Obamacare Obamacare

Obamacare is now part of American life.  Well…it’s sort of Obamacare.  Well…it isn’t really Obamacare.  Well…maybe it will be enforced as written, or maybe not.  This legislative fiasco, passed in the darkness of night on a Christmas Eve, continues to be the single best argument against big government. 

The intentions were noble; to insure uninsured Americans.  The exact number of uninsured is open to debate, but conventional wisdom was 40 million although it could have been as little as 11 million.  Never letting a crisis go to waste, Obama and his cohorts passed this travesty tearing apart the best health care system in the world.  In the process, they lied to the American public as to both the implementation and effect of the law.   Those who could read understood what was going to happen. The press defaulted.  Pelosi said we had to pass the law to find out what was in it.  Now we know.

The incompetence of rolling this out is stunning.  The lies the President told the American public are appalling.  The delays in implementing the law he passed by Presidential decree is stressing the limits of the Constitution.  And now he is lying again.  After failed websites, exemptions to friends, extensions to the public and businesses we have been hit with another lie.

Yesterday King Obama proclaimed that 7 million people signed up for overpriced, high deductible Obamacare policies.  He neglected to tell the public that 6 million of those who signed up were bounced off of the policies they liked but could not keep.  Of the 40 million uninsured, approximately 900,000 signed up for the insurance, the bulk of them put into Medicaid.  For that, these great Americans upended our entire medical system.  Hold on, the best is yet to come, because Obama has postponed the bulk of the implementation of the Obamacare until after the fall elections hoping against hope to keep control of the Senate, leaving the bulk of the blowback to the next Democratic presidential candidate. 

It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.  Cancer patients have been denied access to their hospitals and doctors.  Folks in New England have to drive 60 miles to get to a hospital that is in the Obamacare group.  Many people have been forced off of their policies and opting out to pay a penalty.  It is cheaper.  Young folks are ignoring this altogether.  The press touted Obama’s 7 million signups announcement yesterday with great fanfare.  Watch over the next 12 weeks as the truth comes out.  These folks never learn.

For all intents and purposes, Obamacare as passed no longer exists.  It has collapsed before our eyes…all for 800,000 more insured, which could have been taken care of with 90% less upheaval than this nation continues to experience. 

This program was designed to hurt the middle class.  It took healthcare from one group of people and gave it to another, but not successfully.  Fixing this is going to take a Herculean effort, and we'll all pay the price.      

Christie and Big Government

So now the press is on a feeding frenzy ala Chris Christie.  Even on Drudge the headline reads “Is the Road to the White House Closed?”  For those of us who live in northeast Ohio, the story is almost funny.  We like our politics rough and tough.  I would be surprised if a political staff didn’t pull a stunt like this, albeit one that shouldn’t have happened. 

Tell it to the press who is out to destroy anyone who isn’t Hillary.  Here’s the headline.  There is only one bully in the country, Barack Obama.  There is only one dynastic family in this country who has raised political chicanery to an art form, the Clinton's.  A few cars inconvenienced in New Jersey are a drop in the bucket to the stunts pulled by the Obama administration and the trail of destruction that has followed Bill and Hillary.  At least Christie fired the perpetrators and didn’t debate the meaning of the word “is”.

The real casualty in Bridgegate is big government.  The misdeeds of the Obama administration are so large and pervasive the American public may know they exist, but can’t understand or process them.  But folks do understand a story where a political hack uses her power to hurt the public for political retribution.    If a minor player in New Jersey can go after political opponents using traffic cones on a bridge, just think what the IRS or NSA or those gathering our health care information can do AND HAVE DONE.  

Obama’s Ohio State speech last year marked the high water mark of liberalism in America. He stood in front of the graduating class at Ohio State and said we shouldn’t fear government because government is us.  Do you trust “us”?

Assuming Christie is telling the truth that he didn’t know and after inquiries was deliberately lied to, he will not only survive but gain in stature.  He came forward and made himself available to the press.  He gave a detailed narration as to what happened.  He apologized profusely.  And most importantly, he fired those who did this on the spot. No one expects an elected official to be perfect.  They do expect honesty and action. 

