My column about orchestrated leftist lying brought a lengthy rebuttal from RealEstateGuy. What was interesting is that the writer, thinking they had skewered me with their dynamic prose, wound up proving my point.
Here is the first riposte: “And this is where I stopped reading."one that says if we cap the amount a business can earn we will also increase prosperity."See... A corporation is the child of the state --- a creation of the state. Can someone please explain to me what the justification is that as a child of the state that liability can be limited but not profit?”
Right off the writer makes an error in logic (a usual with the lefties). I used the word “business” for a reason, not corporation. Business, the way I use it can mean any legal occupation entered into for the purpose of honest gain. Now, if I have to define every term I use simply to avoid confusing people with their own agenda I may as well give up now…not! It’s too much fun watching them trip all over their perverted logic. “Child of the state” is another lefty term. To them we belong to the state and live according to its sufferance. According to the documents of the founding fathers the opposite is true…well, it used to be. Actually, corporations are the creation of lawyers as a way of avoiding taxes and personal responsibility.The next clumsy bit of illogic: “And with regard to the present situation, are any limits being suggested for any company that did not go to the government asking for money? I thought that the mantra of free market capitalism is that he who has the gold makes the rules. “
There is nothing in our constitution preventing any individual or business from making as much money as they can…honestly. Those businesses that went crawling to Obama with their hands out for the most part deserved to fail. They created their problem and should have had to deal with it without stealing from the taxpayer. The so-called stimulus package stimulated nothing but CEO greed and a willing Democrat-controlled congress went right along with them, every one of them with their own hands out for a taste. The free market does not give anyone the right to lie, cheat or steal...unless they are a Democrat campaign contributor.
"Am I missing something here?”
No, just the entire point of every column I’ve written.
Here is the big lie, call the truth a lie and keep on doing so until the masses believe it:“And I actually went on --- Came to this lie(see what I mean?)... Ayers and his terrorist organization. Because terror means threatening peoples lives and or killing people. But Ayers avoided that, though one of his associates did deviate from the no harm to humans concept and killed herself building a bomb.”
Waaay too much material to cover this egregious piece of leftist tripe in one column. This link, http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2009/3/obama-and-the-weathermen
will take the reader to an excellent article on the subject. Simply because Ayers preached violence but never practiced it does not mean he did not believe in terrorism. Check out the agenda of his organization. The link lists a number of books that go into very well-documented detail on what Obama was absorbing as his core beliefs. It certainly wasn’t pride in his country. I suppose to the liberal world view that planning the execution of at least a third of the population is fine dinner conversation and not terrorist at all. Shouldn’t that at the vbery least be considered threatening people’s lives? Or maybe it’s because Ayers was promoting a Marxist philosophy. Perhaps that is why he should be given a break. At least he wasn’t a Nazi or a KKK member. Oh, that’s right. The Democrats allow clansmen to become senators.
The commenter goes on: “Here is what the lead federal prosecutor of the weather underground said, William C. Ibershof, formerly the lead federal prosecutor in the Weather Underground case, wrote in 2008: "Although I dearly wanted to obtain convictions against all the Weathermen, including Bill Ayers, I am very pleased to learn that he has become a responsible citizen." [61] But you can't trust those lefty federal prosecutors.”
I guess, based on this assertion all those former Nazis that were hunted down shouldn’t have been after all. Didn’t they also become “responsible citizens”? I can go so far as to point out that some of them did not actually kill anybody, the commentary’s own phrase, "But Ayers avoided that". That alone would remove them from prosecution if RealEstateGuy were king.
Here is his wrap-up: “Then there is this: Obama Administration is actively taking over every possible aspect of American life.Can we get some specifics here? I mean which areas / companies that have not come to Obama with their hands out?”
No, that filter will not be allowed. The auto industry is too large a factor to not be included. Control of the populace, a prime piece of the Weather Underground’s agenda, included the ability to move around. Read the books. Healthcare, which includes access to doctors, the ability to recover from illness or injury in order to continue making a living is a huge specific. For every snippet praising socialized healthcare in other countries there are a dozen tales of horror. The media just doesn’t publish them. I could relate what a friend of my sister-in-law experienced in Canada, but that friend died before her appointment came around.
This is a typical of lefty pseudo humor, arrogance and all: “Just think of the horror of the government taking over Health Care like they do in horrible Europe. Why then our companies would not be saddled with paying all those insurance premiums and would be in a better competitive position. Oh... The horror.”
Horror is exactly what we hope to stave off. You do not prosper as a country by replacing a troubled system with a failed one. Every country that has gone into socialism has reduced their standard of living, and/or increased the gap between the haves and the have nots. Why do you think China has expanded their capitalist experiment? The Soviet Union, a darling of Ayers thoughts, crumbled because they could not compete economically. And yes, I do credit Reagan with that one...mainly because you shudder at his name. Allowing the government to take over healthcare is not only economically idiotic but a violation of the constitution. Of course the left only believes in bits and pieces of that inconvenient document. Check out the constitution. It’s a short read, and then take a look at the 10th amendment. We are supposed to be a Republic of free states, not a federalist oligarchy. That republic is supposed to be a sovereign country, not just another member of a collection of failed monarchies. We are, or should be, better than that.
Remember one extra special right this republic still allows; if you think Europe is a better place than here you are free to move. If you don’t…well then, the word hypocrite comes to mind.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Lie Until They Believe It
There seems to be an ongoing procedure in the Democrat Party. Lenin first proposed it when he was busy destroying the people of Russia,
"A lie told often enough becomes truth" Vladimir Lenin.
I first noticed this back in the 60’s when I was in high school. This was during the Vietnam War when a number of my classmates were carrying around copies of Mao’s little red book. They were the true believers of the liberal message coming from the communes and the leftist professors at the local college. Very little of what was put forth by these self appointed gurus had any bearing in either truth or reality, but boy, did they like to pass it along. Businessmen, especially prosperous ones were pigs. Anyone in authority was the man and you couldn’t trust anyone over 30. They forgot that at that time most of the people over 30 had saved their ungrateful butts in World War 2.
Today the big lie is that raising taxes will increase prosperity. Along with that lie is another one that says if we cap the amount a business can earn we will also increase prosperity. Obama has convinced the true believers, many of them running the news corporations, that his policies have increased the number of jobs. Isn’t it interesting that the unemployment rate has continued to rise? Where are all these jobs?
Remember the Weathermen and Bill Ayers? Apparently the media doesn’t. Obama refuses to repudiate a single stand taken by Mr. Ayers and his terrorist organization while at the same time he calls citizens of the US who oppose his takeover of the health industry “Right Wing Domestic Terrorists”. Well, I guess you can add me into that group. Some of the stands the Weathermen took included a long-range plan to control the populace which included access to healthcare, control of business practices and elimination of portions of the population considered inconvenient to the new administration. Isn’t it interesting that the new Obamacare bill includes an “end of life” provision?
As I pointed out in my last column, the Obama Administration is actively taking over every possible aspect of American life. We have placed a true follower of Lenin onto the American throne and removed any real opposition to his policies. All you have to do is read the new arrogant tones in online rags such as the Huffington post. They know they are in complete control and are not bothered at all by any poll numbers.
A while ago I wrote that raising the Nevada Room Tax was not a bad idea. Well, even I can be wrong. Further study has shown that raising any tax outside of those necessary to maintain constitutionally mandated services becomes oppressive and eventually leads to a worsening of the problem, not a solution. Human nature is too large of a factor. The best solution is to increase revenue by increasing prosperity. Wal Mart proved this a long time ago by selling more goods at cheaper prices and getting rich on the volume. Is it any wonder the liars on the left hate that company?
The problem the Republicans have is getting past merely protesting Obama’s policies. We have to be able to say more than just no. It isn’t enough to just be opposed to something, you also have to stand for something. I am not talking about compromise here. Ronald Reagan learned that lesson. It’s a pity his Vice President wasn’t as intelligent. No, I am talking about fighting bad ideas with good ones. We have to be able to answer questions about our opposition with logical, common sense solutions to today’s problems, and they do exist. I have expressed many over the past several months. Does any one else have an idea or two?
"A lie told often enough becomes truth" Vladimir Lenin.
I first noticed this back in the 60’s when I was in high school. This was during the Vietnam War when a number of my classmates were carrying around copies of Mao’s little red book. They were the true believers of the liberal message coming from the communes and the leftist professors at the local college. Very little of what was put forth by these self appointed gurus had any bearing in either truth or reality, but boy, did they like to pass it along. Businessmen, especially prosperous ones were pigs. Anyone in authority was the man and you couldn’t trust anyone over 30. They forgot that at that time most of the people over 30 had saved their ungrateful butts in World War 2.
Today the big lie is that raising taxes will increase prosperity. Along with that lie is another one that says if we cap the amount a business can earn we will also increase prosperity. Obama has convinced the true believers, many of them running the news corporations, that his policies have increased the number of jobs. Isn’t it interesting that the unemployment rate has continued to rise? Where are all these jobs?
Remember the Weathermen and Bill Ayers? Apparently the media doesn’t. Obama refuses to repudiate a single stand taken by Mr. Ayers and his terrorist organization while at the same time he calls citizens of the US who oppose his takeover of the health industry “Right Wing Domestic Terrorists”. Well, I guess you can add me into that group. Some of the stands the Weathermen took included a long-range plan to control the populace which included access to healthcare, control of business practices and elimination of portions of the population considered inconvenient to the new administration. Isn’t it interesting that the new Obamacare bill includes an “end of life” provision?
As I pointed out in my last column, the Obama Administration is actively taking over every possible aspect of American life. We have placed a true follower of Lenin onto the American throne and removed any real opposition to his policies. All you have to do is read the new arrogant tones in online rags such as the Huffington post. They know they are in complete control and are not bothered at all by any poll numbers.
A while ago I wrote that raising the Nevada Room Tax was not a bad idea. Well, even I can be wrong. Further study has shown that raising any tax outside of those necessary to maintain constitutionally mandated services becomes oppressive and eventually leads to a worsening of the problem, not a solution. Human nature is too large of a factor. The best solution is to increase revenue by increasing prosperity. Wal Mart proved this a long time ago by selling more goods at cheaper prices and getting rich on the volume. Is it any wonder the liars on the left hate that company?
The problem the Republicans have is getting past merely protesting Obama’s policies. We have to be able to say more than just no. It isn’t enough to just be opposed to something, you also have to stand for something. I am not talking about compromise here. Ronald Reagan learned that lesson. It’s a pity his Vice President wasn’t as intelligent. No, I am talking about fighting bad ideas with good ones. We have to be able to answer questions about our opposition with logical, common sense solutions to today’s problems, and they do exist. I have expressed many over the past several months. Does any one else have an idea or two?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Ayatollah Obama
The Ayatollahs of Iran consider any individual critical of the way they appointed Adiminawhackjob to a second term an enemy of the state. In Turkey, anyone critical of the ways things are done is jailed for offending “Turkishness”. Here in the US, we now have an administration that is acting more and more like its Middle Eastern friends than what our founding fathers envisioned.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has gone as far as comparing critics of the healthcare plan to Nazis. Other members of the Democrat leadership have called those who don’t trust the plan “shrill”, and “fringe group fanatics”. News organizations, supposedly nonpartisan, have affixed the labels of “small mobs” and “rabid right-wingers” to those with the temerity to ask their representatives if they even bothered to read the bill.
Are these people merely members of shrill fringe groups and other bits of minority flotsam the administration should ignore for the good of the country? George Pucine of Las Vegas was able to get this bit of statistical evidence to the contrary past the usually left-leaning guardians at the Las Vegas Review Journal:
-- Quinnipiac poll: Three out of four Americans don't believe government-run health care will be deficit-neutral and 59 percent of Americans are against health care reform if the measure is supported by only the Democrats.
-- Gallup poll: Sixty-three percent say the president's plan will worsen their personal medical care.
-- National Public Radio poll: Forty-seven percent oppose Obama's plan and 42 percent support it.
-- New York Times/CBS poll: Seven-seven percent of Americans fear costs will increase under government-run health care.
-- Time poll: Fifty-six percent fear losing freedom to choose their own doctor/plan under government-run health care.
Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll: Forty-two percent say Barack Obama's plan is a "bad idea" vs. 36 percent saying it's a "good idea."
I don’t know about you, but the above numbers say majority, not minority. The problem is Pelosi and her Democrat fellows do not believe in representing the majority. They have an agenda and it is being followed to the letter and any who swerve from the orthodoxy will be punished. Remember Joe Lieberman and his one tiny slip?
Can any one remember who was President before Jimmy Carter? Not many do. Most think it was Nixon, but the answer is Gerald Ford, a man most remembered for being a bit clumsy. This is because Ford did almost nothing where the economy was concerned. It was ok, not good, just ok. The problem with that is that a mayonnaise economy allowed the election of a Jimmy Carter. You would think that the American people would learn from history. Unfortunately, we never do. Carter’s policies, eerily similar to Obama’s, produced the worst economy since the great depression. Taxes were raised to the point that an affordable mortgage was nearly impossible to obtain. Small businesses went out of business faster than they opened. Interest rates skyrocketed to over 20% and the price of gold hovered around $1000 per ounce. Sound familiar?
Brian Greenspun, the publisher of the Las Vegas Sun recently lamented in an editorial that it was terrible that Nevada did not adopt the tax policies of more progressive” states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, California and others. Let’s see…checking on the economies of those “progressive” states, they appear to be progressing right into the toilet. California, our neighbor to the west has progressed into bankruptcy and a recent ad campaign luring small business from California to tax-backwards Nevada appears to be working better than anyone thought it would.
Socialism never generates public wealth. It never has and it never will. After Jimmy Carter came a true progressive, not the lie that Democrats push, Ronald Regan. Reagan systematically dismantled Carter’s metastasized bureaucracy and began using policies that were time-tested. Ignoring the shrill screams from the left that he would be throwing the elderly and the sick onto the street, he cut taxes and encouraged business to expand. The elderly got a better deal and the sick got cheaper healthcare. Ignoring the rabid left-wingers, he went after the Soviet Union and won, despite the claims that such aggressiveness would trigger World War 3. Reagan’s policies generated an economy that set a record that still holds. It was the most robust economy we have experienced in the last seven administrations. This is based on US statistical data, so why is the Obama Administration hell bent on duplicating Carter’s mistakes? The answer is not economics, it is power.
Just as our major news outlets have risen to the defense of Obama’s policies and have attacked the concerns of the American people, so has the administration grown in its arrogance. Why would Obama feel so comfortable issuing the threat that his administration would “hit back twice as hard” at anyone broadcasting a criticism of his health plan? Does he really believe that the news is his to control? Perhaps it is.
A little known story surfaced a while ago and was quickly pulled. ABC turned the control of its reporting of White House news over to the Obama Administration. The last time something like this happened it was in Iran. Remember, if you can control the news that is one domino tipped over, if you can control the peoples’ access to healthcare…that is another. Several states already consider the second amendment more of an inconvenience than a mandate. The appointment of Sottomeyer to the Supreme Court adds another nail in that coffin. The last domino to fall will be the food supply, and based on several reports, Obama is already working on that one.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has gone as far as comparing critics of the healthcare plan to Nazis. Other members of the Democrat leadership have called those who don’t trust the plan “shrill”, and “fringe group fanatics”. News organizations, supposedly nonpartisan, have affixed the labels of “small mobs” and “rabid right-wingers” to those with the temerity to ask their representatives if they even bothered to read the bill.
Are these people merely members of shrill fringe groups and other bits of minority flotsam the administration should ignore for the good of the country? George Pucine of Las Vegas was able to get this bit of statistical evidence to the contrary past the usually left-leaning guardians at the Las Vegas Review Journal:
-- Quinnipiac poll: Three out of four Americans don't believe government-run health care will be deficit-neutral and 59 percent of Americans are against health care reform if the measure is supported by only the Democrats.
-- Gallup poll: Sixty-three percent say the president's plan will worsen their personal medical care.
-- National Public Radio poll: Forty-seven percent oppose Obama's plan and 42 percent support it.
-- New York Times/CBS poll: Seven-seven percent of Americans fear costs will increase under government-run health care.
-- Time poll: Fifty-six percent fear losing freedom to choose their own doctor/plan under government-run health care.
Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll: Forty-two percent say Barack Obama's plan is a "bad idea" vs. 36 percent saying it's a "good idea."
I don’t know about you, but the above numbers say majority, not minority. The problem is Pelosi and her Democrat fellows do not believe in representing the majority. They have an agenda and it is being followed to the letter and any who swerve from the orthodoxy will be punished. Remember Joe Lieberman and his one tiny slip?
Can any one remember who was President before Jimmy Carter? Not many do. Most think it was Nixon, but the answer is Gerald Ford, a man most remembered for being a bit clumsy. This is because Ford did almost nothing where the economy was concerned. It was ok, not good, just ok. The problem with that is that a mayonnaise economy allowed the election of a Jimmy Carter. You would think that the American people would learn from history. Unfortunately, we never do. Carter’s policies, eerily similar to Obama’s, produced the worst economy since the great depression. Taxes were raised to the point that an affordable mortgage was nearly impossible to obtain. Small businesses went out of business faster than they opened. Interest rates skyrocketed to over 20% and the price of gold hovered around $1000 per ounce. Sound familiar?
Brian Greenspun, the publisher of the Las Vegas Sun recently lamented in an editorial that it was terrible that Nevada did not adopt the tax policies of more progressive” states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, California and others. Let’s see…checking on the economies of those “progressive” states, they appear to be progressing right into the toilet. California, our neighbor to the west has progressed into bankruptcy and a recent ad campaign luring small business from California to tax-backwards Nevada appears to be working better than anyone thought it would.
