freedom's right

Cleveland's Annual March for Life

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:44:00 +0000

Saturday, January 16th 2010
Meet on Public Square At Noon
Join Area Clergy & Elected Officials as we march in our peaceful, prayerful, procession for Life around the square

Only 2/10th Mile - Dress Warmly & Bring the Family

Keynote Speaker:
Marjorie Dannenfelser
President of Susan B. Anthony List
Policy Advisor to Pro-Life Caucus
Marjorie will help us understand the political process in D.C and discuss ways to
encourage pro-life/pro-family candidates to get involved.
Ms. Dannenfelser will be joined by Area Clergy, Local Choral Groups, Elected Officials & Civic Dignitaries

Join Cleveland Right to Life, Northeast Ohio Value Voters and others; as we remember the over 50 million children who have lost their lives to abortion since the legalization of abortion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision; as we pray for the end to abortion; and as we pray for parents who are the second victims of abortion

· Signs Provided-or Bring Your Own
· Boxed Lunch @ $7 each before Jan. 13th $8 day of event
(must reserve- purchase online at our website or call our office)
· Lunch provided by Susy's Soup in Tower City
See below to reserve a Boxed Lunch

Memorial Program - FREE!
Join us for Lunch, Prayers, Speakers, Exhibition

Cleveland Renaissance Hotel-Grand Ballroom
24 Public Square, Cleveland, OH. 44113
· Lots of parking -lots around the square or Tower City/ or Take the RTA
· FREE WILL OFFERING
· Visit our Website for ALL details: www.ClevelandRightToLife.Org

Exhibition Tables Available
Promote your Organization-Over 1,000 people expected
Limited Space - Call or Visit our Website NOW

Download the flyer here==> http://www.clevelandrighttolife.org/M4Life10/MFL_FLYER_FOR_BULLETINS.pdf

Cleveland Right to Life
4427 State Road,
Cleveland, OH 44109
Ph: 216-661-3000 ext 11
director@clevelandrighttolife.org

www.ClevelandRightToLife.Org

DOES ANYONE HERE LOOK FAMILIAR??

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:58:00 +0000

This came to me in an e-mail

See the white guy in the white suit? Now see the blond with the white dress? See the guy in the middle…huuuummmm.
This picture was taken 6/9/05 . It seems Obama has known these two phonys for awhile, at least when he was a Senator.
They’re getting all this press now as “party crashers” and the secret service is taking heat. Funny how this has not come out in the press isn’t it?!
No wonder the couple who crashed Obama’s State dinner last week keep insisting they were invited guests…they know Barry from way back when he was still an Illinois Senator. Is Obama trying to throw the Secret Service under the bus?
Tareq and Michaele Salahi snapped the pic above with Obama at a “Rock The Vote” event on June 9, 2005 (also attended by John McCain…whom the Salahi’s also took a pic with). McCain won an award for his work on campaign finance reform”. “Just call me Funk Master McCain,”he told the audience of 1,000 in accepting his award. Obama won an award for “forming a multiracial coalition in winning his seat”.
Michaele Salahi is getting quite a ribbing in the press for lying about being a Redskins cheerleader, but Tareq is the more interesting of the two to me. He has ties to Palestinian terrorists.

Tareq is a board member of the ATFP- American Task Force on Palestine , which has quickly scrubbed it’s site of the fact. Thank the Lord for Google cache. Here’s the site last night with Tariq as a board member.

Today…no Tariq. Now why is that? And just who are the ATFP?

The ATFP has ties to Chicago , ties to Muslim radicals, ties to Hamas, and ties to Saudi Wahhabists. It is arguably the American wing of Hamas. The group’s co-founder is Rashid Khalidi, the guy purported to have helped finance Obama’s Harvard education and who was also instrumental in getting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University.
During the Beruit war, Khalidi was a PLO spokesperson. After the war, he came back to teach at the University of Chicago . He is a virulent critic of Israel , and a strong supporter of Fatah terrorist Yassar Arafat. Obama has referred to Khalidi as someone who challenges his “own biases.”
Why do the same dubious tentacles seem to continually surround Obama? The fact that the ATFP is scrubbing information on Salahi from their website suggests possible damage control coordination between the ATFP and the White House. If the ATFP was acting independently, there would be no reason to scrub Salahi’s name from their site. It looks like Salahi was an invited guest to the dinner, that he was “outed” and the administration had to come up with a rational excuse for his presence.

