Early to Bed Early to Rise

The wealthy and wise Benjamin Franklin once described the route to his stature was to go to bed early and rise early.  In response, I have made it my New Year’s resolution to follow this credo.  This has caused me to examine why I have, up until now, been unable to follow through on this.

I have come up with a multitude of reasons.  The top five are listed below:

Lost
So you think you can dance
Smallville
Fringe
Battlestar Galactica (now Caprica)

As you may have noticed, they are all wonderfully entertaining television shows.  I do enjoy them so.  I found that I would sit and watch them with my laptop warming my lap so I could convince myself that I was actually accomplishing “work” while zoning out in electric lit bliss.  This is similar to what I would tell my parents and friends about my viewing habits when I was in film school; “It’s research!”

Which brings me to my point; our nation has lost a great deal of wealth, a great deal of health and a great deal of wisdom in the last 50 or so years.  It started right about the time that primetime broadcasting was created (must see TV).  Now I am not saying that entertainment execs did this to purposefully create a lazy, slavish culture (although I would not put it past them).  But that seems to be the effect.  We are now in the age of distraction with more video games, movies and television shows than there are hours in a decade, and more being created everyday.

As I work to make adjustments to myself, I pray that I do not succumb to the mind-numbing that can so easily take hold.  And I pray that my fellow Americans can detach from these chains long enough to see that the happiness that God has given us the right to pursue does not live in an electric box, and it can be more effectively pursued with a good night sleep.

Who Does the Campaign Finance Decision Really Benefit?

We hear all of the bluster from the Democrats bemoaning the decision from the Supreme Court last week.  But haven’t we known for quite some time now that the Democrats receive more in corporate donations than do the Republicans.  Put that together with the money it is now legal for Unions to spend, and it is obvious who benefits most from this decision.  Why, the Democrats ofcourse.

For example, according to www.opensecrets.org Barack Obama in 2008 raised $803,436 from Google alone, that’s more from one corporation than three of McCain’s donors put together (also corporations).  Add to that another 800k from Microsoft, almost a cool million from Goldman Sachs and oh, 1.5 million from University of California.  If, instead of donating to the campaign (or in addition) these corporations ran ads.  A formidable force for the Progressive movement.  This does not even take into account the unions.

Am I missing something?  Or this all just posturing by the Democrats?  And why would they do that?

A Theory on the Brown Victory

Call me a cynic, but do you think it is at all possible that Democrats in the House and possibly the Senate found a way to covertly help Brown win in Massachusetts? 

I don’t want to take anything away from the Tea Party movement, because I know how hard they worked and how effective they were, but his victory was a huge gift to Democrats in the House.

Many of these members may have been forced to swallow the pill (pun intended) of the horrible “Healthcare” legislation by party leadership.  “Support the President’s agenda or face the consequences,” I can hear Axelrod and Pelosi saying.

I have heard rumblings that some of these house members may have voted for the legislation due to the pressure, and with the belief that the legislation would die in the Senate.  How’d that work out for them?

We the American People ended up in a Progressive Powered sports car heading toward a cliff and the only exit ramp left available was to remove the filibuster proof majority in the Senate. We in the Tea Party, and the Grassroots of the country new that.  I think these House Democrats new that as well.  It is the perfect excuse for them to come out and refuse to vote for the bill.  There are just too many things they don’t like in the Senate bill, but the House bill was dandy.  Ok..sure.

I am loath to give any credit to the Democrats right now.  No matter what the reason, the destruction of my nation and my Constitution is too stiff a price to pay to protect a career as a Democrat.  Those who voted for that bill as well as Cap and Trade and the Stimulus should all be removed from office this year.

But if you do some digging, I would be interested to see how many degrees of separation there are between some of the support for Brown, and some of the Democrats in the House.

Government is NOT the Answer!

Last night, as my wife was listening to her favorite Christmas song, and trying to relax, I tore open a letter from my employer.

"Dear employee, your contribution to your basic healthcare coverage will be doubled starting january 1."
"What!?" I exclaimed as my wife shushed me and swayed around the kitchen to the music.
Thoughts were swirling around my head like mobile homes in a tornado. We are walking the financial tightrope as it is, will we be able to make it? Energy prices will double in 2011. Our school taxes just went up. What about inflation when the economy starts moving again, and all of this cheap money begins to circulate? The Bush tax cuts will expire next year. The Cap and Trade bill will cost me $1200 additional dollars each year directly, and who knows how much indirectly? And I am sure the government will find other ways to tax me, given we are saddled with record debt. Given the economy, it's not like I can expect a raise any time soon. I am just happy to have a job.

"Maybe a single-payer healthcare system is the answer..........."

"Calm down," my wife exclaimed smiling and brushing up against me,"you are killng my relaxation."

How do you think I feel. My relaxation is pretty much gone. Maybe a single-payer healthcare system is the answer. I said it, and I know I am not the only one.

But wait. Ok. Maybe I should take my wife's advice. Calm Down...Let's think about this.

Energy Prices will double. Why? Because government is mandating expensive "green" technologies and not allowing us to drill for our own natural resources, but even more because they have forced the energy companies to hold their prices down unnaturally for years and now in one fell swoop, all of those increases that should have happened more slowly and organicly will be a huge jolt to the system.

School Taxes have gone , that's government at work.

The potentially ridiculously high inflation rate caused by a Federal Reserve who lowered interest rates to ridiculously low levels so that A: The government could encourage home ownership for everyone (even those who could not afford it) and B: The government would be able to spend all of that cheap money on pet projects in the hopes that they could buy enough votes to stay in power.