Socialism never generates public wealth. It never has and it never will. After Jimmy Carter came a true progressive, not the lie that Democrats push, Ronald Regan. Reagan systematically dismantled Carter’s metastasized bureaucracy and began using policies that were time-tested. Ignoring the shrill screams from the left that he would be throwing the elderly and the sick onto the street, he cut taxes and encouraged business to expand. The elderly got a better deal and the sick got cheaper healthcare. Ignoring the rabid left-wingers, he went after the Soviet Union and won, despite the claims that such aggressiveness would trigger World War 3. Reagan’s policies generated an economy that set a record that still holds. It was the most robust economy we have experienced in the last seven administrations. This is based on US statistical data, so why is the Obama Administration hell bent on duplicating Carter’s mistakes? The answer is not economics, it is power.
Just as our major news outlets have risen to the defense of Obama’s policies and have attacked the concerns of the American people, so has the administration grown in its arrogance. Why would Obama feel so comfortable issuing the threat that his administration would “hit back twice as hard” at anyone broadcasting a criticism of his health plan? Does he really believe that the news is his to control? Perhaps it is.
A little known story surfaced a while ago and was quickly pulled. ABC turned the control of its reporting of White House news over to the Obama Administration. The last time something like this happened it was in Iran. Remember, if you can control the news that is one domino tipped over, if you can control the peoples’ access to healthcare…that is another. Several states already consider the second amendment more of an inconvenience than a mandate. The appointment of Sottomeyer to the Supreme Court adds another nail in that coffin. The last domino to fall will be the food supply, and based on several reports, Obama is already working on that one.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Obamacare, The Coming Nightmare
The Guy By The Door said...
After two months, where is Bob Beers, The Lesser yet Brighter?
Not sure what this person means by “The Lesser”. I have been dealing with a very serious health issue, one that, if I did not have decent insurance, probably would have either completely crippled me or killed me. Based on the tone of the comment, this must be good news for the Guy By The Door.
The good news for me is that this last treatment seems to be working. What is going on attacks only the body, not the brain, so, at least for now, I am still “The Brighter”.
Obama’s Health Plan, base on the few scattered pages I have been able to glean would have considered me too old to save. The Democrats pushing for this Soylent Green style healthcare pish-tosh the people concerned about the bit Tom Daschel snuck in by saying it is only a tiny part of the entire bill and nothing to be upset about. I have a question for these Democrats, how many Supreme Court decisions affecting our rights have hinged on one word, much less an entire passage in a bill?
Rising costs of healthcare are a real and ongoing concern, especially with the boomer generation entering AARP territory. I happen to be one of them. I also happen to disagree with Washington’s single-payer solution.
Imagine the worst possible HMO. Now imagine that HMO on steroids. The picture you come up with won’t even be close to the eventual reality if this bureaucratic Frankenstein’s Monster is passed. One thing the media and the majority of the bloggers fail to consider is the sheer immensity of graft and corruption that permeates our political class. Those in favor of Obamacare believe all the taxes taken to pay for this “benefit” will be used just for that. The reality is that after all the skimming takes place only a tiny percentage will actually pay for care. Does no one read history any more? Or do you all think Congressman Jefferson and his frozen assets was an aberration?
A small amount of research reveals that the single greatest expense in healthcare is insurance against litigation. Not just the ever-rising cost of policies, but all the other attendant costs arising from the procedures doctors and hospitals put in place to prevent litigation from ever happening. We have become a sue-happy society. In some neighborhoods, children are raised with the idea that they are responsible for nothing. If something goes wrong, sue. Here's a question, what would happen to the cost of healthcare if that way of doing things changed?
The average ambulance chaser takes 30% to 33% of every award. Most take it off the top and add their expenses to the bill. In many cases this can reduce what the injured party eventually gets out of the award to 20% or less. Is there any wonder why trial attorney associations fight tooth and nail every time tort reform raises its ugly head?
There are four simple common sense solutions to the healthcare problem. They will never see the light of day because far too many people in power are reliant on the status quo, but I will list them regardless.
Number one is real tort reform. By reducing the award percentage to 10% and disallowing the carryover of costs, we would all but dry up frivolous suits. Attorneys can live very nicely on less than $600 per hour.
Number two is forcing Congress to live within the laws they pass. For far too long have those in Washington been given the prime cuts while we have to be satisfied with the gristle. If a pampered Senator or two had to wait in line for an examination, the lines would become shorter over night. Congress should not be allowed one health plan and us another of far lesser quality. Better yet, keep Congress out of the healthcare business.
Number three is allowing the free market to actually be free. Insurance, doctors and hospitals should be allowed to compete honestly for our dollars. The elimination of monopolies and allowing those who cannot compete honestly to fail would force prices back down to reasonable levels.
Number four is the most controversial, build the southern border wall. Go deep enough so that it cannot be tunneled under and higher enough so that it cannot be climbed. Use several independent contractors so that all sections are built at the same time and ignore every complaint from Mexico, the UN and the left. Place an Ellis Island style structure every fifty miles or so and allow those who truly wish to work come in, but only after they have been proven healthy and honest. Work visas can insure they pay their way like the rest of us. Those who are caught not carrying legal visas can be sent back across the border to get in line. What part of “illegal” do you not understand?
After two months, where is Bob Beers, The Lesser yet Brighter?
Not sure what this person means by “The Lesser”. I have been dealing with a very serious health issue, one that, if I did not have decent insurance, probably would have either completely crippled me or killed me. Based on the tone of the comment, this must be good news for the Guy By The Door.
The good news for me is that this last treatment seems to be working. What is going on attacks only the body, not the brain, so, at least for now, I am still “The Brighter”.
Obama’s Health Plan, base on the few scattered pages I have been able to glean would have considered me too old to save. The Democrats pushing for this Soylent Green style healthcare pish-tosh the people concerned about the bit Tom Daschel snuck in by saying it is only a tiny part of the entire bill and nothing to be upset about. I have a question for these Democrats, how many Supreme Court decisions affecting our rights have hinged on one word, much less an entire passage in a bill?
Rising costs of healthcare are a real and ongoing concern, especially with the boomer generation entering AARP territory. I happen to be one of them. I also happen to disagree with Washington’s single-payer solution.
Imagine the worst possible HMO. Now imagine that HMO on steroids. The picture you come up with won’t even be close to the eventual reality if this bureaucratic Frankenstein’s Monster is passed. One thing the media and the majority of the bloggers fail to consider is the sheer immensity of graft and corruption that permeates our political class. Those in favor of Obamacare believe all the taxes taken to pay for this “benefit” will be used just for that. The reality is that after all the skimming takes place only a tiny percentage will actually pay for care. Does no one read history any more? Or do you all think Congressman Jefferson and his frozen assets was an aberration?
A small amount of research reveals that the single greatest expense in healthcare is insurance against litigation. Not just the ever-rising cost of policies, but all the other attendant costs arising from the procedures doctors and hospitals put in place to prevent litigation from ever happening. We have become a sue-happy society. In some neighborhoods, children are raised with the idea that they are responsible for nothing. If something goes wrong, sue. Here's a question, what would happen to the cost of healthcare if that way of doing things changed?
The average ambulance chaser takes 30% to 33% of every award. Most take it off the top and add their expenses to the bill. In many cases this can reduce what the injured party eventually gets out of the award to 20% or less. Is there any wonder why trial attorney associations fight tooth and nail every time tort reform raises its ugly head?
There are four simple common sense solutions to the healthcare problem. They will never see the light of day because far too many people in power are reliant on the status quo, but I will list them regardless.
Number one is real tort reform. By reducing the award percentage to 10% and disallowing the carryover of costs, we would all but dry up frivolous suits. Attorneys can live very nicely on less than $600 per hour.
Number two is forcing Congress to live within the laws they pass. For far too long have those in Washington been given the prime cuts while we have to be satisfied with the gristle. If a pampered Senator or two had to wait in line for an examination, the lines would become shorter over night. Congress should not be allowed one health plan and us another of far lesser quality. Better yet, keep Congress out of the healthcare business.
Number three is allowing the free market to actually be free. Insurance, doctors and hospitals should be allowed to compete honestly for our dollars. The elimination of monopolies and allowing those who cannot compete honestly to fail would force prices back down to reasonable levels.
Number four is the most controversial, build the southern border wall. Go deep enough so that it cannot be tunneled under and higher enough so that it cannot be climbed. Use several independent contractors so that all sections are built at the same time and ignore every complaint from Mexico, the UN and the left. Place an Ellis Island style structure every fifty miles or so and allow those who truly wish to work come in, but only after they have been proven healthy and honest. Work visas can insure they pay their way like the rest of us. Those who are caught not carrying legal visas can be sent back across the border to get in line. What part of “illegal” do you not understand?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Global Cooling. Where is Prophet Al Gore?
Brit Hume published this in February:
“Tuesday we told you about several areas around the planet experiencing record cold and snowpack — in the face of all the predictions of global warming.
Now there is word that all four major global temperature tracking outlets have released data showing that temperatures have dropped significantly over the last year. California meteorologist Anthony Watts says the amount of cooling ranges from 65-hundredths of a degree Centigrade to 75-hundreds of a degree.
That is said to be a value large enough to erase nearly all the global warming recorded over the past 100 years. It is reportedly the single fastest temperature change ever recorded — up or down.
Some scientists contend the cooling is the result of reduced solar activity — which they say is a larger driver of climate change than man-made greenhouse gases.” Al Gore has no comment.
Noah Wyle has been appearing in a series of commercials about the fable of Global Warming. He contends that if we do nothing about this looming disaster the polar bear will fall into extinction. Noah, wonderful actor that he is, knows nothing or has done no research on the aforementioned bear. There are more polar bear now than there were during the time of Napoleon, which was at the end of the little ice age. Al Gore has nothing to say about that.
During 2008 several accredited climate researchers began publishing nonpolitically correct studies on climate change. In these studies they found that “greenhouse gases” had little overall effect on global climate. Man’s contribution was negligible at best. The largest contributor of so-called greenhouse gasses was and is the active volcano and man has yet to find h a way to deal with those. Al Gore remains silent on this point.
Some less than credible scientists have posited that the general lowering of temperatures are in fact an indication of global warming. That is like saying that the current credit crisis is in fact a sign of global prosperity. It is doublespeak. All it proves is that they too read George Orwell. Humanity has the ability to destroy its immediate environment. That has been proven time and time again. Humanity’s ability to destroy the earth is suspect and frankly best left for science fiction. The earth has recovered from celestial impacts that rivaled the sum total of every nuclear device every made...and it is still here. Not sure what Al Gore has to say about that.
“Tuesday we told you about several areas around the planet experiencing record cold and snowpack — in the face of all the predictions of global warming.
Now there is word that all four major global temperature tracking outlets have released data showing that temperatures have dropped significantly over the last year. California meteorologist Anthony Watts says the amount of cooling ranges from 65-hundredths of a degree Centigrade to 75-hundreds of a degree.
That is said to be a value large enough to erase nearly all the global warming recorded over the past 100 years. It is reportedly the single fastest temperature change ever recorded — up or down.
Some scientists contend the cooling is the result of reduced solar activity — which they say is a larger driver of climate change than man-made greenhouse gases.” Al Gore has no comment.
Noah Wyle has been appearing in a series of commercials about the fable of Global Warming. He contends that if we do nothing about this looming disaster the polar bear will fall into extinction. Noah, wonderful actor that he is, knows nothing or has done no research on the aforementioned bear. There are more polar bear now than there were during the time of Napoleon, which was at the end of the little ice age. Al Gore has nothing to say about that.
During 2008 several accredited climate researchers began publishing nonpolitically correct studies on climate change. In these studies they found that “greenhouse gases” had little overall effect on global climate. Man’s contribution was negligible at best. The largest contributor of so-called greenhouse gasses was and is the active volcano and man has yet to find h a way to deal with those. Al Gore remains silent on this point.
Some less than credible scientists have posited that the general lowering of temperatures are in fact an indication of global warming. That is like saying that the current credit crisis is in fact a sign of global prosperity. It is doublespeak. All it proves is that they too read George Orwell. Humanity has the ability to destroy its immediate environment. That has been proven time and time again. Humanity’s ability to destroy the earth is suspect and frankly best left for science fiction. The earth has recovered from celestial impacts that rivaled the sum total of every nuclear device every made...and it is still here. Not sure what Al Gore has to say about that.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Homosexual Left supports Obama Hypocrisy
After thinking about it, the title for this column isn’t accurate. It isn’t just the homosexual left supporting hypocrisy; it is every member of that side of the aisle, regardless of their sexual proclivity.
Think back during the last couple months of the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama stated that he felt that “marriage should be between a man and a woman.” The record is very clear on this, he did say exactly that. Does anyone remember even a whisper of controversy from the media or even one homosexual rights group? No, of course not. Obama can say anything whether it be pure or profane and his supporters will swallow it as if it came from on high. But let a woman who seems to be a Christian say such a thing and she is spewing hatred from the very depths of hell.
Sarah Palin has to be conflicted right now. Carrie Prejean, Miss California 2009 has become the new ground central for every last drop of far left hate speech, and do not mistake it, what is being said qualifies as hate speech. If the same were being said about Rosie O’Donnell or even Ellen DeGeneres, calls would be issued for an in-depth investigation at the Congressional level. I doubt even the most strident opponent of Prejean can dispute this...honestly. They will dispute it, but a close examination of all their arguments will reveal the lie behind the words.
Both of these women have committed a gross sin in the eyes of the press, they spoke their minds without asking whether or not what they were about to say was politically acceptable to the media at large. The press lives each day sheltered behind the first amendment. I doubt many are capable of even quoting that passage accurately much less describing the conditions under which it was written. According to those who are currently heading our political system, Carrie Prejean and Sarah Palin do not have the same rights as an O’Donnell or a DeGeneres because they choose to live outside of what has become the mainstream. They choose to honor their spouses and choose to bring their children up to respect virtues such as personal responsibility...and that flies in the face of what is acceptable, and is the lifestyle lived by most who deliver our news today.
Think back during the last couple months of the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama stated that he felt that “marriage should be between a man and a woman.” The record is very clear on this, he did say exactly that. Does anyone remember even a whisper of controversy from the media or even one homosexual rights group? No, of course not. Obama can say anything whether it be pure or profane and his supporters will swallow it as if it came from on high. But let a woman who seems to be a Christian say such a thing and she is spewing hatred from the very depths of hell.
Sarah Palin has to be conflicted right now. Carrie Prejean, Miss California 2009 has become the new ground central for every last drop of far left hate speech, and do not mistake it, what is being said qualifies as hate speech. If the same were being said about Rosie O’Donnell or even Ellen DeGeneres, calls would be issued for an in-depth investigation at the Congressional level. I doubt even the most strident opponent of Prejean can dispute this...honestly. They will dispute it, but a close examination of all their arguments will reveal the lie behind the words.
Both of these women have committed a gross sin in the eyes of the press, they spoke their minds without asking whether or not what they were about to say was politically acceptable to the media at large. The press lives each day sheltered behind the first amendment. I doubt many are capable of even quoting that passage accurately much less describing the conditions under which it was written. According to those who are currently heading our political system, Carrie Prejean and Sarah Palin do not have the same rights as an O’Donnell or a DeGeneres because they choose to live outside of what has become the mainstream. They choose to honor their spouses and choose to bring their children up to respect virtues such as personal responsibility...and that flies in the face of what is acceptable, and is the lifestyle lived by most who deliver our news today.
Friday, April 24, 2009
I am an American, not a Republican
One of the most striking impressions I gained while serving as a state representative was that Party, not State, not Country, was placed in a position of much higher importance than anything else. Even campaign donations (read bribes) took a subordinate position. One member of my caucus stated his primary purpose for being in office. “I want to #@!! them,” he said. He meant the Democrats. It did not matter if the legislation had any merit, not even if it saved the taxpayers money. Beating the enemy was all. This attitude also ran rampant throughout the other side of the aisle. Four of my bills were taken from me and given to the Democrat leadership because I was a member of the minority party and my bills were viewed as a violation of a cardinal rule: a freshman legislator shall not propose legislation good enough to pass, especially if it is better than their leaderships’ bills.
Many questions have been asked why our government seems so inadequate in solving our ongoing problems. The simple answer is that the parties are too busy fighting each other to actually accomplish anything. Compounding that is the fact that they also don’t want to upset any of the big money people who typically donate to their campaigns, even if it is the right thing to do.
I have always believed that if an elected official becomes aware of a wrong being perpetrated, that official should take steps to stop it. I did so when I was approached by a group of casino employees upset over their tips being stolen from them by the casino owner. In researching this I found a state law that forbids the taking of tips. My own party attacked me over this, claiming I was violating the “free market”. The fact that a law was being broken was beside the point. In reality, the party in Nevada is owned by the gaming industry and they were told to remove an irritant.
Anyone who has ever watched the TV series The West Wing is familiar with the character Wesley. That character, throughout the series, consistently argues against allowing the Republicans to win anything, even if that win benefits the country. The unfortunate truth is that that attitude prevails in American politics. Elected officials are Democrats, not Americans; Republicans, not Americans; and it doesn’t end there.
Ever hear of Affirmative Action? It is a nasty piece of legislation that legitimizes discrimination because someone’s ancestor may have been discriminated against by someone in the past. In essence it is Washington saying that in this case, two wrongs do make a right. What it has actually done is keep the division going. In the US we do not have Americans in a variety of colors, we have African Americans, Mexican Americans, and so on…We are so busy creating and maintaining socio-political walls to divide our populace that we have become antagonistic toward those who try to scale the wall.
