No, I’m not suggesting there is an idea of “Common Sense” within society. The Common Sense I am speaking of is written by one of the founding fathers – Thomas Paine…

I just picked up the book, and it will be the 1st time I’ve read it in roughly 15 years.  I have a feeling some of the points Paine makes  in “Common Sense” may very well apply today… Just change out United Kingdom…

One of very few politicians – if only – in Washington addressing what the U.S. is facing economically. Listen and take heed…

I’ve held off on this post for roughly a week as I wanted to watch the political fallout take place before drawing any conclusions.

The very first conclusion one must draw is the election of Scott Brown was a fluke, a political outlier, and voting behavior will return to “normal” once the next round of elections take place.

Do I think that is the case? No, but we have to acknowledge that is possibility.

Was health care reform the driving factor in the Brown election?

While the data points to health care being the largest single issue in the election (56% of voters), Martha Coakley won this segment of the population by a 53% to 46% margin. It doesn’t seem to be a clear sign that voters put Brown into office because they oppose the proposed legislation, does it? Brown obtained his support in areas that are traditionally Republican strongholds – the Economy and National Security.

The administration apparently thinks the election of Scott Brown was due to economic reasons as there have been a number of significant actions taken on their part since last Tuesday. Viewing the November elections as a potential lost cause if things do not turn around, the administration took a knee jerk reaction and announced significant bank regulation and a freeze on discretionary spending. Unfortunately both actions will have little impact on the economy this year, and the bank regulation has the ability – if implemented incorrectly – to do more damage to the economy than inaction on behalf of the administration.

Why do I describe their action as “knee jerk”? I’m sorry to say but the horse is out of the barn, the barn is on fire and the well has run dry.  The economic policy of the last 20 years has set the nation on the current path, and the sudden expansion of the US debt/monetary base over the last year have all but placed another economic collapse (and currency collapse) in the cards for the United States. Simply saying “well, let’s separate investment banks from retail banks” has no impact on the underlying problems.

If not health care, national security or economics, what was this election about?

Yes, these factors played into Scott Brown winning his seat but I believe this election was more about frustration with politicians in general, rather than a specific political agenda. Politicians have a nasty habit of saying what is important to them and ignoring the voices of those they serve and it appears voters have said “Enough”.

The people of Massachusetts have said listen to us, listen to our overall concerns, and they picked the candidate – regardless of party – who they felt would actually do so, as well as best represent their needs on a national stage.

This should act as a wakeup call to any other politician who thinks they have the ability to push their agent forward when the constituents they serve are saying otherwise.

What was once a great clip with Hitler ranting about a video game has turned into something even better…Hitler finding out Scott Brown won the Senate Seat.

Enjoy!

On your one year anniversary you awake to see “Republican Brown beats Coakley in special Senate election in Massachusetts”

As with your predecessor you’ve learned that arrogance and bull-headed behavior can only take you so far. You’ve watched an approval rating of staggering proportions fall to earth on a health care package only 1/3 of the people want. Your party is starting to fall by the wayside and you, yourself, are quickly putting yourself on the path to a one term presidency.

Learn from those who came before your – hubris will destroy you – as it did with President GW Bush.

Now things get really, really interesting. How you react to this election and how your maneuver the senate healthcare will dictate, potentially, how the next three years work out for you.

I have a two big problems with the government forcing health insurance on the public.  First is the true motivator for pushing insurance to all – it is the ONLY way the system can be semi-self sufficient but the politicians will not tell you that.  The second is having the government tell me what to do with my life.  If I have a better option the government should not force me into their solution.

In an interview with ABC’s Jake Tapper President Obama gave his thoughts on penalties for individuals who attempted to “get a free ride” on the health care system.

“What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don’t, you’re subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it’s affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you

Critical point

If one does not want to pay auto insurance there is a simple solution, don’t drive.  If one does not want to be part covered by health insurance the solution is simple, pay cash for services with medical providers that do not accept insurance.

You cannot draw a direct comparison as auto insurance has a way out, the proposed health insurance does not. The solution for people who do not want insurance is pre pay for services – but, again, the administration does not want to let you out of the health insurance mandate or else they will have issues with paying for the program.

The bottom line is this: with auto insurance there is a way out, with the suggested health insurance there is none.  To draw a penalty comparison from one system that has an opt out to a system that does not is an invalid argument.

When will the President just come out and say it – the Fort Hood shoots were a terrorist event.

Yes, we didn’t want to jump to conclusions but with the shooters own words pointing to his fanatic views it was rather clear where he was coming from.  Today U.S. intelligence officials state they knew Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to contact al Qaeda. As if that isn’t enough a radical mosque leader, Anwar al Awlaki, has praised Hasan for his actions.  Oh, yea, Hasan and Awlaki have a pre-existing relationship.

The lack of willingness of this administration to admit to the truth on certain subjects is amazing to me.

It is important to point out this not law, but parts may be taken and included into what may potentially become U.S health care reform. Regardless – holy god does this piss me off.

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail.  The JCT letter  makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

The above is not someone playing politics with information. It comes directly from a non-partisan committee on all things regarding federal taxation.

Now why does this piss me off? Three reasons.

To begin we need to look at what President Obama said several months ago while addressing a Joint Session of Congress saying:

Now, most of these costs will be paid for with money already being spent — but spent badly — in the existing health care system. The plan will not add to our deficit. The middle class will realize greater security, not higher taxes. And if we are able to slow the growth of health care costs by just one-tenth of 1 percent each year — one-tenth of 1 percent — it will actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long term.