Maybe now the public will understand the dangers of big government. 

Christmas and Redskins

Anyone who watches the O'Reilly Factor knows about the War on Christmas, politically correct robotons walking around with blank faces and glassy eyes spewing "Christmas is bad" and "Santa is bad'" and  “Christmas music” is bad.  Although O’Reilly calls it the War on Christmas, it is really a war on tolerance.  No one is more intolerant than people of this ilk.  Their lives are a permanent buzz kill.  They only tolerate one point of view…their own which they raise to religious status.  Pathetically guilt ridden, they espouse a world where there is a tyranny of one.  If one person is offended, then the whole world must bow down…of course unless that one person is you.  You don’t count.  Only they count.

The good news is things are finally starting to get better.  The mass hysteria of those attempting to look progressive and cool and caring and tolerant has waned.  It reached the high point over the past few years when merchants banned their employees from saying Merry Christmas in fear of offending someone.  Well…they did offend someone: the vast majority of those shopping in their stores for “Christmas” presents.  Americans finally said enough and fought back.  Merry Christmas was back in.   After all, it is a national holiday with major secular overtones.  Should we stop saying Happy 4^th of July because we might offend someone from Great Britain?  Should we stop saying Happy Thanksgiving if someone replies “thanksgiving for what?”

The Houston School System has just voted to ban “culturally insensitive” mascot names.  The top of the list is the “redskins”, never mind that several Native Americans showed up to say they were proud of the name.  The ban also included names like the “Rebels”.  How and to whom is that culturally offensive?  I imagine the PETA people will be banging on the door next because they are offended by the “panthers” or “tigers”.  It is a never ending slippery slope.  In a country of 335 million people, someone is ALWAYS going to be offended by something. Notwithstanding, the Houston School District has much more serious problems than this.  Try finding the graduation rate anywhere.  Wait a minute…they fudged what figures?  Of course, that is irrelevant…because they “care.”

The best way to handle these politically correct nut jobs is to call them on it.  Look them in the eye and tell them to just shut up, forcefully.  America is a wonderful ship filled with all sorts of people on a still relatively new political journey.  Compared to the countries in Europe, we are babes in the woods.  We are a diverse people, and all of those diverse cultures deserve to be celebrated. 

But at the end of the day, we are still a democracy rooted in a Judeo Christian ethic.  Just as we should be tolerant of the minorities around us, they should be tolerant of us.  If the goal is not to offend anyone, then we are on a fool’s journey.  It can’t be done.  More importantly, everyone just needs to lighten to up. 

Merry Christmas means the birth of Jesus, but also represents hope and peace and goodwill.  “Redskins” stands for bravery and strength and discipline and dedication…what’s wrong with that?  Native American culture has actually become iconic in overall culture.  Would you want the team named the Whiteskins?  Think of cultural connotations that would go with a name like that!!!! 

Merry Christmas everybody.  

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Turkey and football and the beginnings of the Christmas season make for an unbeatable combination.  I come from a once large now small family.  Our traditions have changed accordingly.  It’s been hard to do, but we have succeeded.  Better to go with change than to fight it.

Our Thanksgiving Day dinner changes from year to year.  One year my wife cooks at home.  Another year we go out for dinner.  This year we are driving to my brother-in-law’s house in Ashland.  His home almost burned to the ground last spring and he is celebrating its rebuilding.  We are thankful that his family and dogs survived as the fire spread across the ceiling very early in the morning while they were sleeping.  It could have ended in disaster. 

Our favorite tradition is Black Friday.  When my son was small we used to get up early in the morning to check out the lines outside the stores.  We walked through some but did very little shopping because, quite frankly, it was scary.  Then we went to breakfast.  We were home by nine in the morning just in time to begin putting up the Christmas decorations.