Like our government, our education system is in rapid decline not simply because we refuse to pay for the tools to do the job properly, but because we have surrendered to the politically correct forces who insist on maintaining the walls. The school board in my area has members who actively fight against those methods proven to work in the classroom because those methods are not politically popular with their party leadership.
The Democrat Party will not support anything that upsets the fanatic left. As a result, the party of John F. Kennedy seems to support international terrorism, the killing of healthy, living babies via partial birth abortion, the granting of amnesty to the vilest of serial killers, the removal of personal responsibility, the removal of any right that promotes self-reliance, the destruction of heterosexual marriage and the core family unit, the elimination of Israel as a state, and the dissolution of America as a sovereign nation.
The Republican Party, the party of Lincoln and Reagan has metastasized into a party that openly supports massive corporate theft, human trafficking, the resurgence of plantation style slavery, the elimination of small business and the destruction of public education.
Either way we lose, simply because the American voter no longer cares about who runs their party.
Many questions have been asked why our government seems so inadequate in solving our ongoing problems. The simple answer is that the parties are too busy fighting each other to actually accomplish anything. Compounding that is the fact that they also don’t want to upset any of the big money people who typically donate to their campaigns, even if it is the right thing to do.
I have always believed that if an elected official becomes aware of a wrong being perpetrated, that official should take steps to stop it. I did so when I was approached by a group of casino employees upset over their tips being stolen from them by the casino owner. In researching this I found a state law that forbids the taking of tips. My own party attacked me over this, claiming I was violating the “free market”. The fact that a law was being broken was beside the point. In reality, the party in Nevada is owned by the gaming industry and they were told to remove an irritant.
Anyone who has ever watched the TV series The West Wing is familiar with the character Wesley. That character, throughout the series, consistently argues against allowing the Republicans to win anything, even if that win benefits the country. The unfortunate truth is that that attitude prevails in American politics. Elected officials are Democrats, not Americans; Republicans, not Americans; and it doesn’t end there.
Ever hear of Affirmative Action? It is a nasty piece of legislation that legitimizes discrimination because someone’s ancestor may have been discriminated against by someone in the past. In essence it is Washington saying that in this case, two wrongs do make a right. What it has actually done is keep the division going. In the US we do not have Americans in a variety of colors, we have African Americans, Mexican Americans, and so on…We are so busy creating and maintaining socio-political walls to divide our populace that we have become antagonistic toward those who try to scale the wall.
Like our government, our education system is in rapid decline not simply because we refuse to pay for the tools to do the job properly, but because we have surrendered to the politically correct forces who insist on maintaining the walls. The school board in my area has members who actively fight against those methods proven to work in the classroom because those methods are not politically popular with their party leadership.
The Democrat Party will not support anything that upsets the fanatic left. As a result, the party of John F. Kennedy seems to support international terrorism, the killing of healthy, living babies via partial birth abortion, the granting of amnesty to the vilest of serial killers, the removal of personal responsibility, the removal of any right that promotes self-reliance, the destruction of heterosexual marriage and the core family unit, the elimination of Israel as a state, and the dissolution of America as a sovereign nation.
The Republican Party, the party of Lincoln and Reagan has metastasized into a party that openly supports massive corporate theft, human trafficking, the resurgence of plantation style slavery, the elimination of small business and the destruction of public education.
Either way we lose, simply because the American voter no longer cares about who runs their party.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
In Kalifornia, the First Amendment doesn’t apply to Christians.
This exchange occured at the recent Miss USA pagent between the moderator and Miss California, Carrie Prejean.
Perez Hilton: “Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?”
Prejean: “Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”
Carrie Prejean, Miss California, was the frontrunner and the favorite to win the Miss USA pageant...and then she committed the deadly sin of self-expression. She forgot where she was and what demographic comprised the majority of her audience. Hollywood is run and policed by the homosexual lobby.
(Note: I will not use the term “gay” to describe a male homosexual. Gay is a state of mind. It means to be happy. It was co-opted by a group with the full intention of twisting the dialogue to their terms.)
In the space of a few seconds, Miss Prejean went from crowd favorite to crowd goat, never mind that the same people loudly expressing their hatred were the same people with an extensive history of standing on the first amendment. The hypocrisy is that they don’t believe it extends to anyone who disagrees with their side of the issue. Some have actually called for Miss Prejean’s arrest and conviction on a hate crime charge. I doubt those individuals even know how to spell hubris.
The only group whose world view is affected solely by how they copulate is the homosexuals. They are the only people who insist on bringing what they do in the bedroom to the fore of the discussion. They the only people who use a sexual activity as the template for defining who they are.
Every group has its fanatics and the homosexual community is no exception. But the fanatics are controlling the dialogue which makes the possibility of a progressive, logical debate a non-starter, but someone has to try. One place to start is the hatred the homosexuals seem to have for Christianity while at the same time demanding that Christianity treat them as something other than what they are, same sex couples engaging in an activity the Christian Bible condemns.
This is typical of the homosexual lobby. They have mastered the “do as I say not as I do” gambit. What is dismaying is that nearly every elected official and media outlet has swallowed that lie hook line and sinker. They see no hypocrisy in homosexual couples demanding that a religion accept them as non-sinners while actively engaging in what that church views as sin. They see no hypocrisy in using the first amendment to further their aims while denying its protection to that church.
For the Christian church, marriage is to be a rite of commitment between a man and a woman. Not between a man and a girl, a girl and a boy, a man and a man or a woman and a woman. The secular world already has avenues for those arrangements, including such things as power of attorney and other documents that give a domestic partner all the access and privileges of a spouse. So what’s the problem with allowing church marriage to stand as it is?
The problem is the word “sin”. Anyone who has ever been involved in a discussion with a homosexual activist will have noticed the demeanor of unrepentant aggression that permeates the one they are speaking with. This demeanor is typical throughout the demographic. Whether the media and the politicos want to admit it or not, the homosexual community is at war with the Christian church. They view Christianity as one judging them and what they do. They consider Jesus’ admonition to “go and sin no more” as something hateful. The word “love” only means one thing, sex. The argument goes nowhere. When the terms of the discussion means different things to the participants, only confusion can result.
What this all comes down to is this: As Americans, we all have a right to express our opinions freely and without fear or repercussion...even if we happen to be a Christian living in Kalifornia.
Perez Hilton: “Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?”
Prejean: “Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”
Carrie Prejean, Miss California, was the frontrunner and the favorite to win the Miss USA pageant...and then she committed the deadly sin of self-expression. She forgot where she was and what demographic comprised the majority of her audience. Hollywood is run and policed by the homosexual lobby.
(Note: I will not use the term “gay” to describe a male homosexual. Gay is a state of mind. It means to be happy. It was co-opted by a group with the full intention of twisting the dialogue to their terms.)
In the space of a few seconds, Miss Prejean went from crowd favorite to crowd goat, never mind that the same people loudly expressing their hatred were the same people with an extensive history of standing on the first amendment. The hypocrisy is that they don’t believe it extends to anyone who disagrees with their side of the issue. Some have actually called for Miss Prejean’s arrest and conviction on a hate crime charge. I doubt those individuals even know how to spell hubris.
The only group whose world view is affected solely by how they copulate is the homosexuals. They are the only people who insist on bringing what they do in the bedroom to the fore of the discussion. They the only people who use a sexual activity as the template for defining who they are.
Every group has its fanatics and the homosexual community is no exception. But the fanatics are controlling the dialogue which makes the possibility of a progressive, logical debate a non-starter, but someone has to try. One place to start is the hatred the homosexuals seem to have for Christianity while at the same time demanding that Christianity treat them as something other than what they are, same sex couples engaging in an activity the Christian Bible condemns.
This is typical of the homosexual lobby. They have mastered the “do as I say not as I do” gambit. What is dismaying is that nearly every elected official and media outlet has swallowed that lie hook line and sinker. They see no hypocrisy in homosexual couples demanding that a religion accept them as non-sinners while actively engaging in what that church views as sin. They see no hypocrisy in using the first amendment to further their aims while denying its protection to that church.
For the Christian church, marriage is to be a rite of commitment between a man and a woman. Not between a man and a girl, a girl and a boy, a man and a man or a woman and a woman. The secular world already has avenues for those arrangements, including such things as power of attorney and other documents that give a domestic partner all the access and privileges of a spouse. So what’s the problem with allowing church marriage to stand as it is?
The problem is the word “sin”. Anyone who has ever been involved in a discussion with a homosexual activist will have noticed the demeanor of unrepentant aggression that permeates the one they are speaking with. This demeanor is typical throughout the demographic. Whether the media and the politicos want to admit it or not, the homosexual community is at war with the Christian church. They view Christianity as one judging them and what they do. They consider Jesus’ admonition to “go and sin no more” as something hateful. The word “love” only means one thing, sex. The argument goes nowhere. When the terms of the discussion means different things to the participants, only confusion can result.
What this all comes down to is this: As Americans, we all have a right to express our opinions freely and without fear or repercussion...even if we happen to be a Christian living in Kalifornia.
Friday, April 3, 2009
America, land of the free, home of the illiterate.
Alan Stock is the morning host on the Las Vegas station KXNT 840 AM. Alan is a typically entertaining, well-spoken, conservative host who is usually right in line when it comes to separating the hyperbole from the pragmatic when it comes to political discussion...until he gets to the subject of education. Sadly, on that topic he marches lockstep with almost every other conservative host in the country. For some reason not one of these people have ever explained, they refuse to differentiate the teachers’ union and its aims from the working teacher. In this column I will discuss why Alan and his compatriots are embarrassingly and tragically wrong in their opinion, and why this opinion is rapidly ruining this country’s future.
“All public school teachers are commie-leftists!”
This is the typical rejoinder from conservative talk hosts when pushed into a corner where anything other than private or home-school education is concerned. The problem with this is most of them have never been in a classroom since they left high school. Information about public school comes to them from what they read in Talkers Magazine and from what they hear on other likeminded shows. This is not what would be considered an in-depth investigation of the problem.
As a member of Nevada’s State Government I sat on the committee on education. After the session I acquired a teaching license and entered the classroom as a substitute teacher. A substitute is able to sample a variety of classrooms and schools. In this way I learned first hand what actually went on in the schools, what the teaching staff did and felt about a variety of issues and how the students did and didn’t learn. The reality within this country’s schools is so far removed from what talk radio dispenses that the word “fiction” is beyond inadequate as a description. In all honesty, I cannot use the word “lie” because hosts like Alan Stock, Rush Limbaugh, Hannity and others really believe the tripe they are dishing out.
The truth is that most public school teachers, kindergarten is the exception, are not left leaning in their politics at all. Many of the teachers I spoke to were somewhat more conservative than I, and I received the highest rating on the conservative voting scale in the last legislative session. I was 12 points more conservative than Mr. Stock’s favorite State Senator. The teachers told me that they were, for the most part, disgusted with the decisions of both the union and the school board and they could not understand the hatred that people like Alan continuously expressed toward their chosen profession. Frankly, neither can I.
“Teachers are paid too much already! And their benefits make up for it anyway!”
Yes, I suppose earning less than $35,000 a year while working an average 60 hour week attempting to inject some relevant knowledge into the minds of spoiled brats with no hope of any acknowledgement from the system for your accomplishment is reward enough. Talk show host continuously bleat out the lie that teachers only work a 6 hour day and get 3 months off every year with pay. Why, teaching is really a part-time job, why should we pay them any more?
I would expect such statements from someone who never paid a moment’s attention in school. But these people claim to have graduated from college. Of course, we are discussing talk show hosts here. In essence, they are the mirror image of micro minds like Michael Moore and Al Franken. The typical teacher begins their day waking up before 5am in order to get to school in time to prepare the classroom and that day’s lessons. They stay at least 2 hours past the time the students leave, so there is an 8 hour day, but it isn’t over yet. Once at home they have grading and more lesson-planning to do, in addition to any other paperwork the administration has palmed off onto their already overloaded shoulders. Merit is not considered here because of the seniority-based union leadership, and woe betide any upstart who tries to be innovative ahead of their time. And the talk show hosts wonder why so many teachers are retiring early.
“Why don’t they teach what is relevant any more? Kids are graduating and they can’t even balance a checkbook!”
You try to deal with a class that has 15 more students in it than you have chairs. It is amazing that some teachers can even get a partial lesson through to some of their students. One of the major problems with this scene is that talk radio has not moved with the times. To them, the classroom is still what they experienced. They have no realization what 15 to 30 years of union and school bard meddling has done to the teaching profession. A teacher cannot discipline properly because the parents might sue the school. The students have little or no respect for their parents; much less the teacher because they have no fear of any consequence for acting badly, and most administrations will not back up the teacher who attempts to keep a proper decorum in the classroom. There are a couple schools in my area where the administration does this and they have been targeted for budget cuts by the district.
Right now, in my state, much needed funds are being redirected from education to autism programs. In the legislature’s vast wisdom it is far more important to treat autism than to teach little Johnny and Janie to read. In the last legislative session we tried to get additional funding into Vocational Education, but where did the school superintendents want to put the money? All Day Kindergarten. Daycare for yuppies was more important.
“Private school and home schooling is far better than public school!”
No, they are not. The class sizes make the difference. In many ways the curriculum may be far worse than that of a public school. The variable is who is doing the teaching. The parent or private teacher may be good or not. It is completely possible that that teacher may be turning out the Ronald Reagan, or the next Adolph Hitler. It’s a crap shoot, not a sure thing.
It is not the teachers’ fault that America’s literacy rate is falling faster than the value of the dollar. The fault lies squarely on the shoulders of those who continuously badmouth teaching without doing a blessed thing to help the situation. In a city of over two million, it is going to take a busload of money to teach the hundreds of thousands of children who desperately need to know how to read, write, and balance a checkbook. The job cannot be done in your kitchen and it cannot be done part time and it is going to take everyone chipping in some of their money to pay for it. If we put forth the effort we could have the best educated populace the world has ever seen. The problem is, we would have to stop being narrow-minded to do so. In some cases that would mean developing a mind.
“All public school teachers are commie-leftists!”
This is the typical rejoinder from conservative talk hosts when pushed into a corner where anything other than private or home-school education is concerned. The problem with this is most of them have never been in a classroom since they left high school. Information about public school comes to them from what they read in Talkers Magazine and from what they hear on other likeminded shows. This is not what would be considered an in-depth investigation of the problem.
As a member of Nevada’s State Government I sat on the committee on education. After the session I acquired a teaching license and entered the classroom as a substitute teacher. A substitute is able to sample a variety of classrooms and schools. In this way I learned first hand what actually went on in the schools, what the teaching staff did and felt about a variety of issues and how the students did and didn’t learn. The reality within this country’s schools is so far removed from what talk radio dispenses that the word “fiction” is beyond inadequate as a description. In all honesty, I cannot use the word “lie” because hosts like Alan Stock, Rush Limbaugh, Hannity and others really believe the tripe they are dishing out.
The truth is that most public school teachers, kindergarten is the exception, are not left leaning in their politics at all. Many of the teachers I spoke to were somewhat more conservative than I, and I received the highest rating on the conservative voting scale in the last legislative session. I was 12 points more conservative than Mr. Stock’s favorite State Senator. The teachers told me that they were, for the most part, disgusted with the decisions of both the union and the school board and they could not understand the hatred that people like Alan continuously expressed toward their chosen profession. Frankly, neither can I.
“Teachers are paid too much already! And their benefits make up for it anyway!”
Yes, I suppose earning less than $35,000 a year while working an average 60 hour week attempting to inject some relevant knowledge into the minds of spoiled brats with no hope of any acknowledgement from the system for your accomplishment is reward enough. Talk show host continuously bleat out the lie that teachers only work a 6 hour day and get 3 months off every year with pay. Why, teaching is really a part-time job, why should we pay them any more?
I would expect such statements from someone who never paid a moment’s attention in school. But these people claim to have graduated from college. Of course, we are discussing talk show hosts here. In essence, they are the mirror image of micro minds like Michael Moore and Al Franken. The typical teacher begins their day waking up before 5am in order to get to school in time to prepare the classroom and that day’s lessons. They stay at least 2 hours past the time the students leave, so there is an 8 hour day, but it isn’t over yet. Once at home they have grading and more lesson-planning to do, in addition to any other paperwork the administration has palmed off onto their already overloaded shoulders. Merit is not considered here because of the seniority-based union leadership, and woe betide any upstart who tries to be innovative ahead of their time. And the talk show hosts wonder why so many teachers are retiring early.
“Why don’t they teach what is relevant any more? Kids are graduating and they can’t even balance a checkbook!”
You try to deal with a class that has 15 more students in it than you have chairs. It is amazing that some teachers can even get a partial lesson through to some of their students. One of the major problems with this scene is that talk radio has not moved with the times. To them, the classroom is still what they experienced. They have no realization what 15 to 30 years of union and school bard meddling has done to the teaching profession. A teacher cannot discipline properly because the parents might sue the school. The students have little or no respect for their parents; much less the teacher because they have no fear of any consequence for acting badly, and most administrations will not back up the teacher who attempts to keep a proper decorum in the classroom. There are a couple schools in my area where the administration does this and they have been targeted for budget cuts by the district.
Right now, in my state, much needed funds are being redirected from education to autism programs. In the legislature’s vast wisdom it is far more important to treat autism than to teach little Johnny and Janie to read. In the last legislative session we tried to get additional funding into Vocational Education, but where did the school superintendents want to put the money? All Day Kindergarten. Daycare for yuppies was more important.
“Private school and home schooling is far better than public school!”