Now the Salahis want to sell their story…they’re a little broke these days, but they still live VERY high on the hog. AND get to go to the Department of Defense!
The Secret Service has already apologized for the incident, but they may clear their names if the Salahis start singing. If someone with ties to the American wing of Hamas can get face to face with the President without the Secret Service realizing it…that is a major security lapse. However, if Obama’s people knowingly allowed Salahi in and are now throwing the Secret Service under the bus to cover themselves, that would be a major scandal.
Some in Congress are calling for an investigation… Something is VERY fishy in the White House.

The Soldier Outside My Door

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:57:00 +0000

John K Marshall
From Facebook

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell a blanket of white
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear.
Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve.
You should be home on a cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light,
Then he sighed and he said, “It’s really all right.
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.
It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me;
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘Pearl’ on a day in December.”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ’Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures. He’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag
The red, white and blue – an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone
Away from my family, my house, and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet;
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To insure for all time that this flag will not fall.”
“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright.
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least –
Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

Wanted: Another President like Grover Cleveland

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From Facebook

One of my favorite Presidents was Grover Cleveland. He is one that is largely neglected by the media and historians today, which are indicators of their own as being someone I would likely admire. He is the only President to not serve his terms sequentially, being both the 22nd (1885 to 1889) and 24th (1893 to 1897) President.

Cleveland was not driven by populist notions, but by principle. He saw serving in office as a sacred responsibility, stating that "Your every voter, as surely as your chief magistrate, exercises a public trust." Cleveland was different in his style and substance. While today's President's were quick to make promises, Cleveland made commitments, stating "Though the people support the government; the government should not support the people." He simply did not believe that philanthropy was the role of the federal government according to the US Constitution.

Cleveland was a stickler when it came to that Constitution and he set a hard standard for other Presidents to maintain. History showed that most would not. Dr. Burt Folsom, in his excellent book, New Deal or Raw Deal, pointed out that "In the 1800s, voluntary organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army were formed to give food, shelter, clothing, and spiritual help to individuals and groups that faces crises. Sometimes, of course, Congress was tempted to play politics with relief. In 1887, for example, several counties in Texas faced a long drought and some farmers lost their crops. Texas politicians helped cajole Congress into granting $10,000 worth of free seeds for these distressed farmers in Texas. After the bill passed the Senate and House, Cleveland vetoed it, saying, 'I can find no warrant for such an appropriating in the Constitution,' Cleveland said. Such aid would 'destroy the partitions between proper subjects of Federal and local care and regulation.' He added, 'Federal aid, in such cases, encourages the expectations of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character.'" Cleveland believed the American people would not abandon its fellow citizens in the Lone Star state. Folsom noted Cleveland's response, "the friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune."

Cleveland could not be more accurate in his predictions. People not only gave, but did so at a level beyond the imagination of the Texas farmers and the politicians who represented them. Fellow Americans from all over the country gave gifts exceeding $100,000. That amount was more than ten times the amount Congress had tried to take from the taxpayers. The Founding Fathers never saw a "charity" role for government, that perspective was validated in both word and deed by Cleveland's courageous veto and his belief in the American people.

Writer Lawrence W. Reed has noted that "Grover Cleveland proved an exceptional president not because of the experience he brought to the federal government but because of two things that matter much more - character and principles." This was seen in his decision to avoid the politically expedient in pursuit of what was right.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

"Useful Idiots" first sacrifice for "Common Good

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Lisa Miller
From Facebook

Understanding the Fate of Useful Idiots by Retired Geek (www.Townhall.com comments under Public Policy as Public Corruption by Michael Gerson )

Most Americans know the 'Fact' that Marxist/Utopians (like Barack Obama) have murdered or starved to death over 150,000,000 Humans in their quest for Utopia.

What most Americans do NOT know is that the very 'Useful Idiots' that helped and supported these tyrannical 'Sociopaths and Malignant Narcissists' attain their goals were some of the first sacrifices for 'The Common Good'.