Black Friday is still a family tradition, but now we just go to breakfast and drink coffee until noon.  We put the outside lights up at the beginning of November when it is still warm leaving the wreaths and other visible accoutrements to hang on Black Friday afternoon.  Friday night we meet with friends for pizza.  Saturday is a trip to Kraynak’s in Sharon to look at tacky Christmas stuff.  We always buy some tacky Christmas stuff.    

One of my favorite Thanksgiving things to watch is A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  Snoopy is a cool dude and knows how to carve a turkey…and make popcorn and toast.  As always, we learn the true meaning of the holiday as we are taught to give thanks for family and friends and the blessings bestowed upon us.  Did I mention Snoopy does a good job carving a turkey?  And the music for this Charlie Brown special is outstanding. Little Birdie...Why do you fly upside down??

Thanksgiving is a laid back holiday.  Sure…the dinner is a lot of work, but there is really very little pressure to do much of anything else.  There are no gifts or Thanksgiving Eve dinners.  No present opening cleanup before the company arrives.  It’s expected the men will stretch out and watch whatever football game is on after the kids watch the various Ho-Ho parades.  The turkey makes us sleepy…or maybe the wine or maybe all those carbs.  The food police haven’t attacked Thanksgiving dinners yet.  Be on the lookout.

So…this year we are another year older, but we made it  through another year.  The country is struggling, but we still can speak our mind.  The economy is shaky, but we aren’t destitute yet.  The politically correct crowd is out to destroy our traditions and beliefs, but we still have a voice to tell them to shut up.  Families are scattered throughout our great nation, but we have cell phones and skype to keep us in touch.  Health care politics brings us stress, but the miracles of modern medicine have us living longer and healthier.  The American family is changing, but it is still family.   I think it is safe to say….

...for all of that, we are thankful.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving. 

Road Cleared for Mideast War

 

The number one rule in Political Science is there is no power vacuum. Now Barack Obama is about to learn that lesson, and we are all going to pay the price.  On August 31, 2013, the world became a much more dangerous place.  The road to massive war in the Mideast is now clear. 

Mark Knows It All opposes intervening in Syria.  There is no upside for the United States.  There are only bad guys and really bad guys.  We can’t tell them apart. 

The big problem is the complete collapse of what little American foreign policy the Obama administration had.  His policy, or lack thereof, has been a total disaster.  Now there is a vacuum in the Mideast.  As I write this it is being filled by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.  The United States is now the laughing stock of the world.  Obama wants to disarm American nuclear weapons. Maybe he should hold off on that for awhile. 

In August of 2012, in one of his rare moments of unscripted commentary,  Obama stated that there is red line that the al-Assad regime should not cross.  The United States would respond to any use of chemical weapons by his regime against the Syrian people.  Evidence was presented several months ago and Obama skirted the issue.  But he could not skirt the 1400 dead Syrians from a week or two ago including over 450 children, most likely from Sarin gas.  Secretary of State John Kerry waxed poetic leading the world to believe military action was imminent.  He painted a total picture of reliable intelligence and cause and effect.  We were ready to go. 

But then it started to go wrong.  British Prime Minister David Cameron approached Parliament for permission to move forward in concert with the United States.  For the first time since the 1780, the British House of Commons refused to sanction military action requested by the Prime Minister.  One MP stated what the American press was afraid to state.  Why should Britain involve itself in a war the sole purpose of which is to save face for Barack Obama?  There is no British security interest in Syria. 

Now Obama would have to go it alone.  Years of leading from behind appeared to be over.  Not so fast…while John Kerry was preparing the world for American military action, Obama was scheming one more way to vote present.  Shift the blame to somebody else. 

On Friday night, he met with his advisors.  On Saturday afternoon he made a statement saying that while he didn’t need Congressional Approval for anything, this one time he was going to Congress to get that approval.  He may or may not get the vote in the Senate.  He most likely will not get approval in the House in which those Democrats without a spine will vote for it…and those with the strength of their convictions (remember George Bush) will not.   AND THEN OBAMA CAN BLAME THE CONGRESS FOR THE COLLAPSE OF WHAT  LITTLE FOREIGN POLICY HE HAD.  What a brilliantly cynical plan...go to Congress for political cover. 