No, they are not. The class sizes make the difference. In many ways the curriculum may be far worse than that of a public school. The variable is who is doing the teaching. The parent or private teacher may be good or not. It is completely possible that that teacher may be turning out the Ronald Reagan, or the next Adolph Hitler. It’s a crap shoot, not a sure thing.
It is not the teachers’ fault that America’s literacy rate is falling faster than the value of the dollar. The fault lies squarely on the shoulders of those who continuously badmouth teaching without doing a blessed thing to help the situation. In a city of over two million, it is going to take a busload of money to teach the hundreds of thousands of children who desperately need to know how to read, write, and balance a checkbook. The job cannot be done in your kitchen and it cannot be done part time and it is going to take everyone chipping in some of their money to pay for it. If we put forth the effort we could have the best educated populace the world has ever seen. The problem is, we would have to stop being narrow-minded to do so. In some cases that would mean developing a mind.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Is it racist to disagree with Obama?
In their unending quest to prove that they are more equal than conservatives, the left have established the talking point of calling anyone who disagrees with their anointed king “racist”, and if that dissenter happens to be black, “Oreo”, or Bill Cosby's name for Clarence Thomas, “Brother Light”. The assertion is that there can only be one political world view for anyone wearing a dark melanin on their epidermis. For the Democrat readers, that means a dark skin tone. I have shocking news for the liberals; you can disagree with Obama and not be racist. In fact, it would be un-American to not disagree once in a while.
The recent news of the Obama Administration actually telling a private business who they can have as a boss is an example of just how far to the left this country has swerved. If this had happened during the fifties, an impeachment trial would now be an ongoing event. What is the most dismaying part of this drama is the sanguine attitude of the GOP regarding the President’s illegal action. Perhaps none of them have read the constitution lately.
That brings me to my core point. Would you be shocked to find that many who call themselves conservative are actually more liberal than most Democrats? No, I am not writing hyperbole to prove a point. Sadly, I am writing actual fact.
The country of Columbia was at one time the murder capital of the world. A few years ago they elected a non-politician/non-soldier to be their president. This new leader came from an education background and immediately moved to change the way things were done in his country. Educational spending went from a tiny percentage of the gross to 40%. The few elite private schools now had real competition and that competition had all the tools the private schools used to consider theirs alone. Columbia went from murder capital to one of the safest countries per capita in the world. What about the social services, the military? They found that an educated populace becomes more self-reliant and more willing to be a part of the country’s production rather than a drain. What a concept!
Here in the U.S., we spend about 1% of that 40%…and we complain about doing that. Many in the GOP consider the teaching profession an enemy, placing them ahead of Islamic Terrorism in the list. Some have even gone so far as to try to logically prove the necessity of a dependant class as an important portion of America’s labor force. In that, they are marching lock step with the extreme left in this country. They want, in essence, to have their cake and eat it too. When I was in State Government, I had a fellow Assemblyman tell me that my bill to curtail illegal immigration would bankrupt the state. This same Assemblyman had, a few days before, lauded Oklahoma and Arizona for passing similar legislation.
The hypocrisy taps are running wide open. George Bush trumpeted his “doing the jobs American’s won’t do” tripe. Newspaper publishers in my state, on one hand, decry the cost of illegals, while using them in their own printing facilities as a cost-saver. Our black messiah, Barrack Obama, chides the same industry he forced, as a member of ACORN, to issue unsafe loans, for issuing those loans. Here in Nevada we have a governor who called for more emphasis on vocational education, and then tries to cut the education budget in his state, in some cases by nearly 50%.
Can America afford to do what Columbia did? Of course we can. Will we? Not with our current leaders. We don’t have a single political leader with even a microbial amount of courage. We do have some politicians with courage to spare, but in Washington, they are the ones issued the basement offices.
The recent news of the Obama Administration actually telling a private business who they can have as a boss is an example of just how far to the left this country has swerved. If this had happened during the fifties, an impeachment trial would now be an ongoing event. What is the most dismaying part of this drama is the sanguine attitude of the GOP regarding the President’s illegal action. Perhaps none of them have read the constitution lately.
That brings me to my core point. Would you be shocked to find that many who call themselves conservative are actually more liberal than most Democrats? No, I am not writing hyperbole to prove a point. Sadly, I am writing actual fact.
The country of Columbia was at one time the murder capital of the world. A few years ago they elected a non-politician/non-soldier to be their president. This new leader came from an education background and immediately moved to change the way things were done in his country. Educational spending went from a tiny percentage of the gross to 40%. The few elite private schools now had real competition and that competition had all the tools the private schools used to consider theirs alone. Columbia went from murder capital to one of the safest countries per capita in the world. What about the social services, the military? They found that an educated populace becomes more self-reliant and more willing to be a part of the country’s production rather than a drain. What a concept!
Here in the U.S., we spend about 1% of that 40%…and we complain about doing that. Many in the GOP consider the teaching profession an enemy, placing them ahead of Islamic Terrorism in the list. Some have even gone so far as to try to logically prove the necessity of a dependant class as an important portion of America’s labor force. In that, they are marching lock step with the extreme left in this country. They want, in essence, to have their cake and eat it too. When I was in State Government, I had a fellow Assemblyman tell me that my bill to curtail illegal immigration would bankrupt the state. This same Assemblyman had, a few days before, lauded Oklahoma and Arizona for passing similar legislation.
The hypocrisy taps are running wide open. George Bush trumpeted his “doing the jobs American’s won’t do” tripe. Newspaper publishers in my state, on one hand, decry the cost of illegals, while using them in their own printing facilities as a cost-saver. Our black messiah, Barrack Obama, chides the same industry he forced, as a member of ACORN, to issue unsafe loans, for issuing those loans. Here in Nevada we have a governor who called for more emphasis on vocational education, and then tries to cut the education budget in his state, in some cases by nearly 50%.
Can America afford to do what Columbia did? Of course we can. Will we? Not with our current leaders. We don’t have a single political leader with even a microbial amount of courage. We do have some politicians with courage to spare, but in Washington, they are the ones issued the basement offices.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Does Limbaugh have Rights?
Since that magazine cover came out with Rush Limbaugh's mouth taped shut, I've been thinking about the intriguing shift in the social dynamic of this country. The same demographic that has, for decades, called for everyone's right to dissent to be respected, is now acting like the congress that passed the sedition act back during the John Adams Presidency. It seems that when that group speaks of "people", they actually mean "people who think and speak like us".
Have you ever wondered why Barrack Obama never brings up Martin Luthor King's speech where Doctor King speaks of racial equality? The reason is that that speech calls for all races to treat each other with respect. Doctor King would have refused to pass any program such as Affirmative Action because he would have considered that program racist based on its discrimination for skin color.
Rush Limbaugh's sin is his admission that he wants to see Obama fail. Apparently all those Democrats and reporters who expressed the same desire in relation to George Bush had a get out of jail free card. It is ever that way with the left and their sycophantic media supporters; free speech isn’t quite as free as politically correct speech. Who cares about that inconvenient First Amendment? Besides, how dare he insult America’s Black Messiah?
Try as I may, I cannot find any hint of deity in Mr. Obama. As far as I can see he is, frankly, more fallible than most humans. He just has a more prominent job. It doesn’t place him on any higher of a plain than the rest of homo sapiens. He has none of the traits one would expect of a messiah. He hasn’t healed a single disease or injury. He hasn’t fed a multitude with a few loaves and fishes. He certainly has not walked on water or even turned water into wine. What about parting the Red Sea? Well, he is drowning us in a sea of red ink. Does that count?
Have you ever wondered why Barrack Obama never brings up Martin Luthor King's speech where Doctor King speaks of racial equality? The reason is that that speech calls for all races to treat each other with respect. Doctor King would have refused to pass any program such as Affirmative Action because he would have considered that program racist based on its discrimination for skin color.
Rush Limbaugh's sin is his admission that he wants to see Obama fail. Apparently all those Democrats and reporters who expressed the same desire in relation to George Bush had a get out of jail free card. It is ever that way with the left and their sycophantic media supporters; free speech isn’t quite as free as politically correct speech. Who cares about that inconvenient First Amendment? Besides, how dare he insult America’s Black Messiah?
Try as I may, I cannot find any hint of deity in Mr. Obama. As far as I can see he is, frankly, more fallible than most humans. He just has a more prominent job. It doesn’t place him on any higher of a plain than the rest of homo sapiens. He has none of the traits one would expect of a messiah. He hasn’t healed a single disease or injury. He hasn’t fed a multitude with a few loaves and fishes. He certainly has not walked on water or even turned water into wine. What about parting the Red Sea? Well, he is drowning us in a sea of red ink. Does that count?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
No Cancer...at least not in me.
As of today, I've spent more time in the tube of an MRI scanner than in my car. The last test I had was a PET scan, which is an interesting experience if you've never traveled that route.
The test begins with the filling out of several forms detailing the assorted dangers of radioactivity. This is because prior to laying down in the scanner, the nurse will approach you with a needle the size of a Desert Eagle handgun. The vial holds, I'm not kidding, a glowing green fluid that belongs on the set of The Incredible Hulk. You see this green fluid through a small window in the vial. The rest of the structure is a lead container nearly identical to a radioactive waste container.
The stuff they inject is radioactive enough that you become the power that runs the scanner. Anything suspicious will show up as a dark spot in the printed scan. Precautions after the test include sitting down when you wee and avoiding standing near children and pregnant women.
The small spot in my lower right lung barely lit up. The area in my cervical spinal cord did not show any activity at all, so whatever is going on there, it isn't cancer. What lit up a lot was the collection of lymph nodes near my bronchial tubes. So, yesterday they went in and took out a few. The surgeon immediately pronounced them to be granulomas. A granulnoma is one of a number of forms of localized nodular inflammation found in tissues. The fact that a granuloma is localized is important. So is its nodularity. Granulomas have a typical pattern when examined under a microscope. The really important bit is that they are not cancer.
On another front, it appears that socialism has metastasized in Washington D.C..
The US House and Senate are about to vote on bill that will outlaw organic farming(bill HR 875).
The main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto. Monsanto makes chemical fertilizers, go figure. The husband of the Congresswoman who dropped the bill just happens to be a Monsanto official. Hmmm.
This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and insecticides dictated by the newly formed agency to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply". This will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales. Can anyone remember the text of George Orwell's 1984?
Henry Kissinger put it this way: "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control people." The Obama Administration is an amalgamation of the Clinton Administration and all the assorted far left radicals that made the 60's and 70's worth forgetting. Obama has never rejected his Weatherman connections nor those who called for the execution of millions of US citizens when they achieved power. He is systematically dismantling our economic system, and it appears that the big news networks are going right along with his plan.
I wonder is any of them remember what Pol Pot, Mao and all the others did to their friends in publishing when the revolution was over?
The test begins with the filling out of several forms detailing the assorted dangers of radioactivity. This is because prior to laying down in the scanner, the nurse will approach you with a needle the size of a Desert Eagle handgun. The vial holds, I'm not kidding, a glowing green fluid that belongs on the set of The Incredible Hulk. You see this green fluid through a small window in the vial. The rest of the structure is a lead container nearly identical to a radioactive waste container.
The stuff they inject is radioactive enough that you become the power that runs the scanner. Anything suspicious will show up as a dark spot in the printed scan. Precautions after the test include sitting down when you wee and avoiding standing near children and pregnant women.
The small spot in my lower right lung barely lit up. The area in my cervical spinal cord did not show any activity at all, so whatever is going on there, it isn't cancer. What lit up a lot was the collection of lymph nodes near my bronchial tubes. So, yesterday they went in and took out a few. The surgeon immediately pronounced them to be granulomas. A granulnoma is one of a number of forms of localized nodular inflammation found in tissues. The fact that a granuloma is localized is important. So is its nodularity. Granulomas have a typical pattern when examined under a microscope. The really important bit is that they are not cancer.
On another front, it appears that socialism has metastasized in Washington D.C..
The US House and Senate are about to vote on bill that will outlaw organic farming(bill HR 875).
The main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto. Monsanto makes chemical fertilizers, go figure. The husband of the Congresswoman who dropped the bill just happens to be a Monsanto official. Hmmm.
This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and insecticides dictated by the newly formed agency to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply". This will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales. Can anyone remember the text of George Orwell's 1984?
Henry Kissinger put it this way: "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control people." The Obama Administration is an amalgamation of the Clinton Administration and all the assorted far left radicals that made the 60's and 70's worth forgetting. Obama has never rejected his Weatherman connections nor those who called for the execution of millions of US citizens when they achieved power. He is systematically dismantling our economic system, and it appears that the big news networks are going right along with his plan.
I wonder is any of them remember what Pol Pot, Mao and all the others did to their friends in publishing when the revolution was over?
Monday, March 2, 2009
Last Post...for a while at least.
This is my last post for what could be a very long time; possibly forever. You see, I may have cancer.
In September, I began experiencing a creeping numbness, beginning with my feet and eventually encompassing both legs and hips. As I type this I feel some of it in my right hand. The MRIs show a mass in the spinal cord in my neck that may or may not be malignant. There is every possibility that in order to continue living, I will have to have micro surgery. Unfortunately, my insurance may not allow me to go to the one clinic that knows how to perform the operation, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
Good doctors are leaving Nevada en mass. The primary reason is that the legal community, along with gleeful help from the insurance industry, is driving them away. The only growth industry in Nevada right now is that of the ambulance chaser attorney. Because of that, and a tendency of the courts to not want to hold anyone personally responsible for their own idiotic actions, liability coverage for doctors has skyrocketed in Nevada.
One of the first effects of the doctor exodus is a lessening of options for patients seeking medical help. When you are the only provider, customer service isn't a priority.
Health Insurance is another problem. Most coverage offered in Nevada isn't worth the time it takes to fill out the forms. HPN is the largest provider and the worst in providing coverage. The problem is that those running the company see the premiums their policyholders as a path to personal wealth rather than payment for services rendered. Unfortunately, most insurance companies have this attitude. The loser is us.
In my quest for a medical solution to my problem, I have run into incompetence, corruption, self-serving rapaciousness and laziness that, in any truly civilized society, should lead to jail time for the offenders. In this state there will be no movement from those empowered to protect the populace because they are owned by those reaping the financial rewards of corruption. Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie is chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee. During the last legislative session she prevented a bill that would have stopped hospitals from charging a patient for non-delivered products and services. Guess who donates large amounts to Assemblywoman Leslie’s campaign.
Sheila Leslie is only one example. As a Nevada State Assemblyman, I saw literally dozens. Hers is actually less hypocritical than most.
Here is a question for you. Why is it that nearly every power that be in Nevada goes out of state for medical care?
In September, I began experiencing a creeping numbness, beginning with my feet and eventually encompassing both legs and hips. As I type this I feel some of it in my right hand. The MRIs show a mass in the spinal cord in my neck that may or may not be malignant. There is every possibility that in order to continue living, I will have to have micro surgery. Unfortunately, my insurance may not allow me to go to the one clinic that knows how to perform the operation, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
Good doctors are leaving Nevada en mass. The primary reason is that the legal community, along with gleeful help from the insurance industry, is driving them away. The only growth industry in Nevada right now is that of the ambulance chaser attorney. Because of that, and a tendency of the courts to not want to hold anyone personally responsible for their own idiotic actions, liability coverage for doctors has skyrocketed in Nevada.
One of the first effects of the doctor exodus is a lessening of options for patients seeking medical help. When you are the only provider, customer service isn't a priority.
Health Insurance is another problem. Most coverage offered in Nevada isn't worth the time it takes to fill out the forms. HPN is the largest provider and the worst in providing coverage. The problem is that those running the company see the premiums their policyholders as a path to personal wealth rather than payment for services rendered. Unfortunately, most insurance companies have this attitude. The loser is us.
In my quest for a medical solution to my problem, I have run into incompetence, corruption, self-serving rapaciousness and laziness that, in any truly civilized society, should lead to jail time for the offenders. In this state there will be no movement from those empowered to protect the populace because they are owned by those reaping the financial rewards of corruption. Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie is chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee. During the last legislative session she prevented a bill that would have stopped hospitals from charging a patient for non-delivered products and services. Guess who donates large amounts to Assemblywoman Leslie’s campaign.
Sheila Leslie is only one example. As a Nevada State Assemblyman, I saw literally dozens. Hers is actually less hypocritical than most.
Here is a question for you. Why is it that nearly every power that be in Nevada goes out of state for medical care?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Recipe for Prosperity
Everyone and I mean everyone is wringing their hands, wracking their brains in an effort to find a solution for this recession. The Obama administration is at least attempting action while they wring, but an FDR buy-out will only devalue our already weakened dollar. Because of the content of some of what Obama has said, I think a good portion of that weakening is intentional. Our sitting President does not like the idea of common people being able of afford gasoline, but that is a subject for another day.
The way out of this mess is so simple and straight forward that it is not at all surprising every single political leader missed it. One good reason is that part of the recipe demands a lessening of the greed factor. Right there we have ruled out a significant portion of corporate and political America, but, believe me, it is necessary.
In order to get through this we have to hit the problem from both ends, both in the reduction of costs and in revenue growth. A huge factor is the cost of fuel, which is directly related to infrastructure. If we spent the time to put in place the infrastructure to handle and distribute alternative fuels, gas prices would plummet. Nothing balances a market like competition, and building that infrastructure would add thousands of high quality jobs. The greed factor could be handled by adding in real oversight that included stiff fines and even jail time for corruption, including that of politicians. If such oversight upsets some of the powerful and prevents certain multinational corporations from participating, so much the better, who needs ‘em? This country has plenty of smaller and smarter firms willing to step in and grow. This could be a chance for Obama to put his pen where his mouth is and prove he actually is for the little guy.