All activists, propagandists, Marxist revolutionaries, progressives (Liberals) who helped bring about the Marxist/Socialist ideology need to be removed from influence.

Most Humans lack 'Critical Thinking Skills' or making skilled judgments and determine that productive citizens and those who want individual Freedom are the ones that these despots fear the most - this is True before the 'Takeover' but False after the 'Takeover'.

Why?

Why would these 'Sociopaths and Malignant Narcissists' get rid of their own?

The simple answer is because these 'Useful Idiots' will become the most embittered enemies of the State once they realize they were deceived and used to obtain the Utopian goals that is NOT Utopia but rather bondage.

These 'Useful Idiots' (Liberals) are the ultimate moochers, takers, endless consumers, perpetual children and are like 'Herding Cats'.

The producers are hard wired to produce and they are important to a 'Despotic Tyrant' whereas the moochers are NO longer useful or important - in fact they are a detriment to the Ruling Class of Marxist/Socialists.

The 'Utopian State' cannot produce wealth; it can only seize wealth and those moochers who do NOT produce become nothing more than a drag on the 'Insane Dreams' of the Despot.

Barack Obama is much like Jim Jones; only the size of his Worshiping flock is much bigger.

If the 0bamascare healthcare take over is so good, answer these questions:

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:32:00 +0000

Today on Facebook I posted this as my status:

FOXNews.com - Health Care Bill Could Face String of Legal Challenges - http://shar.es/aOwvi

Facebook friend Dave Hatter posted this comment:

If the 0bamascare healthcare take over is so good, answer these questions:
1) Why does it force you to buy insurance?
2) Why does it make you a criminal and send you to jail it you don't?
3) Why is Congress not subject to the bill and able to keep their gold-plated plan YOU Pay for?
4) Why did it barely pass in the House?
5) Why did Dr. Jeffrey S. Flier, Harvard Medical School Dean say: Health 'Reform' Gets a Failing Grade
6) Why is Howard Dean, former DNC chair and medical doctor, against it?
7) Why can't you see the bill?
8) Why did the Senate vote on it at 1:00am on Monday?
9) Why did it barely pass in the house even though Demmunists have a large majority?
10) Why do senators need to be bribed to vote for it?
11) Why don't "benefits" start for 4 years?
12) Why the rush?
13) How can it possibly be Constitutional?

Tim Geithner Plays with Words on Fox Business

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From Facebook

Liz Claman of the Fox Business Network is one of my favorite interviewers in media today. She is warm and cordial, which also means her guests are easily disarmed and she follows that up with some of the tougher questions in business news.

Recently Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was a guest of Liz Claman on the Fox Business Network and said that we will be able to “solve this financial crisis at a dramatically lower cost than we initially anticipated," he goes on to actually claim that the U.S. taxpayers have made money on banks paying back TARP.

On whether the US taxpayer made money on banks paying back TARP:

Geithner: “Absolutely. Just on that particular investment (Bank of America) the taxpayer got probably more than $2.5 billion even before we sell our warrants…We’re going to be able to solve this financial crisis at a dramatically less cost than we initially anticipated.” On the flip side, our financial industries have developed a new type of "freezing effect" as banks stop making investments because they have huge reserves to sit on and are paid for by taxpayers. Loans are risky; government subsidies have allowed banks to avoid that type of risk. Furthermore, this does not even address the bigger issue of nationalization and the inappropriate use of government power.

On the opposition to government tax credits to small businesses:

Geithner: “There’s a pretty good case for looking at targeted tax incentives to encourage investment and new hiring.” Unfortunately this administration seems to "target" tax cuts or subsidies to political allies, be it political organizations that support its agenda (e.g., ACORN) or corporations that they are trying to win favor (first Wall Street and now a "new" bailout for Main Street).

On what it will take to create jobs:

Geithner: “It will not be one thing. It’s going to have to take a mix of approaches, and you’re right, we have limited resources.” What happened to the money we "made" from TARP? This type of political double talk is common for Obama and his team. With the highest unemployment in a quarter of a century, it is difficult to stomach watching this President spending close to $1 trillion just to launch a health care program that is unconstitutional, promises to create a systems of rationing, and will not event go into effect for almost a half of a decade. Allowing the states to determine its own minimum wage, eliminating taxes on corporations (since those taxes only undermine competitiveness), and making it easier for employers to hire should be on the top of Geithner's priorities.