What a joke.  Now we face real problems.  Obama has proved himself to be the paper tiger people like me knew he was.  There is no peace or strength through appeasement.  How many times do we have to learn that lesson?   Iran will feel emboldened.  North Korea will feel emboldened.  China and Russia will feel emboldened.  I suspect the Israeli leaders are in shock.  They will rather quickly come to the conclusion that they will have to move against Iran by themselves to stop Iranian development of nuclear weapons.  The only entity in the Mideast to show any backbone at all against this Islamic/Arab mess is the Egyptian Army.  And he bungled that too. 

   

Right now the Suez Canal is at risk.  All out war in the Mideast is a stong possibility.  If Barack Obama were smart, he would explain to his environmental whack job friends the facts of life, and start drilling for oil here and now.  

After his speech, Barack Obama went to play golf; never mind he has to go to Europe and Russia for various economic conferences.  He said in his speech he is comfortable with his decision.  We should not. 

Hair, Theater, and Politics

My wife and I went to see a local production of Hair last night at the Oakland Theater in Youngstown.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Oakland, it is a relatively small theater making the audience up close and personal with what was a very large cast.  It has specialized in “edgy” type productions, but as of last year the management changed.  It is still somewhat edgy, but on the “mainstream” side of the line.  Over the top or not, the Oakland has always produced a quality product and draws both cast and audience from beyond our area.  We have seen several productions of Hair over the years including the original Broadway production.  This was the best.

First the promo:  It was an outstanding production. This is Community Theater, and great community theater.  The word that comes to mind is gritty.  The intimacy of the theater plus a cast of “real” people who you might know personally made the tribe in Central Park come alive in ways you won’t see in New York or Pittsburgh or Cleveland or in the movie version. These were the people I saw protesting in 1968 as they marched to change America…and if you were in the audience last night, you were out there with them.  This is the beauty of the Oakland:  taking a show like Hair from Broadway perfection to exquisite local reality.  They did it with The Full Monty several years ago.  They have done it again with Hair these past few weeks. 

The audience reflected the age of the show.  There were lots of folks my age in the packed theater.  I was eighteen when Hair made its Broadway debut.  In the spring of my senior year in high school both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated.  I campaigned for Eugene McCarthy.  I cheered when Lyndon Johnson said he would not run again for president.  I watched in disbelief the violence at the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention.  And then I worked for Richard Nixon because I am a Republican.  Those were scary and exciting times as America experienced a burst of creative energy in all aspects of the arts the likes of which we will never see again as the nation moves further into the digital cocoon. 

I thought the premise and music and message of the show would be dated.   I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Within the story line there was much to dislike about the main characters.  They were rude, goofy drugged up hippie freaks that desired a life of self gratification living as bums.  But underneath, they understood who they were...with lots of insecurities but understanding the necessity for some of life's evils such as money.  

What I remember most about those times was the overriding feeling of hope and idealism.  These concepts were rooted in respect for the individual.  Although the musical dealt with generally accepted liberal issues including race, drug usage, anti military, and a rigid social and governmental hierarchy, it wasn’t the “collective.”  The message was get government out of our lives so we are free to live our lives as we choose.  It is libertarianism. There is a difference. Libertarianism is where liberals and conservatives meet. 

Where did that idealism go?  Where is the hope?   We have been told by the media that folks running things in Washington today are the descendants of those protesting on America’s campuses in the late 1960’s and early 70’s.  I disagree.  They are the ideological descendents of the radical fringe of the movement.  In today’s Washington you are finding the progeny of the Weather Underground, the Black Panthers, the SDS, SNIC and other violent groups.  These folks believe in government control by force and use of government as a political weapon to achieve their goals.  We are just now finding out how autocratic these folks can be in the pursuit of their radical vision of an egalitarian utopia. For them, their end always justifies the means.