Another area is education. Our elected leaders claim they are for excellence in education, but they just don’t want to pay for it. If we diverted one tenth of the money we send overseas and put it into education, not administration, we would have enough to pay teachers what they are really worth, build schools large enough to accommodate all of the students and put every text book and tool they need into their hands. Imagine what we could do if we raised that amount to 20%. It’s high time the rest of the UN paid its portion of the freight any way.
Have you ever heard of the Toyota Volta? It is an electric car that looks good and can travel upwards of 250 miles on a single charge from a standard household outlet. Ever wonder why it isn’t offered for sale? How about the Mini Cooper Hybrid that gets 85 miles to the gallon with no loss of acceleration? It isn’t allowed to be sold in the US. Ever wonder why? The answers to these questions can be had in Washington, if you can get them to talk.
Just north of Las Vegas, up I15 before you get to the town of Mesquite, there is a long stretch of BLM land that would be ideal for an industrial development. Imagine putting in plants to build cars like the Cooper Hybrid and the Volta. Do you think the companies would have problems selling them? Absolutely not. Of course, we would have to deal with the greed factor again. This means that executives would have to trim their wages back far enough so that factory workers could be paid a real living wage without the crippling financial effect the unions had on Detroit. It can be done if all sides can actually work together.
In the Armagosa Valley there is a dairy. Because of milk price controls (the price is kept high, not low), the dairy is not allowed to sell all of its production. A deal was worked out so a gourmet ice cream company could build a plant across the street from the dairy to turn the overproduction into ice cream. Nevada and California sued to prevent the plant from being built because of “environmental concerns”. Now Utah has yet another prospering concern adding to its fortunes.
Ever since gambling was legalized in Nevada, tourists have been crowding I15 as the flow in from California. Train tracks run along that route for most of the way. A commuter train has been discussed without resolution for about as long. The problem is that no one can decide who pays what. This is where the heavy hand of Washington is needed. The same way the legislature is being forced to fund education if they want to get federal dollars, the same can be used to bring commuter travel into this century. Force a joint state public private partnership. Do not allow corruption of favoritism to enter in by jailing anyone, regardless of who they are, and that includes mayors and governors if they break the law, and begin building. The cost can be paid by the use of tickets and tools. Commuter choice can be enhanced by also maintaining a free travel highway for those who don’t mind traveling at a slower pace.
Home ownership is one of the big ones right now. With so many banks crumbling because they allowed themselves to be sucked into the ACORN ponzi scheme, a radical restructuring needs to be done. Even if a mortgage holder is upside down, there was a point where they were able to pay the monthly freight on the mortgage. A great number of the failures, excluding those idiots who purchased multiple homes hoping for a quick flip, were brought on because the bank raised the interest rates and refused to back down on that rate even when it became apparent they would have to eat the loan. All they have to do is reduce that rate down to a level where the original mortgagee can again make a payment, even if that level is below prime. A little profit is better than a loss. This is again where greed has to take a back seat. There is nothing wrong in flying coach instead of buying an over-priced private jet.
The recipe is, education, enforced corporate and governmental honesty, public-private partnerships, the ignoring of bothersome environmental suits only intended to prevent growth, and common sense. That last component is the rarest of all.
The way out of this mess is so simple and straight forward that it is not at all surprising every single political leader missed it. One good reason is that part of the recipe demands a lessening of the greed factor. Right there we have ruled out a significant portion of corporate and political America, but, believe me, it is necessary.
In order to get through this we have to hit the problem from both ends, both in the reduction of costs and in revenue growth. A huge factor is the cost of fuel, which is directly related to infrastructure. If we spent the time to put in place the infrastructure to handle and distribute alternative fuels, gas prices would plummet. Nothing balances a market like competition, and building that infrastructure would add thousands of high quality jobs. The greed factor could be handled by adding in real oversight that included stiff fines and even jail time for corruption, including that of politicians. If such oversight upsets some of the powerful and prevents certain multinational corporations from participating, so much the better, who needs ‘em? This country has plenty of smaller and smarter firms willing to step in and grow. This could be a chance for Obama to put his pen where his mouth is and prove he actually is for the little guy.
Another area is education. Our elected leaders claim they are for excellence in education, but they just don’t want to pay for it. If we diverted one tenth of the money we send overseas and put it into education, not administration, we would have enough to pay teachers what they are really worth, build schools large enough to accommodate all of the students and put every text book and tool they need into their hands. Imagine what we could do if we raised that amount to 20%. It’s high time the rest of the UN paid its portion of the freight any way.
Have you ever heard of the Toyota Volta? It is an electric car that looks good and can travel upwards of 250 miles on a single charge from a standard household outlet. Ever wonder why it isn’t offered for sale? How about the Mini Cooper Hybrid that gets 85 miles to the gallon with no loss of acceleration? It isn’t allowed to be sold in the US. Ever wonder why? The answers to these questions can be had in Washington, if you can get them to talk.
Just north of Las Vegas, up I15 before you get to the town of Mesquite, there is a long stretch of BLM land that would be ideal for an industrial development. Imagine putting in plants to build cars like the Cooper Hybrid and the Volta. Do you think the companies would have problems selling them? Absolutely not. Of course, we would have to deal with the greed factor again. This means that executives would have to trim their wages back far enough so that factory workers could be paid a real living wage without the crippling financial effect the unions had on Detroit. It can be done if all sides can actually work together.
In the Armagosa Valley there is a dairy. Because of milk price controls (the price is kept high, not low), the dairy is not allowed to sell all of its production. A deal was worked out so a gourmet ice cream company could build a plant across the street from the dairy to turn the overproduction into ice cream. Nevada and California sued to prevent the plant from being built because of “environmental concerns”. Now Utah has yet another prospering concern adding to its fortunes.
Ever since gambling was legalized in Nevada, tourists have been crowding I15 as the flow in from California. Train tracks run along that route for most of the way. A commuter train has been discussed without resolution for about as long. The problem is that no one can decide who pays what. This is where the heavy hand of Washington is needed. The same way the legislature is being forced to fund education if they want to get federal dollars, the same can be used to bring commuter travel into this century. Force a joint state public private partnership. Do not allow corruption of favoritism to enter in by jailing anyone, regardless of who they are, and that includes mayors and governors if they break the law, and begin building. The cost can be paid by the use of tickets and tools. Commuter choice can be enhanced by also maintaining a free travel highway for those who don’t mind traveling at a slower pace.
Home ownership is one of the big ones right now. With so many banks crumbling because they allowed themselves to be sucked into the ACORN ponzi scheme, a radical restructuring needs to be done. Even if a mortgage holder is upside down, there was a point where they were able to pay the monthly freight on the mortgage. A great number of the failures, excluding those idiots who purchased multiple homes hoping for a quick flip, were brought on because the bank raised the interest rates and refused to back down on that rate even when it became apparent they would have to eat the loan. All they have to do is reduce that rate down to a level where the original mortgagee can again make a payment, even if that level is below prime. A little profit is better than a loss. This is again where greed has to take a back seat. There is nothing wrong in flying coach instead of buying an over-priced private jet.
The recipe is, education, enforced corporate and governmental honesty, public-private partnerships, the ignoring of bothersome environmental suits only intended to prevent growth, and common sense. That last component is the rarest of all.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The United Way? United for whom?
The inability of some executives and organizations to recognize certain facts amazes me. In the world of politics, for example, the average citizen is viewed by politicians with about the same respect they reserve for deep fried shrimp. To political office holders, John Q. Public has roughly the same intelligence level as lint. In actual practice the reverse is true. The public isn’t stupid; they’re just treated that way.
Take the current financial crisis we are going through. A few weeks ago, several hundred teachers in the Nevada School System were given their walking papers. As contracted employees they will finish out the year, but then they will have to find new jobs. Have any of those firing these teachers taken cuts in salary to save a job or two? The cynical answer is the right one. To compound the insult, a few days ago these teachers had to attend a mandatory meeting with a United Way representative asking for handouts.
Whoever planned this had to have been at such a rarified level of administration that their brain has atrophied from lack of oxygen. You do not tell employees you have just fired that they now have to donate a portion of the penny-ante salary you pay them. The United Way tells every one that every cent of their donation goes to charity, that none of it goes toward administrative costs. The one telling this manages to say this with a straight face while wearing a very expensive suit and showing a Hollywood quality video. Yes, and politicians always tell the truth.
The Nevada Legislature is now in session. At the top of the discussion is what to do about the mandate attached to Obama’s stimulus package. In order to qualify, Nevada has to replace nearly 300 million of the dollars it just took away from education. To hear some of the GOP leaders like Bill Raggio, you would think Washington was asking them to give up drinking.
I told these leaders how to solve their budget problem. I told them over two years ago. They didn’t listen and I doubt they understand how to solve it now. The problem lies in an inability to think pragmatically. To them, the public consists of a flock of sheep. Their constituencies are the campaign donors and the businesses paying for all the little perks that make political office so attractive. The flock gets sheared and the donors and politicians reap the rewards. This is the way it has always been…until now. The public has begun to hold back their dollars and the legislature is running scared. Their greatest fear is that they might actually have to do their job and do it honestly. Obama’s mandate was a superb piece of manuvering.
Take the current financial crisis we are going through. A few weeks ago, several hundred teachers in the Nevada School System were given their walking papers. As contracted employees they will finish out the year, but then they will have to find new jobs. Have any of those firing these teachers taken cuts in salary to save a job or two? The cynical answer is the right one. To compound the insult, a few days ago these teachers had to attend a mandatory meeting with a United Way representative asking for handouts.
Whoever planned this had to have been at such a rarified level of administration that their brain has atrophied from lack of oxygen. You do not tell employees you have just fired that they now have to donate a portion of the penny-ante salary you pay them. The United Way tells every one that every cent of their donation goes to charity, that none of it goes toward administrative costs. The one telling this manages to say this with a straight face while wearing a very expensive suit and showing a Hollywood quality video. Yes, and politicians always tell the truth.
The Nevada Legislature is now in session. At the top of the discussion is what to do about the mandate attached to Obama’s stimulus package. In order to qualify, Nevada has to replace nearly 300 million of the dollars it just took away from education. To hear some of the GOP leaders like Bill Raggio, you would think Washington was asking them to give up drinking.
I told these leaders how to solve their budget problem. I told them over two years ago. They didn’t listen and I doubt they understand how to solve it now. The problem lies in an inability to think pragmatically. To them, the public consists of a flock of sheep. Their constituencies are the campaign donors and the businesses paying for all the little perks that make political office so attractive. The flock gets sheared and the donors and politicians reap the rewards. This is the way it has always been…until now. The public has begun to hold back their dollars and the legislature is running scared. Their greatest fear is that they might actually have to do their job and do it honestly. Obama’s mandate was a superb piece of manuvering.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Nevada Needs a Lotery
As of 2008, when Arkansas joined in, a total of 43 states have amended or re-written their constitutions to allow for a legal lottery. Two protectorates, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands each operate a lottery along with The District of Columbia.
If you go to Wikipedia and search for states with lotteries you will see a concise list and the style of lottery game they play. There is also a site maintained by the American Gaming Association that displays a list of U.S. States participating in Commercial Casinos, Indian Casinos, Lotteries, Pari-mutuel Wagering, Racetrack Casinos, and Charitable Gaming.
All of these lists are easily cross-checked. A search for Nevada will show that outside of commercial casinos, the state has almost no presence in any other style of gaming. A search of states with lotteries will show quite the opposite. States with lotteries also share the wealth with Indian Casinos, Pari-Mutual, Racetracks and Charitable Gaming. It takes a bit of digging, but the diligent searcher will discover that those states with Indian Casinos, Commercial Casinos and lotteries are also states where the companies behind commercial gaming in Nevada have a strong presence. You will also find that those states charge far higher gaming tax rates than Nevada. This begs the question, why, if those companies can easily afford to maintain casinos in a state with both higher taxes and a lottery, does gaming in Nevada claim that Nevada cannot afford a lottery, much less a raise in the gaming tax?
Besides having a run in the Nevada Legislature, I worked for nearly 20 years in gaming design as a graphic artist. I learned from the inside just how much intensity goes into gaining a gaming license in states outside of Nevada. Many of the major players on the Las Vegas strip have effectively gotten down onto their knees and begged to be allowed to build a property in places like Gulfport, knowing full well that they would pay a tax upwards of fives times higher than that in Nevada. When Governor Jim Gibbons suggested taking a half-cent from the room tax given to the resort association’s tourism board and using it to pay for road repair, the association nearly had a stroke.
The careful reader will notice a distinct disparity here. Gaming has run Nevada for so long that it cannot conceive of any other situation. If this state’s economy is to ever recover, it has to rely on other sources of income, but it also has to use pragmatism rather than favoritism in its tax policy. If a company can prosper in a state with a lottery while paying a higher tax rate, than it can certainly do so in Nevada. A rough run of the numbers shows that Nevada could increase its tax income by a half billion dollars simply by allowing a state lottery. Approximately half that amount goes to neighboring California and Arizona each year because they have lotteries and Nevada does not. The reason Nevada’s Legislature has not voted to allow a lottery? Key leaders in the State Senate and Assembly have been told by gaming that their campaigns would suffer if they allowed that to happen.
Right now Nevada’s Governor is suggesting that the state has to slash the education budget by nearly 50% in order to balance the budget. He has suggested this without even once looking at the end result of such an action. He has also refused to consider any common sense solutions that consider the raising of revenue. Allowing a future generation to suffer in order to save the present generation a few pennies is not being conservative, it is being foolish. Allowing the tax payer to choose whether or not to pay a tax is common sense and fits right in with the thinking of the founding fathers. Allowing Nevada to have a lottery is a good first step.
If you go to Wikipedia and search for states with lotteries you will see a concise list and the style of lottery game they play. There is also a site maintained by the American Gaming Association that displays a list of U.S. States participating in Commercial Casinos, Indian Casinos, Lotteries, Pari-mutuel Wagering, Racetrack Casinos, and Charitable Gaming.
All of these lists are easily cross-checked. A search for Nevada will show that outside of commercial casinos, the state has almost no presence in any other style of gaming. A search of states with lotteries will show quite the opposite. States with lotteries also share the wealth with Indian Casinos, Pari-Mutual, Racetracks and Charitable Gaming. It takes a bit of digging, but the diligent searcher will discover that those states with Indian Casinos, Commercial Casinos and lotteries are also states where the companies behind commercial gaming in Nevada have a strong presence. You will also find that those states charge far higher gaming tax rates than Nevada. This begs the question, why, if those companies can easily afford to maintain casinos in a state with both higher taxes and a lottery, does gaming in Nevada claim that Nevada cannot afford a lottery, much less a raise in the gaming tax?
Besides having a run in the Nevada Legislature, I worked for nearly 20 years in gaming design as a graphic artist. I learned from the inside just how much intensity goes into gaining a gaming license in states outside of Nevada. Many of the major players on the Las Vegas strip have effectively gotten down onto their knees and begged to be allowed to build a property in places like Gulfport, knowing full well that they would pay a tax upwards of fives times higher than that in Nevada. When Governor Jim Gibbons suggested taking a half-cent from the room tax given to the resort association’s tourism board and using it to pay for road repair, the association nearly had a stroke.
The careful reader will notice a distinct disparity here. Gaming has run Nevada for so long that it cannot conceive of any other situation. If this state’s economy is to ever recover, it has to rely on other sources of income, but it also has to use pragmatism rather than favoritism in its tax policy. If a company can prosper in a state with a lottery while paying a higher tax rate, than it can certainly do so in Nevada. A rough run of the numbers shows that Nevada could increase its tax income by a half billion dollars simply by allowing a state lottery. Approximately half that amount goes to neighboring California and Arizona each year because they have lotteries and Nevada does not. The reason Nevada’s Legislature has not voted to allow a lottery? Key leaders in the State Senate and Assembly have been told by gaming that their campaigns would suffer if they allowed that to happen.
Right now Nevada’s Governor is suggesting that the state has to slash the education budget by nearly 50% in order to balance the budget. He has suggested this without even once looking at the end result of such an action. He has also refused to consider any common sense solutions that consider the raising of revenue. Allowing a future generation to suffer in order to save the present generation a few pennies is not being conservative, it is being foolish. Allowing the tax payer to choose whether or not to pay a tax is common sense and fits right in with the thinking of the founding fathers. Allowing Nevada to have a lottery is a good first step.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
In A Recession Being a Politician Pays
Near the end of the 2007 Nevada Legislative Session, Richard Perkins, the City of Henderson’s Police Chief paid a lobbying visit to my office in the Assembly’s wing of the Nevada Legislature. When he left, I had a feeling I should take a shower to wash off the corruption. Yesterday an article appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal that confirmed that feeling.
The Henderson Chamber of Commerce refused to support my reelection because I stood up to a corrupt casino owner. Terry Graves, on of the officers and a chief lobbyist for the chamber was particularly upset about that perceived betrayal of Republican values. To today’s GOP, there is little difference between Republican and Democrat. They both value campaign dollars above human life. As the Assembly Speaker, Mr. Perkins cost Henderson Businesses millions more by raising taxes that what I would have by forcing some honesty into the system. Perkins is the one they hired at a retainer of $10,000 a month.
Politics has developed an ingrained system of corrupt behavior and corrupt deals. All of these dealings and doings violate the law, and in some cases the ones doing the violation wrote the laws they break. If that sounds monumentally cynical, it is. It reminds me of a story of two politicians arguing. In the middle of the argument, one stands and shouts at the other, “You’re a liar!” The one accused nods and replies, “Of course I am, but hear me out!”
