ranked last?  It’s amusing to hear liberals use the common argument that the US ranks 37th out of 37 countries when comparing their health care systems.  However, when you ask for the context of those statistics, since stats can be masterfully manipulated based on outside factors/variables used to conduct studies, it’s no wonder that the CATO Institute was able to debunk that ranking. 

Those who cite the WHO rankings typically present them as an objective measure of the relative performance of national health care systems. They are not. The WHO rankings depend crucially on a number of underlying assumptions–some of them logically incoherent, some characterized by substantial uncertainty, and some rooted in ideological beliefs and values that not everyone shares. Changes in those underlying assumptions can radically alter the rankings.

[…]while the United States ranks 37th, there is no ranking for which both claims are true. Using OP, the United States does rank 37th. But while France is number 1 on OP, Canada is 30. Using OA, the United States ranks 15th, while France and Canada rank 6th and 7th, respectively. In neither ranking is the United States at 37 while France and Canada are in the top 10.

Which ranking is preferable? WHO presents the OP ranking as its bottom line on health system performance, on the grounds that OP represents the efficiency of each country’s health system. But for reasons to be discussed below, the OP ranking is even more misleading than the OA ranking. This paper focuses mainly on the OAranking; however, the main objections apply to both OP and OA.

But, as Newsbusters reports, the media has conveniently overlooked the story regarding Canadian health care, especially when early proponents of Universal health care, like Hillary touted the system as a model the US should use. 

One would think that the media would want to get all facts out to the public, and unfortunately, if some of those facts get in the way of what they idealistically felt was the answer, then so be it.  The people will be better off knowing the truth and making their decisions on health care from there.  It may also help certain representatives who are on the fence.  It’s scary to know that the media is willing to throw the country down the toilet and inevitably bankrupt the nation in order to reach their liberal ‘Utopia.’ 

Facts just seem to get in their way.

Another Obama Double-Cross, Media Cover-up: No Additional Social Security Money Until 2012

Par for the course I guess, but this is becoming quite a pattern with the Obama administration and the news media.  Obama has this strange habit of promising everybody the world, but once in power, takes it all back and simply does whatever he wants. 

The latest political promise, double-cross involves his base – a group that I would not want to upset.  Obama had promised to implement a payroll tax on those making over $250K/year, the people he calls millionaires and billionaires, to help pay for the ever depleting bucket of money in social security.  His base strongly approved of this pledge to uncap the taxing threshold – here is what he said:

Social Security is strong, but as more baby boomers retire, the long-term cash-flow needs to be addressed. We have to make sure Social Security is there for future generations…

Here’s where I would start. Right now, the Social Security payroll tax is capped. That means most middle-class families pay this tax on every dime they make, while millionaires and billionaires are only paying it on a very small percentage of their income. That’s why I think the best way forward is to first look to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like me pay a little bit more and people in need are protected. That way we can extend the promise of Social Security without shifting the burden on to seniors. And we should exempt anyone making under $250,000 from this increase so that the change doesn’t burden middle-class Americans. This means that 97% of Americans will see absolutely no change in their taxes under my plan – 97%…

This promise, via the Collins Report, has been taken back by Obama, and due to that fact alone, Obama is now pushing the burden onto seniors to pay for this debacle (another government-run system).

Citing a 2008 third quarter cost of living decline, Congress has voted no cost of living increase in next year’s Social Security checks for the first time since 1973.

The Democrats are pointing to their own prediction of a “… [steady] decline in consumer prices through the first three quarters of this year…” Based on this they claim to foresee no need for raises until possibly 2012.

Democrats ignore Consumer Price Index: hide behind flat Inflation

Obama’s base will suffer the most. While 80% of our big cities voted for Obama it’s apparent the elderly, both White and minority, will be asked to “balance the budget” by themselves. There might not be any inflation but the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen steadily since January, and people are living by the CPI not the rate of inflation.

Numbers show ignoring the CPI will crush elderly and minorities.