You can watch the interview by visiting here.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Reflections at the Year's End - 2009

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Jon Greenspon
From Facebook

As we arrive at one of the holiest nights of the year, it's interesting to look back at the "entertainment" we've received from Washington. Barack Obama entered office in January, with the promise of change. I've heard that promise before, but from the other Washington. Didn't Microsoft use that same side-show barker's pitch for Windows Vista? Let's think about this - Vista was supposed to be the change computer users hoped for, and Obama was supposed to be the change the people hoped for. At least my friends in Washington (state) realize that when a "glitch" happens, you can create a patch to solve certain problems. Apparently this is not so in the other Washington.

In terms of security, Windows Vista knows that threats are to be quarantined or safeguarded from the rest of the operating system. Thousands of Trojan horse viruses and other computer maladies are sequestered daily in this computer driven nation. In our President's system of "security", it consists of taking the terrorists directly to the heart of the system they tried destroying eight years earlier. Sheer brilliance on the part of the "anti-virus" program we call Attorney General Holder 2009 - I can't wait for version 1.1.

Along the same lines of security and safety, Microsoft includes a firewall. This is a device intended to protect the computer from intrusion of various sorts of hacking. The Obama Operating System is no different - we have the Secretary Napolitano Homeland Security subroutine. You know the protection system that says that American military and veterans are among the most dangerous people in this country. I don't know, but as a veteran myself, I would think that myself and my roughly 5 MILLION brothers and sisters in arms have a right to feel indignant. After all, the United States military is one of the primary reasons this country is free enough to allow demonstrations in front of city halls and capitols without the fear of armed reprisal. At least the Windows firewall is complete enough to prevent intruders from just walking across the computer's border.

The Vista Operating System likewise includes a very verbose help system, with some educational components. All you need to do, from anywhere in the system, is press F1. The Obama Operating System - version 44, has the reverse, a verbose education component with limited help… it's called the Jennings excuse. Instead we have the system that says the state is better at explaining and educating the child then their parents are. If we had a nickel for every time a government excuse worked, there'd be no deficit.

Speaking of excuses and spending, let's think Congress. By technical views, Congress is like the Computer's BIOS, those little chips that says "No, you can't run this program when's nothing in the disk drive". Except in this case, someone seems to have cut all the wires to the logic circuits. Years ago, computer BIOS were devastated by a charming little virus called Chernobyl - a wicked bug that destroyed the actual BIOS of a computer. This year we were treated to the "Nuclear Option" virus, it's the bug that uses any means necessary to override established runs of order set down from people the likes of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, in favor of corrupted and pork-laden projects and economic devastation. And let's not forget the days of simple file names like "letter1.doc" which are being recreated as hidden files like Senate Majority Leader Reid's imaginary "healthcare reform.docx". Trust me, it's there, you just have to uncheck the "hidden" box to get rid of the invisible ink - and probably do a few more tricks to actually see it.

When it comes to interacting with the computer, we use keyboards and mice, among several possible options. All of these interfaces talk directly to the BIOS, which then works to its best to handle the input. The Congress BIOS, on the other hand, is sort of like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Congress has, just like HAL, intentionally severed its entire control link to enable itself to bypass the CTRL-ALT-DEL function. Unfortunately, they are just now starting to realize that the American people, who ARE the input and control sources, are looking to November of 2010 - the Master Reset. My recommendation - Nancy and Harry, you might want to get started on the rough drafts of your memoirs, because come November you might need to find new income streams - the lake of suckers is starting to dry up.

One thing that can be said of my friends Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates is that we have never once seen the Windows Operating System - no matter what version - bow to another computer. I aim to ensure that Presidential Operating System – version 45 is an improvement of practical values over flawed logic.

Jon Greenspon
Greenspon 2012 Presidential Committee
http://www.greenspon.org

THEY CAN'T READ THE BILLS THEY VOTE ON, BUT THEY CAN PLAY SOLITAIRE AND CHECK BALL SCORES!!