In the Nevada Revised Statutes there is a provision that forbids a public servant from acting as a lobbyist before a certain period of time has elapsed. This is a sort of “cooling off” period. During his time as Assembly Speaker, Mr. Perkins expressed concern over those who violated that rule. Apparently the rules do not apply where he is concerned. We have yet another case of a politician following the “do as I say, not as I do” doctrine.
As reported, Richard Perkins left the Henderson Police Force with a lifetime pension of $99,400 a year. The City of Henderson, paying that pension, seems to have money to burn because they granted their ex-police chief a one time separation payment of $242,132 and will be paying him $120,000 per year to lobby the legislature. The legislature only meets every other year, and only for 16 weeks, but Perkins will receive his salary every year. Not bad for part time work.
What is remarkable is that according to Nevada law, it is illegal part time work. Remember, according to the law, public servants cannot be hired as lobbyists right out of retirement. The City of Henderson and Mr. Perkins claim to have gotten around the law by hiring a corporation, not a person. The corporation? Richard Perkins, Inc.
The Henderson Chamber of Commerce refused to support my reelection because I stood up to a corrupt casino owner. Terry Graves, on of the officers and a chief lobbyist for the chamber was particularly upset about that perceived betrayal of Republican values. To today’s GOP, there is little difference between Republican and Democrat. They both value campaign dollars above human life. As the Assembly Speaker, Mr. Perkins cost Henderson Businesses millions more by raising taxes that what I would have by forcing some honesty into the system. Perkins is the one they hired at a retainer of $10,000 a month.
Politics has developed an ingrained system of corrupt behavior and corrupt deals. All of these dealings and doings violate the law, and in some cases the ones doing the violation wrote the laws they break. If that sounds monumentally cynical, it is. It reminds me of a story of two politicians arguing. In the middle of the argument, one stands and shouts at the other, “You’re a liar!” The one accused nods and replies, “Of course I am, but hear me out!”
In the Nevada Revised Statutes there is a provision that forbids a public servant from acting as a lobbyist before a certain period of time has elapsed. This is a sort of “cooling off” period. During his time as Assembly Speaker, Mr. Perkins expressed concern over those who violated that rule. Apparently the rules do not apply where he is concerned. We have yet another case of a politician following the “do as I say, not as I do” doctrine.
As reported, Richard Perkins left the Henderson Police Force with a lifetime pension of $99,400 a year. The City of Henderson, paying that pension, seems to have money to burn because they granted their ex-police chief a one time separation payment of $242,132 and will be paying him $120,000 per year to lobby the legislature. The legislature only meets every other year, and only for 16 weeks, but Perkins will receive his salary every year. Not bad for part time work.
What is remarkable is that according to Nevada law, it is illegal part time work. Remember, according to the law, public servants cannot be hired as lobbyists right out of retirement. The City of Henderson and Mr. Perkins claim to have gotten around the law by hiring a corporation, not a person. The corporation? Richard Perkins, Inc.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Workers Compensation? Not if you’re the Worker.
NRS 616D.030 Limitation of liability of insurer or third-party administrator; administrative fines are exclusive remedies.
1. No cause of action may be brought or maintained against an insurer or a third-party administrator who violates any provision of this chapter or chapter 616A, 616B, 616C or 617 of NRS.
2. The administrative fines provided for in NRS 616B.318 and 616D.120 are the exclusive remedies for any violation of this chapter or chapter 616A, 616B, 616C or 617 of NRS committed by an insurer or a third-party administrator.
The above provision in the Nevada Revised Statutes is a nasty bit of legislation designed to allow an insurance carrier to lie, cheat, steal, and even commit third-party murder and get away with it. Section 1 says that the policy holder cannot sue the insurance company or any of its agents even if they act in bad faith. Section 2 says that the fines the administration, read insurance commissioner, a politician reliant on the industry for his office, is all that can be done.
So, if a health insurance company or a workers compensation carrier decides that cheating a policyholder is more profitable than paying for desperately needed care, there is nothing the injured party can do. The Nevada Legislature, slave to dishonest business interests, said so.
As a Nevada Assemblyman, I was given a tour of the executive offices of Health Plan of Nevada, the state’s largest HMO. The office of HPN’s CEO was a single room larger than my house and outfitted in a splendor that would have embarrassed royalty. That is where the majority of your insurance premiums go. Why do you think the legal profession has made itself rich by building a business squeezing out a slightly larger award than what the insurance company wants to hand out?
An insurance policy is a contract and in any other circumstance a contract binds both parties equally. Somehow, in this case, the odds have shifted over toward one side. Now insurance is not a promise of coverage but more of a ponzi scheme. The policy holder saves a tiny percentage over what they may have paid for their loss while the CEO of the company issuing that coverage buys a new corporate jet.
One of the most prestigious hospitals in the world is the Mayo Clinic. That clinic is non-profit because those who started it felt that it would be immoral to profit off of peoples’ suffering. I tend to agree. In fact, the medical profession should no more be a path to wealth than being a pastor in a church. Health Insurance and Workers Compensation Insurance should also be non-profit industries. I ran a quick check of the numbers. If health insurance and hospitalization went non-profit and its staff was paid a decent wage, the cost of healthcare would drop by over 50%.
Some claim that if such a program were implemented, we would descend into the same morass that Canada’s socialized system endures. Not true, people would still have to pay, but they would be paying less for more. Not more for less, which is what we have now. All we would be doing is removing the sharks from the pool, and that is not a bad thing.
1. No cause of action may be brought or maintained against an insurer or a third-party administrator who violates any provision of this chapter or chapter 616A, 616B, 616C or 617 of NRS.
2. The administrative fines provided for in NRS 616B.318 and 616D.120 are the exclusive remedies for any violation of this chapter or chapter 616A, 616B, 616C or 617 of NRS committed by an insurer or a third-party administrator.
The above provision in the Nevada Revised Statutes is a nasty bit of legislation designed to allow an insurance carrier to lie, cheat, steal, and even commit third-party murder and get away with it. Section 1 says that the policy holder cannot sue the insurance company or any of its agents even if they act in bad faith. Section 2 says that the fines the administration, read insurance commissioner, a politician reliant on the industry for his office, is all that can be done.
So, if a health insurance company or a workers compensation carrier decides that cheating a policyholder is more profitable than paying for desperately needed care, there is nothing the injured party can do. The Nevada Legislature, slave to dishonest business interests, said so.
As a Nevada Assemblyman, I was given a tour of the executive offices of Health Plan of Nevada, the state’s largest HMO. The office of HPN’s CEO was a single room larger than my house and outfitted in a splendor that would have embarrassed royalty. That is where the majority of your insurance premiums go. Why do you think the legal profession has made itself rich by building a business squeezing out a slightly larger award than what the insurance company wants to hand out?
An insurance policy is a contract and in any other circumstance a contract binds both parties equally. Somehow, in this case, the odds have shifted over toward one side. Now insurance is not a promise of coverage but more of a ponzi scheme. The policy holder saves a tiny percentage over what they may have paid for their loss while the CEO of the company issuing that coverage buys a new corporate jet.
One of the most prestigious hospitals in the world is the Mayo Clinic. That clinic is non-profit because those who started it felt that it would be immoral to profit off of peoples’ suffering. I tend to agree. In fact, the medical profession should no more be a path to wealth than being a pastor in a church. Health Insurance and Workers Compensation Insurance should also be non-profit industries. I ran a quick check of the numbers. If health insurance and hospitalization went non-profit and its staff was paid a decent wage, the cost of healthcare would drop by over 50%.
Some claim that if such a program were implemented, we would descend into the same morass that Canada’s socialized system endures. Not true, people would still have to pay, but they would be paying less for more. Not more for less, which is what we have now. All we would be doing is removing the sharks from the pool, and that is not a bad thing.
Friday, January 30, 2009
New Stimulus Package, Same Old Limp Results.
The U.S. House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, H.R. 1, on Wednesday. The vote was 244 to 188, with several Democrat members joining the GOP rebellion.
Most of the money would come through the government's two largest grant programs, Title I (for educating low-income children) and IDEA (aid for the learning disabled). The 2009 allocation also contains a large dose of money for building schools and fixing old ones. What the bill does not contain is any money for teachers, and there is a nasty little loophole that allows Washington to withhold the funds at a whim.
That loophole is a matching funds provision. States, such as Nevada, that are trying to solve their budget problems without real reform will be forced to come up with funding that matches what Washington is preparing to give. If they don’t, those monies are withheld. Governor Jim Gibbons’ budget, one that he put together without consulting a single affected entity, bases the majority of its core budget solution on reducing the state’s obligation to education by over 50%. This move is typical of the personalities that have taken over the power structure within the Republican Party. Ronald Reagan would never have condoned such a “solution”.
Today’s Republican Party, at least in my state of Nevada, has allowed itself to be co-opted by radical elements that claim to speak for all conservatives but don’t even belong to the party and by office holders who have gladly sold their ethics and honor for the promise of campaign funds. What is the saddest point of all is that the voters don’t seem to care about this. They consistently vote for whoever sends out the largest volume of ad material; especially if those ads promise the voter something for nothing. In the end all they get for that vote is nothing.
Where education is concerned, Nevada’s conservative pundits seem to have a huge blind spot. They write on a regular basis about failing to learn the lessons of history where tax policy is concerned, but at the same time they fail to see what we have done to our schools.
Few people remember now, but there was a time when the American Education System was the envy of the world. Back then teachers were allowed to teach without also having to be a secretary for the administration. They were allowed to exact real discipline without the threat of a lawsuit being held over their heads. Textbooks were thick and held real knowledge, undiluted by politically correct censorship.
Teachers’ wages were low, but so were the administrations’, so they all shared the same boat and they worked together to put out the best product they could, a student prepared to enter the working world.
Those who attack our public schools in the media offer little in the way of solutions, but this is typical of the type. For them, reaction is all they have, but like Governor Gibbons, they refuse to even discuss the issue with those they perceive as the enemy. So what do we do?
Private schools and vouchers are no solution. All those do is exempt the pundits and their supporters from the same burden of citizenship everyone else shares in. If we are to keep our country sovereign, we have to have a citizenry capable of meeting the challenges of this world head on, and they cannot do that if they cannot read, write, or think. In order to succeed in this work we will have to upset and offend a significant portion of our population.
Groups that focus on a narrow band of human sexuality, either to the right of the left, will have to be told that their opinion does not matter where education is concerned. Groups who feel that the US Government is fascist or worse will have to be told much the same. Groups who feel that the color of a persons’ skin is paramount will have to be removed from the discussion. Most especially we will have to prevent the legal community from having anything to do with education. The only part any group should have in education is what they have left for the historical record. Policy, procedure and regulation that deal with any form of political correctness should be stringently outlawed, complete with penalties for any person or entity attempting to reestablish what has proven to be disastrous.
Uniforms, similar to those used by airline stewards and stewardesses, consisting of slacks, business casual shirt and sensible shoes need to replace the costumes typical to today. This would remove the focus in the students’ minds on how they look to what they are doing. Vocabulary should be stringently regulated, even outside of the classroom. I pods, cell phones, and other electronic distractions should be forbidden to be on campus. Those students who simply cannot abide the fact that others in the class may be learning something, will be corralled together with the rest of the Sweathogs and only allowed to learn the core subjects; reading, writing and arithmetic. Outside of the Sweathogs’ den, every school, from middle school on up, will have to teach education tracks relevant to a variety of careers with hands-on labs similar to the shop classes of days gone by.
If we can do this, we will again be the envy of the world. That may up set some, but honestly, would anybody care about that?
Most of the money would come through the government's two largest grant programs, Title I (for educating low-income children) and IDEA (aid for the learning disabled). The 2009 allocation also contains a large dose of money for building schools and fixing old ones. What the bill does not contain is any money for teachers, and there is a nasty little loophole that allows Washington to withhold the funds at a whim.
That loophole is a matching funds provision. States, such as Nevada, that are trying to solve their budget problems without real reform will be forced to come up with funding that matches what Washington is preparing to give. If they don’t, those monies are withheld. Governor Jim Gibbons’ budget, one that he put together without consulting a single affected entity, bases the majority of its core budget solution on reducing the state’s obligation to education by over 50%. This move is typical of the personalities that have taken over the power structure within the Republican Party. Ronald Reagan would never have condoned such a “solution”.
Today’s Republican Party, at least in my state of Nevada, has allowed itself to be co-opted by radical elements that claim to speak for all conservatives but don’t even belong to the party and by office holders who have gladly sold their ethics and honor for the promise of campaign funds. What is the saddest point of all is that the voters don’t seem to care about this. They consistently vote for whoever sends out the largest volume of ad material; especially if those ads promise the voter something for nothing. In the end all they get for that vote is nothing.
Where education is concerned, Nevada’s conservative pundits seem to have a huge blind spot. They write on a regular basis about failing to learn the lessons of history where tax policy is concerned, but at the same time they fail to see what we have done to our schools.
Few people remember now, but there was a time when the American Education System was the envy of the world. Back then teachers were allowed to teach without also having to be a secretary for the administration. They were allowed to exact real discipline without the threat of a lawsuit being held over their heads. Textbooks were thick and held real knowledge, undiluted by politically correct censorship.
Teachers’ wages were low, but so were the administrations’, so they all shared the same boat and they worked together to put out the best product they could, a student prepared to enter the working world.
Those who attack our public schools in the media offer little in the way of solutions, but this is typical of the type. For them, reaction is all they have, but like Governor Gibbons, they refuse to even discuss the issue with those they perceive as the enemy. So what do we do?
Private schools and vouchers are no solution. All those do is exempt the pundits and their supporters from the same burden of citizenship everyone else shares in. If we are to keep our country sovereign, we have to have a citizenry capable of meeting the challenges of this world head on, and they cannot do that if they cannot read, write, or think. In order to succeed in this work we will have to upset and offend a significant portion of our population.
Groups that focus on a narrow band of human sexuality, either to the right of the left, will have to be told that their opinion does not matter where education is concerned. Groups who feel that the US Government is fascist or worse will have to be told much the same. Groups who feel that the color of a persons’ skin is paramount will have to be removed from the discussion. Most especially we will have to prevent the legal community from having anything to do with education. The only part any group should have in education is what they have left for the historical record. Policy, procedure and regulation that deal with any form of political correctness should be stringently outlawed, complete with penalties for any person or entity attempting to reestablish what has proven to be disastrous.
Uniforms, similar to those used by airline stewards and stewardesses, consisting of slacks, business casual shirt and sensible shoes need to replace the costumes typical to today. This would remove the focus in the students’ minds on how they look to what they are doing. Vocabulary should be stringently regulated, even outside of the classroom. I pods, cell phones, and other electronic distractions should be forbidden to be on campus. Those students who simply cannot abide the fact that others in the class may be learning something, will be corralled together with the rest of the Sweathogs and only allowed to learn the core subjects; reading, writing and arithmetic. Outside of the Sweathogs’ den, every school, from middle school on up, will have to teach education tracks relevant to a variety of careers with hands-on labs similar to the shop classes of days gone by.
If we can do this, we will again be the envy of the world. That may up set some, but honestly, would anybody care about that?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Half-full or Half Empty? How about Broken?
Yesterday hundreds of teachers in Nevada were told that their jobs were gone. Not because they were incompetent or violating any one of school regulations. They were fired because the State of Nevada considered politics more important than education.
Nevada’s Governor, Jim Gibbons, an ex-fighter pilot and by training a geologist, made a campaign promise back in 2006 when he ran for that seat. He promised that he would not raise a single tax. Of course when he made that promise the economy was accelerating skyward and houses that originally sold fore $140,000 were being appraised at twice that amount. Just prior to his run, the state has issued a tax refund to nearly every citizen because of a massive surplus. And then the bubble burst.
As an Assemblyman, I saw the public face the legislature shows when they are on stage and I saw the other one they reveal only behind the scenes. Very few, Democrats or Republican, actually care whether or not the succeeding generations can read or write. What they care about is whether or not their next campaign is funded, and right after that, whether or not they can takes the reins of power by attaining a majority. Education? It’s not even in the top ten. To make matters worse, some on the GOP side actually consider public school to be dangerous for children. Not because of the prospect of drive-by shootings, gang violence or school bullies, but because of what they think may be taught. To them, every public school teacher is a flaming liberal and actively pushes the communist agenda. Nothing could be further from the truth, but these people live with the persona of the J. Edgar Hoover fifties imbedded within their persona. To them the Berlin Wall never fell and the Red Menace is running rampant through the halls of academia. I know dozens of teachers who supported Ron Paul and one of them is an official in the teachers’ union.
If that attitude weren’t so tragically cataclysmic, it would be laughable. The education glass in Nevada isn’t half empty or half full; it has fallen to the ground and shattered. The Governor is quite satisfied to allow million-dollar gifts to private citizens, to allow the Senate Majority Leader to violate the state constitution, ethics regulations and Senate Rules in order to grant waivers to campaign donors, and to claim a 300 million dollar rainy day fund does not exist, but he won’t spend a penny to save a teacher’s job. The mining industry pays only a half percent a year in taxes. Gaming, the other financial giant in this state pays less than 7 percent. The average worker and homeowner pays more than twice that, and many of them are teachers. What is wrong with this picture?