The reality, however, seldom matches the fantasy.  So now it is time to assess and move on as we face new issues of an over reaching government; rigid and unfeeling.  And the music goes on.

Somewhere

Inside something there is a rush of

Greatness

Who knows what stands in front of

Our lives

I fashion my future on films in space

Silence tells me secretly

Everything 

Everything

Let the sunshine in!

Obama

Now it’s time to say what needs to be said.  Barack Obama is the worst president in my lifetime, and I suspect in the history of the Republic.  This man has systematically set out to destroy the country and he is succeeding.  He has destroyed any semblance of rule of law.  He has destroyed the Constitution as Americans, and a compliant press, have sat idly by…secure in their own pomposity…watching it happen bit by bit.   Obama and his compatriot Eric Holder have managed to do the impossible.  Their lies and their antics have made Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, and John Mitchell look like babes in the woods.  The President and the Attorney General should be ashamed.  They’re not.  They are enjoying it.

Under his watch, spying on Americans has reached Orwellian proportions.  Every single thing you do, right down to each key stroke on the computer, is watched by the government.  Corporations send out privacy notices relating to bank accounts and credit cards; hospitals put on a big show with HIPPA.  The reality is you have no privacy.  The revelations today that all the government needs is an email address and they know what you are thinking is frightening…and yet we passively shrug our shoulders.  Sooner or later, the government will use this information against us.  Read your history.  Obama was supposed to be our protector against this type of activity.  He is the worst offender.

The Department of Justice has thrown rule of law out the window replacing it with crony justice.  There are so many incidents that you can’t begin to list them.  There is no excuse for government behavior during the Trayvon Martin trial.  There is no excuse for end running the Supreme Court’s decision on voter rights laws going after Texas.  There is no excuse for not prosecuting Black Panther thugs in front of polling places.  There is no excuse for lying to a judge about a journalist being a criminal suspect in an affidavit for a search warrant.  There is no excuse for stone walling gun running in Fast and Furious.   There is no excuse or justification for using the IRS as a political weapon. 

Eric Holder should have been fired years ago.  He never should have been appointed in the first place after facilitating the re-entry into the country of one of this nation’s biggest tax cheats in exchange for a political contribution to Bill Clinton.  That is the kind of man he is.  He is a thug and a liar.  He has destroyed respect for the law in America.

Then there is American foreign policy which can be summed up in one word: Benghazi.  The revelation today that CNN found one of the perpetrators and interviewed him as our government sat idly by is beyond comprehension.   These people attacked our embassy and killed our ambassador and three other Americans.  All we have gotten is stonewalling.  When asked about it today, Press Secretary Jay Carney told the reporter to call the FBI.  That is contemptible.  What are they hiding?  The only person who has gone to jail is the poor guy who made a two bit video that was insulting to Muslims.  And he had nothing to do with it.

The press continues to be complicit in the cover-up.  First it was to protect Obama.  Now it is to protect Hillary Clinton.  You know…the one asked who should answer the phone at 2 in the morning!!!  Hopefully it won’t be her.

Meanwhile, the economy is growing at a whopping 1.7%!!!  And that was considered good news.  What they are not telling you is that the government had to go back to 1929 to recalculate GDP growth for the last 80 some years to achieve that 1.7% growth.  Obama has accumulated more debt that all of the other presidents put together.  But don’t worry.  He has fixed health care.  Well…sort of…maybe they will put off full implementation another year.  But who cares, we are now a nation of part time jobs. But don’t worry, he is addressing the energy problem.  Maybe the bankruptcy court will give back to the government some of the billions that have gone down the toilet with Obama's green energy start-up companies (run by his campaign contributors).  I know...then he can give the money to Detroit!!!!

Take out the African American support for him based mostly on his race, and Obama’s approval rating would be about 30%.   That is pitiful; but definitely earned.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.  But this has been a dirty and rotten and corrupt presidency…to the core.  I’m not so sure America has it in her to reach the end of the tunnel.  Houston, we have a problem.