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Liberals are Killing America - By Alan Caruba

September 30th, 2009 . by TexasFred
Liberals are Killing America - By Alan Caruba

It is not a new observation, but it is one that needs review and repeating every so often. Why do liberals always seem to get on the wrong side of any issue concerning America’s future? Its sovereignty? Its financial security? Its defense?

I think this question is particularly timely given the public discussion of Obamacare that included a huge peaceful protest march on Washington September 12th. The President’s non-stop campaign to get “reform�? passed and the heated exchanges in Congress do not represent actual healthcare reform, but are testimony to a liberal obsession with a very bad idea.

You know something is desperately wrong when Democrats will not permit the proposed bill to enjoy a grace period of 72 hours during which both the public and members of Congress can actually read it before a vote is taken.

The irony of the current battle is that the bill will significantly change Medicare, a program advocated by liberals and, like Social Security, established by Democrats in Congress. It will destroy a free market for insurance programs individuals may choose to purchase. Or not.

There is no dispute that both programs, safety nets for Americans, have been helpful. Neither is voluntary There is no doubt that both are insolvent because they are unsustainable. This has been exacerbated by the way Congress has dipped into the funds intended to be set aside for them.

Obamacare will end up killing a lot of the people that Medicare was intended to save from the diseases and accidents that afflict the elderly.

It is not so much a “reform�? as an admission of the failure of Congress to properly administer Medicare. Moreover, the “reform�? will seize control of one sixth of the nation’s economy and dangerously, insidiously come between physician and patient.

It is a reform that is doomed to failure because there simply are not enough doctors, nurses, and other licensed and certified healthcare providers.

The global warming hoax and the arguments that “saving the environment�? justifies a horrid “cap-and-trade�? bill under consideration is another example of how liberal zeal for apparently noble “causes�? reaps more harm than good. In the process, actual known, proven science has been abandoned.

In many ways, America has historically demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to Nature. The set asides of vast tracks of national forests and natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone attest to this and the national effort to clean our waters and air attest to this.

The problem, one that was anticipated and feared by the Founding Fathers, is the continued expansion of the federal government’s control over all aspects of our lives. The creation and existence of the departments of education and energy have harmed America in countless ways. The Environmental Protection Agency is an assault on science and property rights. All are essentially unconstitutional.

There never was any scientific evidence for “global warming�? and yet it has been the all-purpose “go to�? justification for restrictions that range from toilets that lack sufficient power to flush and, soon, a prohibition on the incandescent light bulb. Environmental restrictions have done irreparable harm to the nation’s economic growth.

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Social Security’s Unexpected Deficits Show Urgent Need for Reform

September 29th, 2009 . by TexasFred

Social Security’s Unexpected Deficits Show Urgent Need for Reform

Starting this year, Social Security will spend more in benefits than it will receive from its payroll taxes. This is somewhat unexpected as just last year, the 2009 cash surplus was predicted to be about $80 billion. Even in May of this year, the program’s actuaries predicted a roughly $19 billion surplus. However, they failed to allow for the full effects of the recession, and the soaring unemployment both reduced tax collections and increased the number of workers who were forced to take early retirement.

This is very bad news for taxpayers, but worse is yet to follow. The 2009 deficit of about $10 billion will be followed by a 2010 deficit of about $9 billion. If there is a strong recovery-which is questionable at best-the program could briefly return to surpluses. But by 2016, deficits will return and continue permanently. A far more likely scenario is that Social Security will run deficits from this point on.

The Reality of the Trust Fund

These deficits do not mean that benefits will be cut, but they do increase the burden on taxpayers to pay them. On top of the $1 trillion-plus deficit predicted for this year to pay for the Obama Administration’s programs, taxpayers will have to find still more money to pay Social Security’s deficits. It is true that a trust fund exists that has been funded by $2.4 trillion of Social Security surpluses since 1983, but there is no real money in that trust fund.

As the Office of Management and Budget said in 2000, “These balances are available to finance future benefit payments … only in a bookkeeping sense. They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits, or other expenditures.”