In Southern Nevada we pay the Superintendent of Schools over ten times what a beginning teacher is paid and he does less than half the work. The School District administration offices are a literal marble-lined palace while some schools have sections that have been listed as unsafe for occupation. The media is no help. One story on our local TV news stated that the average teacher in Nevada makes $52,000 a year. They got that figure by taking beginning teacher pay and adding it to what a PhD with 30 years of seniority would make and dividing by 2. What the report said was a lie. Most teachers make under 40 thousand a year and many are on food stamps while their principals are dining on fillet. Most teachers work over 60 hours a week while their principals may sometimes get up to 40. The 3 month vacation is another lie. The students get that. Teachers still have to work on preparing for the next school year, or did you think those lesson plans appeared by magic?
The system is broken. The position of teacher should be one of the most coveted jobs available. They should be teaching in palaces, not broken down portables. They should be making 6 figures a year, not the administration, and we should consider education to be as important to this country as National Defense. Because, if we don’t, we can kiss this nation good bye.
Nevada’s Governor, Jim Gibbons, an ex-fighter pilot and by training a geologist, made a campaign promise back in 2006 when he ran for that seat. He promised that he would not raise a single tax. Of course when he made that promise the economy was accelerating skyward and houses that originally sold fore $140,000 were being appraised at twice that amount. Just prior to his run, the state has issued a tax refund to nearly every citizen because of a massive surplus. And then the bubble burst.
As an Assemblyman, I saw the public face the legislature shows when they are on stage and I saw the other one they reveal only behind the scenes. Very few, Democrats or Republican, actually care whether or not the succeeding generations can read or write. What they care about is whether or not their next campaign is funded, and right after that, whether or not they can takes the reins of power by attaining a majority. Education? It’s not even in the top ten. To make matters worse, some on the GOP side actually consider public school to be dangerous for children. Not because of the prospect of drive-by shootings, gang violence or school bullies, but because of what they think may be taught. To them, every public school teacher is a flaming liberal and actively pushes the communist agenda. Nothing could be further from the truth, but these people live with the persona of the J. Edgar Hoover fifties imbedded within their persona. To them the Berlin Wall never fell and the Red Menace is running rampant through the halls of academia. I know dozens of teachers who supported Ron Paul and one of them is an official in the teachers’ union.
If that attitude weren’t so tragically cataclysmic, it would be laughable. The education glass in Nevada isn’t half empty or half full; it has fallen to the ground and shattered. The Governor is quite satisfied to allow million-dollar gifts to private citizens, to allow the Senate Majority Leader to violate the state constitution, ethics regulations and Senate Rules in order to grant waivers to campaign donors, and to claim a 300 million dollar rainy day fund does not exist, but he won’t spend a penny to save a teacher’s job. The mining industry pays only a half percent a year in taxes. Gaming, the other financial giant in this state pays less than 7 percent. The average worker and homeowner pays more than twice that, and many of them are teachers. What is wrong with this picture?
In Southern Nevada we pay the Superintendent of Schools over ten times what a beginning teacher is paid and he does less than half the work. The School District administration offices are a literal marble-lined palace while some schools have sections that have been listed as unsafe for occupation. The media is no help. One story on our local TV news stated that the average teacher in Nevada makes $52,000 a year. They got that figure by taking beginning teacher pay and adding it to what a PhD with 30 years of seniority would make and dividing by 2. What the report said was a lie. Most teachers make under 40 thousand a year and many are on food stamps while their principals are dining on fillet. Most teachers work over 60 hours a week while their principals may sometimes get up to 40. The 3 month vacation is another lie. The students get that. Teachers still have to work on preparing for the next school year, or did you think those lesson plans appeared by magic?
The system is broken. The position of teacher should be one of the most coveted jobs available. They should be teaching in palaces, not broken down portables. They should be making 6 figures a year, not the administration, and we should consider education to be as important to this country as National Defense. Because, if we don’t, we can kiss this nation good bye.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Let’s Play Political Football
Wikipedia offers this definition: A political football is a political topic or issue that is continually debated but left unresolved. The term is used often during a political election campaign to highlight issues that have not been completely addressed, such as the natural environment and abortion.
I have an addition for the Wikipedia page. A political football is also a topic that generates more hypocrisy than any other form of discussion. During my first few months in the world of politics I discovered that particular sport was not specific to any one of the political parties.
My first example is Illegal Immigration. On the Democrat side the football becomes one of so called “human rights” where the people breaking the U.S. immigration laws somehow have been granted rights above and beyond those of natural and naturalized citizens. On the Republican side, those violating our border are criminals, unless they suddenly become a valuable resource in protecting the bottom line of big business by working under the table. The reasons are quite different but both parties are refusing to resolve the issue, much less even come close to it. The real issue is that the United States is a sovereign country and should act as such. Immigration has rules for good reasons and the U.S. labor laws are also in place for good reasons. The hypocrisy of both parties on this issue has no good reason.
The second example is capital punishment. The left views capital punishment as cruel and unusual and claims the state has no right to kill people. At the same time they champion the killing of unborn children and support terrorist organizations overseas actively involved in the killing of innocents. The right is no better. They have allowed the laws involved around capital punishment to metastasize into a cancerous tangle that has reduced the effectiveness of the punishment to a moot point. Execution is not there to provide entertainment value or even revenge. It is there to act as a deterrent just as every other law with a stick attached to it is put in place. Our government isn’t interested in exacting punishment, it is interested in promoting good behavior, and yes, there is a difference between god and bad behavior.
The last example is abortion. It ties in with capital punishment because of a particular hypocrisy of the left. It is almost a certainty that most of the supporters of abortion know that a human life is being destroyed each time an abortion is performed. They also know that well over 99% of all abortions occur without a medical necessity. They simply cannot acknowledge that realization because of political necessity. The party agenda is far more important than human life…check that, human life that cannot vote.
I received several rather incendiary comments on this topic because I used the example of a woman’s unborn child being killed and the killer not being sentenced for the murder of that child. The point was missed, and I doubt it will ever be got. The person who pulled that trigger should be sentenced just as stringently for the killing of an unborn child as they would be for the killing of a 50 year old man. The age, sex, race, or economic status of a life should not matter. Wanton killing is wanton killing, regardless of the circumstance of the victim. Where are NOW, the ACLU and every other abortion rights group on this issue? They are silent as is to be expected, because the life of a child in the womb is nothing to them. They have their own agenda and that is the furtherance of their own political power. This football is simply a means to an end.
The right has its own problems where this issue is concerned. A few churches and several individuals have acted with the same fanaticism as members of the Taliban. The bombing of clinics and the killing of doctors have done nothing but place their cause in a bad light. Breaking the law is not the answer. Committing murder certainly is not the answer. Education is and it is going to take a long, long time because, though individuals may be intelligent, people are stupid. Just take a look at what we think is good television if you don’t believe me.
I have an addition for the Wikipedia page. A political football is also a topic that generates more hypocrisy than any other form of discussion. During my first few months in the world of politics I discovered that particular sport was not specific to any one of the political parties.
My first example is Illegal Immigration. On the Democrat side the football becomes one of so called “human rights” where the people breaking the U.S. immigration laws somehow have been granted rights above and beyond those of natural and naturalized citizens. On the Republican side, those violating our border are criminals, unless they suddenly become a valuable resource in protecting the bottom line of big business by working under the table. The reasons are quite different but both parties are refusing to resolve the issue, much less even come close to it. The real issue is that the United States is a sovereign country and should act as such. Immigration has rules for good reasons and the U.S. labor laws are also in place for good reasons. The hypocrisy of both parties on this issue has no good reason.
The second example is capital punishment. The left views capital punishment as cruel and unusual and claims the state has no right to kill people. At the same time they champion the killing of unborn children and support terrorist organizations overseas actively involved in the killing of innocents. The right is no better. They have allowed the laws involved around capital punishment to metastasize into a cancerous tangle that has reduced the effectiveness of the punishment to a moot point. Execution is not there to provide entertainment value or even revenge. It is there to act as a deterrent just as every other law with a stick attached to it is put in place. Our government isn’t interested in exacting punishment, it is interested in promoting good behavior, and yes, there is a difference between god and bad behavior.
The last example is abortion. It ties in with capital punishment because of a particular hypocrisy of the left. It is almost a certainty that most of the supporters of abortion know that a human life is being destroyed each time an abortion is performed. They also know that well over 99% of all abortions occur without a medical necessity. They simply cannot acknowledge that realization because of political necessity. The party agenda is far more important than human life…check that, human life that cannot vote.
I received several rather incendiary comments on this topic because I used the example of a woman’s unborn child being killed and the killer not being sentenced for the murder of that child. The point was missed, and I doubt it will ever be got. The person who pulled that trigger should be sentenced just as stringently for the killing of an unborn child as they would be for the killing of a 50 year old man. The age, sex, race, or economic status of a life should not matter. Wanton killing is wanton killing, regardless of the circumstance of the victim. Where are NOW, the ACLU and every other abortion rights group on this issue? They are silent as is to be expected, because the life of a child in the womb is nothing to them. They have their own agenda and that is the furtherance of their own political power. This football is simply a means to an end.
The right has its own problems where this issue is concerned. A few churches and several individuals have acted with the same fanaticism as members of the Taliban. The bombing of clinics and the killing of doctors have done nothing but place their cause in a bad light. Breaking the law is not the answer. Committing murder certainly is not the answer. Education is and it is going to take a long, long time because, though individuals may be intelligent, people are stupid. Just take a look at what we think is good television if you don’t believe me.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Pro-Death crowd is back.
I was going to write about another subject but a series of comments I received pushed that idea back for a day. They were all directed at one of the columns with regard to abortion. As anyone who reads this column will know, I am an unashamed proponent of life. I know (which is far stronger of a stance than mere belief) that life begins at the moment of conception. There is far too much science that proves this. The question is really when do any rights of humanity become endowed upon this life?
That question I posed is enough to send many of the pro-death crowd into a screaming frenzy because if what we now call the de-humanizing terms of zygote, fetus, etc, is recognized for what it really is, what they now see as a fundamental right becomes rather an act of legalized murder. What is really interesting is that many of this group will also stand vigil protesting the execution of a serial killer whose primary target was children.
If anyone will notice, I have not once said that an abortionist or their “patient” does not have the right to do what they do, yet these comments fairly shrieked that accusation attempting to shame me into silence. One comment was not allowed to be published because it used profanity, in spite of the prohibition for that sort of language clearly posted in the comment box. Apparently some folks can write but not read.
Throughout all the columns on this subject my single push has been to inject honesty into the discussion; honesty based on actual science and biological evidence not politically correct terminology. The problem, as exhibited by the comments, is that at least one side of the discussion cannot deal with such honesty, so I will, with glee, express it yet again.
I want a member of the pro-death camp to answer this question honestly and without rancor: what is the result of human conception if it is not human? I can almost guarantee that not one of them will give a well-reasoned answer because the only correct answer is “human life”. There are stages within the growth of this life that it has yet to achieve sentience and there are stages where it is completely reliant on the mother for sustaining that life, but if not human, what is it?
You see, when the rhetoric is broken down and the discussion is brought to fundamentals there is no room left for semantics and this is what really bothers the fanatics on both sides. Where abortion is concerned, most of the fanatics live on the left but not all of them. Those who shoot abortionists are just as wrong as those doctors who violate their oath by hiding behind contracts. The Hippocratic Oath as translated from the Greek is,
“I swear by Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath.
To consider dear to me, as my parents, him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and, if necessary, to share my goods with him; To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art.
I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.
I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion.
But I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts.
I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.
In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves.
All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal.
If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.”
There is no room in the oath, if it is followed honestly, to perform an abortion. If the comments to my blog are read, you will see that the writers did not bother to do any research, they simply reacted because I was disputing an article of their faith. They call for tolerance, but react with intolerance when someone disagrees with them. The comments give ample evidence to that, but if you will notice, I published them…except when profanity is used.
For those who didn’t pay attention in school, profanity is the four-letter dialogue you commonly use when your mother isn’t listening.
That question I posed is enough to send many of the pro-death crowd into a screaming frenzy because if what we now call the de-humanizing terms of zygote, fetus, etc, is recognized for what it really is, what they now see as a fundamental right becomes rather an act of legalized murder. What is really interesting is that many of this group will also stand vigil protesting the execution of a serial killer whose primary target was children.
If anyone will notice, I have not once said that an abortionist or their “patient” does not have the right to do what they do, yet these comments fairly shrieked that accusation attempting to shame me into silence. One comment was not allowed to be published because it used profanity, in spite of the prohibition for that sort of language clearly posted in the comment box. Apparently some folks can write but not read.
Throughout all the columns on this subject my single push has been to inject honesty into the discussion; honesty based on actual science and biological evidence not politically correct terminology. The problem, as exhibited by the comments, is that at least one side of the discussion cannot deal with such honesty, so I will, with glee, express it yet again.
I want a member of the pro-death camp to answer this question honestly and without rancor: what is the result of human conception if it is not human? I can almost guarantee that not one of them will give a well-reasoned answer because the only correct answer is “human life”. There are stages within the growth of this life that it has yet to achieve sentience and there are stages where it is completely reliant on the mother for sustaining that life, but if not human, what is it?
You see, when the rhetoric is broken down and the discussion is brought to fundamentals there is no room left for semantics and this is what really bothers the fanatics on both sides. Where abortion is concerned, most of the fanatics live on the left but not all of them. Those who shoot abortionists are just as wrong as those doctors who violate their oath by hiding behind contracts. The Hippocratic Oath as translated from the Greek is,
“I swear by Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath.
To consider dear to me, as my parents, him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and, if necessary, to share my goods with him; To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art.
I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.
I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion.
But I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts.
I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.
In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves.
All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal.
If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.”
There is no room in the oath, if it is followed honestly, to perform an abortion. If the comments to my blog are read, you will see that the writers did not bother to do any research, they simply reacted because I was disputing an article of their faith. They call for tolerance, but react with intolerance when someone disagrees with them. The comments give ample evidence to that, but if you will notice, I published them…except when profanity is used.
For those who didn’t pay attention in school, profanity is the four-letter dialogue you commonly use when your mother isn’t listening.
Friday, January 16, 2009
We Don’t Need No Steenking Education!
Last night Governor Jim Gibbons of Nevada issued his State of the State address. Because Governor Gibbons made a promise of not raising any taxes at all, Nevada’s economic woes grew right along with its population while revenues went down. Governor Gibbon’s solution to this pressing need for more money? Fire teachers.
Before I go into just how imbecilic his suggestion is, let’s explore the region of common sense. Nevada is a unique state. It is the only one where gaming is allowed state wide. New Jersey has Atlantic City and a few others have Indian Casinos, but they are not Nevada. To build a casino anywhere else other than Nevada, a gaming company has to convince that state that allowing them in is a good thing, translate that as “profitable”. The gaming taxes for the successful bidder can be as high as a full third of the gross profits. In Nevada the gaming tax is less than ten percent and it is not calculated on the gross, but the net. For some of the companies this winds up as less than one percent a year. It is no wonder that a good portion of the gaming CEOs in Nevada own their own jets and commute from their Oceanside estates in Southern California.
Mining is the other primary business in Nevada. More gold comes out of Nevada’s ground than any other state in the union. The mining industry pays an effective .5% a year in taxes while the sale price of gold continues to skyrocket. Barbara K. Cegvaske, the State Senator for District 8 in Nevada told a group of teachers being threatened with the loss of their careers that if the state raised taxes on mining to save the teachers’ jobs, mining would leave the state. I’ve had the misfortune to speak with Senator Cegvaske. You would not be blinded by her intellect. It is very likely she actually believes what she says. More’s the pity. Gold is found deep within the ground. If mining left the state, where will the mineral they seek be? Mining technology has improved since the gold rush, but I doubt it has climbed to the level where they could take the mountains with them when they go.
Governor Gibbons has a problem he did not mention in his address; he has no veto power. The last election eliminated the Republican leadership in the State Senate and gave the Democrat Speaker in the State Assembly a veto-proof majority. The power shift in the Assembly can be placed onto the shoulders of one man, George Harris, publisher of a poorly written rag called Liberty Watch. Harris never forgave me for defeating his anointed candidate, Kris Munn for the District 21 Assembly seat. That made me the 15th vote in the Assembly on the Republican side. Because of that position, I was able to block a couple of measures that would have severely impacted small business’s ability to survive in Nevada. Harris spent a fortune attacking me in the last primary. Because of that and a record low Republican turn out at the polls, Harris’ puppet got into the general. I was quite happy to help the Democrat Candidate Ellen Spiegel win the seat. Because of Harris, the Governor has no power over legislation at all. The question is whether or not the legislature has the wisdom to do what is right.
Most legislators have more than one face, the one they show in public and the one they wear in private. While in the legislature, I learned what most Republican legislators think of public education. They consider teachers in public schools the enemy. A few of them actually think teachers are a danger to their children. They make the error of confusing the teachers union and its political agenda with teachers. It is impossible to convince them otherwise. I’ve tried.
If the Nevada Legislature does the right thing and raises revenue properly, we have a hope of becoming a better state. If they act as they have in the past and continue to kowtow to the spoiled industries of gaming and mining, we run the risk of becoming incapable of educating even a tiny percentage of our children. Vouchers will not solve the problem because they still involve state monies and private schools have the option of refusing any child that may present a problem.
Right now more than half of the students leaving high school cannot read or write at a functional level. Business, small and large continues to complain about the quality of applicants, especially in the technical trades. I wonder what they will be saying when they cannot find applicants even capable of writing their own name?