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Bill Huls

Nothing else need to be said. This is one of their THREE DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for. I am ready to start from the beginning by voting out all elected officials and not letting any of them stay in office for more than two terms. No more lifelong healthcare, retirement, voting in their own pay raises, taking perks on our taxes, etc.

House Minority Leader Lawrence F.. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, pictured standing, far right, speaks while colleagues Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, play solitaire Monday night as the House convened to vote on a new budget. (AP)

The guy sitting in the row in front of these two... he's on Facebook, and the guy behind Hennessy is checking out the baseball scores.

These are the folks that can't get the budget out by Oct. 1, Seriously!!!

So, we’ve got a 30 day budget extension. Well, guess what, 30 days from now we will be in the same boat. I guess this makes it easy for the news ‘reporters’ as all they have to do is recycle the same headlines from this week and from 2 years ago. And these yo-yo’s will still be playing SOLITAIRE!!!

A Washington UPDATE (December 2009 Edition)

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Nick Wukoson
From FaceBook

In the month of December, we have seen record breaking activity on the hill and in the White House. This after an already record breaking year in spending and monster bills packed with government growth in a time when we all been forced to downsize at home and watch our local economy crumble. There have been so many things occur in December, that it requires a update all by itself. So lets make like M.C. Hammer and break it down!

Obama's Promises Broken

(1) We heard then President-Elect Obama claim in January that he would NEVER SIGN a bill with earmarks in it. NEVER! Then we see him sign a spending bill packed with earmarks only to respond that this bill was already written before taking office and that moving forward he wont sgn anything with earmarks in it. Okay, I can kind of buy that! So what just happened this week when the newest spending bill (for 2010) was put on his desk with even more earmarks in it? He signed it! What do you have to say to that Mr. Obama? Did you think with everything else going on this month that we wouldnt notice that?

(2) Obama also promised during his campaign that he would open up the nations borders so that people can buy prescription drugs in other countries where the same drug is so much less in cost. He made this promise often. So what did we learn this month after we found out that Obama was offered $150 MILLION from the big Healthcare companies to break his promise? He took it and now stands against Americans having the opportunity to buy drugs from over seas or in Canada.

(3) The promise of "transparancy" is standing out. We the people, will be able to "watch the healthcare bill dsicussed and debated" on the floor on CSPAN. We were also promised all the bills would be available to the public "5 days" before the vote on the hill. Not even those voting are giving that luxury now. There is nothing transparant about this administration and there are power and control hungry reasons behind this broken promise.

Obama's Grade

I couldnt believe that Obama fell for the request to grade himself. A President should never do that and state that the people should grade him. But maybe this is a President who knows he is failing badly and needs to trick his followers into believing he is doing well. A B+ is a pretty good grade afterall. Remember, this is a President who swore that we would never see unemployment above 8% if we approved the huge Stimulus bill and gave him our tax dollars. He stated that if we didnt, we would see unemployment rise to 10%. So we gave it to him, even though we dont have it, and we still saw unemployment rise above 8% and even above 10%. How is that not failure? His plan simply failed. Growing the economy and job growth has failed and the war is still going strong, if not stronger than it ever has. The list goes on and on.

Holiday Games

Okay, if you havent noticed the massive amounts of bills and spending being saved for the holiday season, then you are missing out on a huge game being played. In a time when legislators are wanting to be home with their families, they are being told they cant go anywhere until they pass these bills. They know the bills are to large to understand in such a short time but are forcing them to vote on it regardless, holding time with their families over their heads. Is this the "change" so many voted for? Honestly, is it? Who's needs are being represented here?

Global Warming

For all those huge supporters in the belief that Global Warming is real, this is hard to accept I am sure. See my recent post "A GREEN wake-up call". And with all the actual evidence pointing to the truth, the Copenhagen summit has gone on to see all the smaller and poorer countries taking advantage of countries like us. In a time none of can afford to pay our electric bills at home, we see Hillary out there throwing BILLIONS of our money into a annual fund (yes BILLIONS more to come from our pockets too.) that will go to these third world poorer countries. All to support an agenda they know is a lie, even those scientist who created this lie have been in caught in it or admitted it already. Doesnt stop our government from trying to save face and spend more of our money!