A little history:

Back in the 80’s, Congress changed the way that the CPI was applied to the Social Security COLA, with the express intention of limiting the COLA increase.  That same year, they voted themselves a raise.  The resulting rage among seniors was palpable.  This time around things could get interesting!

There are those who are stating this is old news, but it still begs the question, why is nobody in the media bringing up the fact that he has incessantly lied to those who elected him and the American public?  Yes, all politicians lie, but I’m not sure I have ever seen it to this extent – I know, I know, I’m young, but still…

Make That 2 Fake Doctors At Democrat Town Halls

We have another case of “I’m not a doctor, but I play one at town halls.”

Sheila Leavitt appeared at Barney Frank’s town hall yesterday, where the Associated Press article this morning claimed she was a physician. However, upon further investigation after the town hall had ended, a man who attended the event, looked into the Massachusetts database of doctors to find out whether or not this woman was in fact listed.  Lo and behold, there was no trace of either a Sheila Levitt or Leavitt as a practicing physician in the state. 

I’m tired of hearing about fake concern at town halls when average Americans attend after work or take a day off to be inside a forum to voice their opinions and concerns.  None of the people  I have met at any of the tea parties or town halls are paid, coerced, or bused to the event.  Is it so hard to believe that the real astroturf may come from the left more so than the right?  Which would explain why so many on the left believe this to be a fake movement.

During the town hall, Leavitt stated that she hoped reform would create a more even playing field regarding pay for primary care physicians as opposed to specialists who make more money.  The Associated Press picked up on this story and the fact that this woman also harped on those opposed to ObamaCare as using the “same talking points.”  I find it ironic because this woman sounds very similar to the ‘faux’ doctor at Sheila Jackson-Lee’s town hall, Roxana.  The Associated Press claimed this woman was a doctor from Newton, MA, but there is no record of her, and according to a freeper who also conducted an investigation of their own, via the AMA website/database, she does not exist.

The only references to Sheila Leavitt as a medical doctor I can find on Google (besides references to last night’s town hall) are self-references; where she identifies herself that way.  I could find no listing for a medical office belonging to Sheila Leavitt.  Physicians generally have offices where they practice medicine.

As far as I can tell, she is not listed as a licensed Physician at the Massachusetts State Medical Board web site.  Several “Leavitt”s are doctors in Massachusetts, but none are named “Sheila.”  Just for kicks I tried the Associated Press’ original misspelling of the name, “Levitt,” and also found no “Sheila” as a licensed doctor.

Note the update below, where a comment poster claiming to be Leavitt’s son claims she is a former physician.

Other references to Leavitt mention her full name and home town, but do not indicate that she is a medical doctor.  For example, I do find several references to a far-left agitator named Sheila Leavitt of Newton MA who turned a “grease car” into a rolling Bush protest with signs attacking his daughters, raises chickens, and advanced the weird conspiracy theory that the 2004 election was rigged in favor of George W. Bush.

This woman may not have personally claimed she was a doctor, but even so, this says more about the movement on the left and the real meaning of astroturf, as well as, the media lapdogs that so willingly follow Obama over a liberal cliff like little lemmings.

Howard Dean Admits Obama Has a Trojan Horse

Howard Dean blatantly admits what many have been saying since yesterday and something that I also wrote about.  The White House is planning a Trojan Horse, which means, presenting alternatives that simply change the semantics of the bill to attempt to market it or sell it to the American public.  Howard Dean says this backtracking/concession regarding co-opos is nothing more than political gaming, and there will be a public option.  He telsl us that the Senate will not pass a health care bill with a public option. The public option language will be put back in after the fact. That’s why nobody should be fooled by terminology like co-ops, health insurance reform, etc.  This = EPIC FAIL.

Follow this link to watch his interview from this morning on PMSNBC’s Morning Joe. [due to my lack of technological abilities I could not embed the video into wordpress, so instead, I included a picture of Howard Dean.]