Before I go into just how imbecilic his suggestion is, let’s explore the region of common sense. Nevada is a unique state. It is the only one where gaming is allowed state wide. New Jersey has Atlantic City and a few others have Indian Casinos, but they are not Nevada. To build a casino anywhere else other than Nevada, a gaming company has to convince that state that allowing them in is a good thing, translate that as “profitable”. The gaming taxes for the successful bidder can be as high as a full third of the gross profits. In Nevada the gaming tax is less than ten percent and it is not calculated on the gross, but the net. For some of the companies this winds up as less than one percent a year. It is no wonder that a good portion of the gaming CEOs in Nevada own their own jets and commute from their Oceanside estates in Southern California.
Mining is the other primary business in Nevada. More gold comes out of Nevada’s ground than any other state in the union. The mining industry pays an effective .5% a year in taxes while the sale price of gold continues to skyrocket. Barbara K. Cegvaske, the State Senator for District 8 in Nevada told a group of teachers being threatened with the loss of their careers that if the state raised taxes on mining to save the teachers’ jobs, mining would leave the state. I’ve had the misfortune to speak with Senator Cegvaske. You would not be blinded by her intellect. It is very likely she actually believes what she says. More’s the pity. Gold is found deep within the ground. If mining left the state, where will the mineral they seek be? Mining technology has improved since the gold rush, but I doubt it has climbed to the level where they could take the mountains with them when they go.
Governor Gibbons has a problem he did not mention in his address; he has no veto power. The last election eliminated the Republican leadership in the State Senate and gave the Democrat Speaker in the State Assembly a veto-proof majority. The power shift in the Assembly can be placed onto the shoulders of one man, George Harris, publisher of a poorly written rag called Liberty Watch. Harris never forgave me for defeating his anointed candidate, Kris Munn for the District 21 Assembly seat. That made me the 15th vote in the Assembly on the Republican side. Because of that position, I was able to block a couple of measures that would have severely impacted small business’s ability to survive in Nevada. Harris spent a fortune attacking me in the last primary. Because of that and a record low Republican turn out at the polls, Harris’ puppet got into the general. I was quite happy to help the Democrat Candidate Ellen Spiegel win the seat. Because of Harris, the Governor has no power over legislation at all. The question is whether or not the legislature has the wisdom to do what is right.
Most legislators have more than one face, the one they show in public and the one they wear in private. While in the legislature, I learned what most Republican legislators think of public education. They consider teachers in public schools the enemy. A few of them actually think teachers are a danger to their children. They make the error of confusing the teachers union and its political agenda with teachers. It is impossible to convince them otherwise. I’ve tried.
If the Nevada Legislature does the right thing and raises revenue properly, we have a hope of becoming a better state. If they act as they have in the past and continue to kowtow to the spoiled industries of gaming and mining, we run the risk of becoming incapable of educating even a tiny percentage of our children. Vouchers will not solve the problem because they still involve state monies and private schools have the option of refusing any child that may present a problem.
Right now more than half of the students leaving high school cannot read or write at a functional level. Business, small and large continues to complain about the quality of applicants, especially in the technical trades. I wonder what they will be saying when they cannot find applicants even capable of writing their own name?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Nevada Could Teach Illinois Lessons in Corruption
Most of the major news networks are continuing to run stories on the corruption overseen by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. To recap, Governor Blagojevich was charged, and eventually impeached, with the crime of attempting to sell a seat in the US Senate. Based on the reaction of the currently seated members to Roland Burris, the man he eventually appointed, it appears that more than a few of them think the good governor succeeded in his auction. Since the state of Illinois has the city of Chicago, and since Chicago has a less than savory reputation where its political life is concerned, the folks from that part of the country have begun to act almost smug about the quality of their corruption. Well, I have news for them.
Here in Nevada we have elevated political corruption to an art form. Chicago had Al Capone and other assorted mobsters. Big deal, we still have the mob and a number of them are so deeply ingrained into our politics that a witnessed brutal assault only brings probation. This would not be so unusual except that the order came from the same judge that hammered O.J. Simpson with hard time for using armed associates to get some of his stuff back. Those weapons were not used, by the way.
The judge, Nancy Glass, went out of the way to keep Dominic Rizzolo out of prison, even so far as calling up the defense council, Tony Sgro and advising him to come by in two years, and request she withdraw Dominic's felony plea and replace it with a gross misdemeanor. American Mafia writer, Steve Miller noted this in his column: Even Judge Glass' criminal defense attorney husband disagrees with her coddling a dangerous criminal: "People convicted of violent crimes have their prison sentences impacted by the harm done to their victims." "Any person who uses a... deadly weapon... in the commission of a crime shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term equal to and in addition to the term of imprisonment prescribed by statute for the crime." - From the website of attorney Steve Wolfson.
Our District Attorney, David Roger, is no slouch either when it comes to corruption. He is supposedly the one who urged Judge Glass to go easy on his favorite mobster of the week. In the neighborhood of Nevada’s Mr. Rogers, you can only commit a crime if you are a normal working citizen and not a potential or past campaign contributor. Several people have told me that the response from Metro, when they call to complain about a possible crime in progress and they happen to live in a gated community, is that the police cannot respond because it is in a gated community. This is of course a lie. The police have full authority to enter any community they choose to stop a crime. Guess what sort of community the Rizzolos live in.
Here in Nevada we elect our judges. If that isn’t a recipe for corruption, I cannot guess what is. An elected judge is always weighing their decisions on whether or not actually serving justice will get them unelected. Therefore we develop one justice system for the rich and another for the rest of us.
I can name less than a handful of current serving legislators and judges I could trust to do the right thing. Based on the last election, the electorate does not want judges and legislators known to be honest. They will vote for whomever puts out the largest amount of hate mail. We now have another judicial election cycle coming up. God help us all.
Here in Nevada we have elevated political corruption to an art form. Chicago had Al Capone and other assorted mobsters. Big deal, we still have the mob and a number of them are so deeply ingrained into our politics that a witnessed brutal assault only brings probation. This would not be so unusual except that the order came from the same judge that hammered O.J. Simpson with hard time for using armed associates to get some of his stuff back. Those weapons were not used, by the way.
The judge, Nancy Glass, went out of the way to keep Dominic Rizzolo out of prison, even so far as calling up the defense council, Tony Sgro and advising him to come by in two years, and request she withdraw Dominic's felony plea and replace it with a gross misdemeanor. American Mafia writer, Steve Miller noted this in his column: Even Judge Glass' criminal defense attorney husband disagrees with her coddling a dangerous criminal: "People convicted of violent crimes have their prison sentences impacted by the harm done to their victims." "Any person who uses a... deadly weapon... in the commission of a crime shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term equal to and in addition to the term of imprisonment prescribed by statute for the crime." - From the website of attorney Steve Wolfson.
Our District Attorney, David Roger, is no slouch either when it comes to corruption. He is supposedly the one who urged Judge Glass to go easy on his favorite mobster of the week. In the neighborhood of Nevada’s Mr. Rogers, you can only commit a crime if you are a normal working citizen and not a potential or past campaign contributor. Several people have told me that the response from Metro, when they call to complain about a possible crime in progress and they happen to live in a gated community, is that the police cannot respond because it is in a gated community. This is of course a lie. The police have full authority to enter any community they choose to stop a crime. Guess what sort of community the Rizzolos live in.
Here in Nevada we elect our judges. If that isn’t a recipe for corruption, I cannot guess what is. An elected judge is always weighing their decisions on whether or not actually serving justice will get them unelected. Therefore we develop one justice system for the rich and another for the rest of us.
I can name less than a handful of current serving legislators and judges I could trust to do the right thing. Based on the last election, the electorate does not want judges and legislators known to be honest. They will vote for whomever puts out the largest amount of hate mail. We now have another judicial election cycle coming up. God help us all.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Just What is a Dollar anyway?
According to a monograph written by Edwin Vieira, Jr., even those who purport to print our money don’t really know what a dollar is.
No statute defines - or ever has defined - the "one dollar" Federal Reserve Note “FRN” as the "dollar,” or even as a species of "dollar.” Moreover, the United States Code provides that FRNs "shall be redeemed in lawful money on demand at the Treasury Department of the United States…or at any Federal Reserve bank.” Thus, FRNs are not themselves "lawful money" - otherwise, they would not be "redeemable in lawful money.” And if FRNs are not even "lawful money,” it is inconceivable that they are somehow "dollars,” the very units in which all "United States money is expressed.”
People are confused on this point because of the insidious manner in which FRNs "evolved" - actually, degenerated is a more appropriate verb - from the late 1920s until today. FRNs of Series 1928 through Series 1950E carried the obligation "The United States of America will pay to the bearer on demand [some number of] dollars.” Prior to 1934, the notes carried the inscription "Redeemable in gold on demand at the United States Treasury, or in gold or lawful money at any Federal Reserve Bank.” After 1934, the notes carried the inscription "this note…is redeemable in lawful money at the United States Treasury, or at any Federal Reserve Bank" (post-1934). Starting with Series 1963, the words "will pay to the bearer on demand" no longer appear; and each FRN simply states a particular denomination in "dollars.”
People have written to both their representatives and the Treasury Department asking for a definition of just what a “dollar” is. The replies reveal just how confused this situation is. Being a man who considers his word his bond, I would have to say that the FRN is and remains a contract; whether or not the government chooses to admit this…they printed the things. At the top of the contract they proudly proclaim it to be a Federal Reserve Note. At the bottom they declare the value, as in the dollar bill as One Dollar. The value of goods or services the note may purchase has changed, albeit not for the better. However, if you hold a 1900 $20 gold piece, you can still purchase what that coin could buy when it was minted. For example, back in 1920, a $20 gold coin would pay for a good suit. You can still do that today…if you have a $20 gold coin. A 1920 silver dime would pay for a decent breakfast…you can see my point.
The situation with coinage is more complex, but equally (if not more) confusing. The United States Code provides for three different types of coinage denominated in "dollars": namely, base- metallic coinage, gold coinage, and silver coinage.
The base-metallic coinage consists of "a dollar coin,” weighing "8.1 grams,” "a half dollar coin,” weighing "11.34 grams"; "a quarter coin,” weighing "5.67 grams": and "a dime coin,” weighing "2.268 grams.” All of these coins are composed of copper and nickel. The weights of the dime, the quarter, and the half dollar are in the correct arithmetical proportions, the one to each of the others. But the "dollar" is disproportionately light (or the other coins disproportionately heavy). In this series of base metallic coins, then, the questions naturally arise: Is the "dollar" a cupro-nickel coin weighing "8.1 grams"? Or is it two cupro- nickel coins (or four or ten coins) collectively weighing 22.68 grams? Or is it both? Or is it neither, but something else altogether, to which the weights of these coins are irrelevant?
In regards to the silver dollar...back when we actually minted silver coins for everyday use, the dollar coin weighed .999 troy ounces of silver. I would say that particular coin is the closest to anything as far as actually being a dollar. The value was there, the trust was there and the value of that coin has not varied through the years. If you currently have a silver dollar of nominal numismatic value (not one of the rarities) you can still purchase roughly the same value of goods or services you could back when the coin was minted, as stated in the examples above. Now we do still mint “Liberty Dollars”, but they are minted as collectibles more so than money.
Similarly, the gold coinage consists of "a fifty dollar gold coin" that "weighs 33.931 grams, and contains one troy ounce of fine gold"; "a twenty-five dollar gold coin" that "contains one-half ounce of fine gold"; "a ten dollar gold coin" that "contains one fourth ounce of fine gold"; and "a five dollar gold coin" that "contains one tenth ounce of fine gold.” The "fifty dollar,” "twenty-five dollar,” and "five dollar" coins are in the correct arithmetical proportions each to the others. But the "ten dollar" coin is not. Therefore, is a "dollar" one-fiftieth or one-fortieth of an ounce of gold? It appears to be undecided.
The US Government has not upheld its part on a contract begun back when it first began printing monetary notes. We still trade the notes for goods and services, but the trust is no longer there, in fact, based on the current crisis, the lack of trust is completely justified. If we had an administration with the courage to place the U.S. back onto the gold standard, we would see the value of the dollar skyrocket, whether or not enough gold exists to do so is beside the point. Experts disagree on both sides of that issue. What would be important would be the willingness to actually declare a foundation and to keep a promise...something our government hasn’t been willing to do for nearly three quarters of a century.
This brings me to a loosely connected point. Hollywood has expressed in film the idea that Uncle Sam trusts its citizenry about as much as they trust him. The background stories in the movie The Rock and Men in Black are an example. There is no love lost in either direction, but the greatest violator is the government. The current and ongoing mess was caused primarily by the government fouling up yet again…and apparently those in power are satisfied with the status quo. The reaction of the GOP leadership over the possibility of Sarah Palin is a very telling bit of evidence. If we are to ever regain our prosperity with some stability we need to begin being an honest, ethical nation. Being honest in our money would be a good start.
No statute defines - or ever has defined - the "one dollar" Federal Reserve Note “FRN” as the "dollar,” or even as a species of "dollar.” Moreover, the United States Code provides that FRNs "shall be redeemed in lawful money on demand at the Treasury Department of the United States…or at any Federal Reserve bank.” Thus, FRNs are not themselves "lawful money" - otherwise, they would not be "redeemable in lawful money.” And if FRNs are not even "lawful money,” it is inconceivable that they are somehow "dollars,” the very units in which all "United States money is expressed.”
People are confused on this point because of the insidious manner in which FRNs "evolved" - actually, degenerated is a more appropriate verb - from the late 1920s until today. FRNs of Series 1928 through Series 1950E carried the obligation "The United States of America will pay to the bearer on demand [some number of] dollars.” Prior to 1934, the notes carried the inscription "Redeemable in gold on demand at the United States Treasury, or in gold or lawful money at any Federal Reserve Bank.” After 1934, the notes carried the inscription "this note…is redeemable in lawful money at the United States Treasury, or at any Federal Reserve Bank" (post-1934). Starting with Series 1963, the words "will pay to the bearer on demand" no longer appear; and each FRN simply states a particular denomination in "dollars.”
People have written to both their representatives and the Treasury Department asking for a definition of just what a “dollar” is. The replies reveal just how confused this situation is. Being a man who considers his word his bond, I would have to say that the FRN is and remains a contract; whether or not the government chooses to admit this…they printed the things. At the top of the contract they proudly proclaim it to be a Federal Reserve Note. At the bottom they declare the value, as in the dollar bill as One Dollar. The value of goods or services the note may purchase has changed, albeit not for the better. However, if you hold a 1900 $20 gold piece, you can still purchase what that coin could buy when it was minted. For example, back in 1920, a $20 gold coin would pay for a good suit. You can still do that today…if you have a $20 gold coin. A 1920 silver dime would pay for a decent breakfast…you can see my point.
The situation with coinage is more complex, but equally (if not more) confusing. The United States Code provides for three different types of coinage denominated in "dollars": namely, base- metallic coinage, gold coinage, and silver coinage.
The base-metallic coinage consists of "a dollar coin,” weighing "8.1 grams,” "a half dollar coin,” weighing "11.34 grams"; "a quarter coin,” weighing "5.67 grams": and "a dime coin,” weighing "2.268 grams.” All of these coins are composed of copper and nickel. The weights of the dime, the quarter, and the half dollar are in the correct arithmetical proportions, the one to each of the others. But the "dollar" is disproportionately light (or the other coins disproportionately heavy). In this series of base metallic coins, then, the questions naturally arise: Is the "dollar" a cupro-nickel coin weighing "8.1 grams"? Or is it two cupro- nickel coins (or four or ten coins) collectively weighing 22.68 grams? Or is it both? Or is it neither, but something else altogether, to which the weights of these coins are irrelevant?
In regards to the silver dollar...back when we actually minted silver coins for everyday use, the dollar coin weighed .999 troy ounces of silver. I would say that particular coin is the closest to anything as far as actually being a dollar. The value was there, the trust was there and the value of that coin has not varied through the years. If you currently have a silver dollar of nominal numismatic value (not one of the rarities) you can still purchase roughly the same value of goods or services you could back when the coin was minted, as stated in the examples above. Now we do still mint “Liberty Dollars”, but they are minted as collectibles more so than money.
Similarly, the gold coinage consists of "a fifty dollar gold coin" that "weighs 33.931 grams, and contains one troy ounce of fine gold"; "a twenty-five dollar gold coin" that "contains one-half ounce of fine gold"; "a ten dollar gold coin" that "contains one fourth ounce of fine gold"; and "a five dollar gold coin" that "contains one tenth ounce of fine gold.” The "fifty dollar,” "twenty-five dollar,” and "five dollar" coins are in the correct arithmetical proportions each to the others. But the "ten dollar" coin is not. Therefore, is a "dollar" one-fiftieth or one-fortieth of an ounce of gold? It appears to be undecided.
The US Government has not upheld its part on a contract begun back when it first began printing monetary notes. We still trade the notes for goods and services, but the trust is no longer there, in fact, based on the current crisis, the lack of trust is completely justified. If we had an administration with the courage to place the U.S. back onto the gold standard, we would see the value of the dollar skyrocket, whether or not enough gold exists to do so is beside the point. Experts disagree on both sides of that issue. What would be important would be the willingness to actually declare a foundation and to keep a promise...something our government hasn’t been willing to do for nearly three quarters of a century.
This brings me to a loosely connected point. Hollywood has expressed in film the idea that Uncle Sam trusts its citizenry about as much as they trust him. The background stories in the movie The Rock and Men in Black are an example. There is no love lost in either direction, but the greatest violator is the government. The current and ongoing mess was caused primarily by the government fouling up yet again…and apparently those in power are satisfied with the status quo. The reaction of the GOP leadership over the possibility of Sarah Palin is a very telling bit of evidence. If we are to ever regain our prosperity with some stability we need to begin being an honest, ethical nation. Being honest in our money would be a good start.
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