Congress has already spent every penny of that money, and all that is left are IOUs that must be repaid by the same taxpayers who paid the extra taxes in the first place. Taxpayers, not the trust fund, will end up covering Social Security’s deficits.

Full Story Here:
Social Security’s Unexpected Deficits Show Urgent Need for Reform

Many of my readers are retired folks. Some are retired because they have spent many years in the military, with various law enforcement agencies, some have retired from the private sector and some are retired due to health issues, disability.

I have many friend that fall into ALL of those categories.

I know some that are twice retired, they were military reserve and served their time there and went to work every day in a civilian capacity as well. Double retirement! Wow, how secure can you get? Right? So, answer this question. And you can just answer it in your head, or you can opine in comments, in any case, answer it for yourself, and be 100% honest in your answer.

How secure is YOUR retirement?

If you’re retired, civilian (private sector), military, police or any type of government employee, disability, ANY type of retirement, how safe is your retirement? And just what will you do if, by some strange quirk of fate, the government ADMITS that it’s broke and we’re operating on worthless paper?

Most of us have worked for years to earn our retirement. Some have investments to tide them over, some don’t. I know a lot of military and police retirees that had to go to work, simply because their retirement wasn’t enough to sustain a decent lifestyle. They needed to, and wanted to provide their families with MORE, and give them a better standard of living. What are these folks going to do if their retirement funds fail?

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Obama to make in-person pitch for 2016 Olympics

September 28th, 2009 . by TexasFred

Obama to make in-person pitch for 2016 Olympics

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will travel to Denmark to support Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, projecting the highest-ever White House profile in lobbying for the international event.

Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the president, told The Associated Press Monday morning that Obama will leave Thursday and join his wife, Michelle, in Copenhagen, where they’ll make the pitch to the International Olympic Committee. Obama would be the first U.S. president to actually appeal in person to the International Olympic Committee for an Olympics event.

The International Olympic Committee is meeting in Copenhagen to select a host city for the 2016 Summer Games. Chicago faces tough competition from Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.

The White House later formally announced the trip, saying that Obama and his wife “will both make presentations to the IOC during Friday’s session. They will discuss why Chicago is best to host the 2016 Summer Games, and how the United States is eager to bring the world together to celebrate the ideals of the Olympic movement.” The IOC is scheduled to decide the site on Friday.

Full Story Here:
Obama to make in-person pitch for 2016 Olympics

Barack Hussein Obama is taking a vacation to Copenhagen, Denmark, using Air Force 1, and all of the logistics nightmare that entails, all the power of the office of President, and doing it on the taxpayers dime, on the pretense of lobbying for Chicago to be awarded host status for the 2016 Olympics. Obama is hoping that the payoffs, kickbacks and usual Chicago corruption will filter back into his retirement fund without being discovered.

There, I rewrote the opening paragraph and told it truthfully. :P

“President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama symbolize the hope, opportunity and inspiration that makes Chicago great, and we are honored to have two of our city’s most accomplished residents leading our delegation in Copenhagen,” Mayor Richard M. Daley said in a statement. “Who better to share with members of the International Olympic Committee the commitment and enthusiasm Chicago has for the Olympic and Paralympic Movement than the President and First Lady.”

That Richard M. Daley is a hoot huh? :P

The president had held off on announcing a trip to Copenhagen, saying his first priority was the ongoing debate in Washington over health care reform. But aides said the president determined that his trip wouldn’t take away from that process. The legislation is a signature piece of his domestic policy agenda and negotiations on Capitol Hill have been contentious.

He figures, “What the hell, I’m losing anyway, might as well milk this for all it’s worth, maybe Michelle can wear another one of those dresses that the Conservatives like to make fun of…”

But with heads of state representing Rio and Madrid already scheduled to attend the IOC meeting Friday, Chicago’s bid organizers had hoped Obama would make an in-person appeal.

Here’s a novel idea, if Chicago wants Obama to go on their behalf, maybe Chicago needs to PAY for it. Just sayin’… :?

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