The "Bush" tax cuts will expire. Why do tax cuts expire, but tax increases require new legislation to remove?

That Cap and Trade bill will cost me $1200 I don't have, and cause businesses to raise the prices to offset the cost of this legislation, so that will be great.

Is single-payer the answer? That would mean more government mandates, more government control, and more taxes. Isn't that what's shaking the tightrope already?

"Alright honey, what did you want to talk about?" My wife offered, as the last notes of the song trailed off.

"Nothing," I replied, "I have nothing left to say."

Is it Snoweing Already?

Senator Snowe,

I may not be a resident of Maine, but I am a constituent of yours do to the fact that your vote on Healthcare Reform will have severe and detrimental effects on my parents, children, friends, colleagues and myself.

By voting to move the bill out of the Finance Committee you have breathed renewed life into this monstrosity of a bill.

By setting your position as being for a trigger, you have set the debate between a trigger for a public option and just a public option. The debate on that aspect of Healthcare Reform should begin and end with no public option. Let's call the "public option" what it is; a "socialized insurance plan." They don't make bones about using that language in Europe.

Senator Snowe, I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt. I would like to believe that you are interested in helping your constituents attain necessary medical care. If that is your goal, the direction that this bill is going will not make anything easier to attain.

Take the Federal Government out of the health insurance industry as much as possible and trust us, the American People to do what needs to be done for each other. We are the most charitable people in the world.

Do you realize that if all of the organizations that have produced commericials, and done media buys throughout the nation for the last six months had taken that money and put it into a charitable medical fund to help the poor get care, we would not even need to have this debate.

The Federal Government being in the business of Healthcare Insurance Provider does not exist anywhere in the Constitution of our great nation. Nor does the Federal Government's ability to force the American People to purchase a product (health insurance) under penalty of "fines".

Please do not be a party to this obvious Executive power grab. I don't know why your Democratic colleagues in the House and the Senate are so quick to expand the power of the Executive Branch while diminishing their own.

I know the snow ball is rolling down the mountain side, but all it takes is one strong person to generate enough heat to melt it and preserve the lives, the liberty and the ability to pursue happiness in America.

A Letter to Patrick Murphy Regarding HealthCARE

I believe that we need tort reform. Any discussion of healthcare reform with out this is non-sense. The exorbitant cost of healthcare is due in large part to frivolous law suits which result in unnecessary care being given to patients out of fear of lawsuits, and exhorbitant malpractice insurance costs which are then passed onto the end user.

I believe that individuals should be given the same tax deduction when they purchase their own insurance as their employer gets for purchasing it for them.

I believe that we should be able to choose our insurance plans from among the 1000s that are available throughout the country rather than being limited to the 3 or 4 that we can currently choose from in PA.

I believe doctors who donate their time and services to the poor should be able to deduct this from their Federal Income Taxes as a charitable donation.

I believe that we should be able to buy a term health insurance plan like we do with life insurance.

Regarding the question about what kind of reform we need in order to cover the uninsured: Why is every option for providing health insurance an option that requires the government to provide it? This should be about making sure that the poor, the old and the sick are able to get healthCARE. The idea of insurance is a means to an end. Do some or all of suggestions above and the costs will come down considerably, making it easier for hard working families to afford the care they need, while not robbing us of our most basic freedoms.

As for the question of pre-existing conditions, certainly nobody should be denied coverage because they've been sick. That is why you get health insurance. But we must be responsible in how we approach this. Perhaps I could be open to the idea of subsidizing the risk pool for the insurance companies if they assume the risk of insuring those with pre-existing conditions, but frankly I just don't trust Washington enough right now to handle even that money appropriately. If the money were collected and administered at the township or county level and the Federal Gov were left out of it, that would be ideal.

To sum it up, I believe that no man should be enslaved because another man needs healthcare (not a doctor, nor a "taxpayer"). United States citizens are the most generous people in all the world and yet your colleagues in congress and our President believe that we need to have our money stolen from our pockets, run through the government sausage maker and then dealt out to those who need healthcare. If we were able to keep more of our hard earned money, not only would we be able to better afford our own healthcare, but we could bypass the beaurocracy and have more to give directly to those in need.

Be a true "Blue Dog" Mr. Murphy. Vote "no" on anything that even remotely resembles the non-sense currently running through congress and push for true "Common Sense" reforms that will not cost us money we don't have (have you seen the debt clock?), nor strip us of our individual liberty.

I put a great deal of thought into this, and I would appreciate it if you actually read it and consider it. If you plan on responding to me with a form letter, or the usual platitudes, save your bandwidth as I would only appreciate a personal and reasoned response.

Who is Misinformed?

Upon reading a recap of Senator Specters appearance on one of the Sunday shows and once again hearing about how I am the victim of misinformation, I immediately went to the esteemed Senators website and sent him the letter below. I don't feel any better.

Senator Specter,

I will not take up your valuable self promotion time with a lengthy e-mail. I have heard you on the circuit talking about misinformation. You seem to believe that by reading the bills that are under discussion, analysing their content and reviewing the positions of those crafting the bills, that we the people are somehow misinformed. Perhaps this is a misconception you have derived from your lack of experience in actually reading the bills you vote on. I understand Mr. Specter, you have to act fast sometimes.

I am not a member of a mob, I certainly do not where Brooks Brothers. I am a working man who is now forced by your actions to take time away from work, and family to direct my energy toward making sure that the self serving children in Washington grow up and realize that theft is wrong, extortion is wrong, bribery is wrong. Such basic lessons that as a former prosecuter I would think you would have learned. Healthcare is not a magic bullet Senater. Perhaps you have been misinformed.