If the government is imposting a financial charge upon citizens is not considered a tax, I no longer know what the definition of tax is. How politicians can say the middle class will not feel higher taxes yet they are forcing people to pay for something they may not want is beyond me.

Which comes to the second issue that bothers me. There is not a health care crisis in the United States, there is a health care cost crisis and any law that is passed would not be health care reform but health care insurance reform. If the government was to address the true issue – cost – they would be addressing fraud, waste and tort reform.  They would be addressing the cost issues head on, not trying to divert the publics attention.

Remember, why is it people cannot get insurance?  The cost is too high.  Why is the cost too high? Because medical care costs are almost prohibitive.

Finally, the government should not be telling people what they must or must or must not buy – be it health insurance, be it what kind of car someone drives or be it the food they eat. What the politicians are not saying is WHY they are forcing you to buy health insurance.

Without having the mass population buying insurance, or paying fines, there is little to no way for the government to pay for health insurance. The Government must TAX everyone in order to the plan to be even semi-self sufficient.

Health Care Reform is needed, the cost needs to be addressed, but what is taking place now isn’t trying to fix the issue.  This is all a sham. That is why I’m pissed me off.

I love the internet.  In a single day people can get more information than what was available to people in a lifetime roughly thirty years ago, let alone 300 years ago.  Sure, that can lead to information overload if one is not careful; however, that also creates a situation where everyone can have access to news the mainstream press doesn’t seem to report on… like this: Israel seizes ship in Mediterranean carrying more than 3,000 rockets

More than 3,000 rockets were apparently being smuggled aboard the ship Francop, which was captured in the Mediterranean Sea by Israel Navy missile boats and naval commandos late Tuesday night in an operation dubbed Operation Four Species.

So where were the rockets heading?  It sounds like the end destination was Lebanon. The scary part of this story is the unspoken.  Just think about how many ships actually make it – to any port of call – that have items that can be used as weapons.

U.S. Politics

New Jersey, Virginia, and New York had elections for state governors yesterday. What is so special about this race?  Not much and everything.

In NJ and VA the Democrats lost the governor seats to Republican candidates.  NJ is a historically Democrat state and VA went to the Democrats in both the Presidential and Congress races.  This situation is causing political pundits to warn the current political climate is hostile to Democratic candidates in the 2010 mid-term elections.

Unlike some, I would not say that the results from yesterday were not referendums on President Obama and the Democrats as they were on the health-care debate.  That has really been the focus of the general public for the last several months.  One could make the case the health-care debate may carry forward and take down other Democrat candidates, but so many other things can between now and then as well.

However, what last night does show is the argument “Blame Bush” is no longer effective.  Both of the Democrats had a healthy does of Bush bashing and suffered because of it.  As the political defense of the last year has taken that approach, yesterday should serve as warning for political strategists to find another approach.

There are some that manage to have a positive view of what took place yesterday (why, I’m really not sure).

Turkey (the country, not the food)

Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, gave a clear sign to the world as to where Turkey comes in on the Israeli belief that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

“… those who criticize Iran’s nuclear program continue to possess the same weapons,” said Erdogan, according to an advance copy, carried by state-run Anatolian news agency, of a televised address he was scheduled to make at 8 p.m.

“I think that those who take this stance, who want these arrogant sanctions, need to first give these [weapons] up. We shared this opinion with our Iranian friends, our brothers.”

If there comes a time where Israel takes a military approach to Iran it is clear Turkey will not support such an event.  What will be interesting to watch is what will Turkey do when it comes down to oil pricing.  Will they support the Dollar? They Euro? A basket?

Pot (the drug, not the cooking type)

It’s about time a community stood up and took a stand – Breckenridge, Colorado legalized marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia.

Breckenridge voters passed Measure 2F, which removes criminal penalties from the town code for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults 21 and older. The ordinance also removes criminal penalties for the possession of bongs, pipes and other drug paraphernalia.

It was an avalanche “yes” vote, passing 73 percent to 27 percent.

I have never once used Marijuana in my life. Ever. That said, I firmly believe that we cannot truly say we live in a free country if people cannot put whatever they want in their bodies.

Gay Love (not the good kind)

Much like I don’t feel we should be told what we can/cannot do with our bodies, I think it is morally unjustified for one to tell another who they can/cannot be wed to.  Unfortunately, that is once again what happened in the state of Maine yesterday as voters repealed they states gay marriage law.

Democracy has both positives and negatives, no?

And a cute cartoon (really, just a cute cartoon)

And let us end the day on a really cute add for the Belgian public transport company De Lijn.

Really, how cute was that!

We all knew the numbers thrown out by the government were suspect even if no one could prove it. Now the truth is starting to come out.

President Barack Obama’s economic recovery program saved 935 jobs at the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, an impressive success story for the stimulus plan. Trouble is, only 508 people work there.

…

About two-thirds of the 14,506 jobs claimed to be saved under one federal office, the Administration for Children and Families at Health and Human Services, actually weren’t saved at all, according to a review of the latest data by The Associated Press. Instead, that figure includes more than 9,300 existing employees in hundreds of local agencies who received pay raises and benefits and whose jobs weren’t saved.

Part of the problem with how “saved jobs” were counted is the fact that the government appears to have counted RAISES as saved jobs. The asinine quote of the day comes from HHS spokesman Luis Rosero:

“If I give you a raise, it is going to save a portion of your job,”

Call me a nut ball but a raise is not “saving” anything, it is moving your pay from one level to another – it is giving you MORE than you had, not preserving the status quo.

I guess people will say anything to make their point regardless of reality.