OMNIBUS bill (end of year)

With all the healthcare and global warming topics floating around and being discussed over our dinner tables, Congress (including both parties) slid in a $1.1 TRILLION spending bill for 2010 packed with earmarks. Bringing a total of $600 Billion dollars worth of earmarks to date under Obama. It is an annual record breaker under a man promising "change" and "no more earmarks". And to those Republicans who campaign as a conservative but yet put earmarks into this bill, and we know who you are, you should be thrown out. Like we have seen unfaithful men and women in the media and in real life, you have been just as unfaithful to your party and all those conservative Americans who supported you! You should hang your heads in your failure to come together as a party of conservatives and deliver that message in a time your country needed you to. Now, you are no better than those you oppose. What ever happened to the GOP being a party of conservatives and supporters of small government? I admit, my GOP blinders have been up through the BUSH days when it comes to this topic, but they are off now and I want my conservative party back! I WANT IT BACK!

Healthcare Reform

In a recent post of mine, I broke down what we know about this bill to date. I stress "to date" because the bill is still incomplete. Only a portion of this bill has been released to Congress with even Democratic leaders not knowing what is in it. We can only believe that Harry Reid and the Obama folks are the only people who do know. Now Congress has seen incomplete bills presented to legislation before but what they are not used to is having them shoved down their throats with demands to vote on them before they are completed with any realistic time beyond that to read them and understand them. Forget party affiliation and where you stand, on this point alone, you shouldnt be happy. Yes, they have staffers to help them break it down, but we did not elect those staffers to represent us. I want my elected representative to read and understand everything he or she is voting on. Why I have to even state that is beyond me. What has happened to Washington?

The games being played with this bill are also record breaking through the media. While the incomplete bill is being forced to the vote, we are seeing the Republicans stand together in not supporting it. The Democrats will stand in front of the cameras all day and tell you Republicans just want to stall everything and how bad that is for our country. We even saw Reid come to the floor and complain that this is the same as when a certain party did the same thing when debating slavery and the rights of women. What he failed to mention, while trying to associate those tactics with the Republicans, was that it was HIS PARTY (the Democrats) who was the stalling party who played those games when debating slavery and the rights of women. Does Reid and his gang of power hungry tyrants really believe we are that stupid? So is it really a game the Republicans are playing when they ask for more time or is it the right thing to do? Considering the bill isnt even completed yet and it affects 1/5 of our entire economy, I think even a little time after the bill is completed is fair to ask for.

The sellers of this bill are pitching it with a price tag of $848 BILLION but what we have learned is that there is a solid costs of $1.244 TRILLION in the bill currently. And that does not include the $214 BILLION Physician SGR bill presented in June. I give them credit for finally breaking out the bill a little, but dont be fooled, the attempt was to keep the total selling price tag below a trillion and not for the right reasons. The true cost, to date, of this healthcare reform proposed by Reid and others is . . . $1.458 TRILLION!

And finally, we witnessed Obama just recently state that if we do not pas this healthcare bill of theirs, that the United States government will go "bankrupt"! My response to that statement is that Obama is already making excuses for what is likely with or without this healthcare bill. The monster spending already done by this President is enough to push us to bankruptcy. He knows it, his folks know it, but casting the blame onto a party who is together standing against this legislation is his intent.

So this has been the December UPDATE (to date) and though I am disqusted with how bad it has gotten, I have to stay encouraged and optimistic. I have to keep the faith that we will survive this and bring back the right government to Washington. True American leadership! Folks who serve us, represent our needs first and are responsible and strong in their defense of our great Constitution and national security.

God Bless You and Yours! Happy Holidays!

Reimportation of Drugs Promises to Destroy Innovation

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:46:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From Facebook

Innovation in health care, particularly in the area of developing new drugs, is one of the crowning achievements of US health care. According to Forbes Magazine, 80 percent of all new drugs are developed in the United States and one of the primary reasons for this is because companies still have an incentive to do such in this country. The profit motive creates the desire and provides the incentive to over come the fear of risk that comes with bringing new medicines to market.

"The fully capitalized cost to develop a new drug, including studies conducted after receiving regulatory approval, averages $897 million," according to a study by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. The expenditure of almost $1 billion to bring a product to market can only be done with some hope of reward. Thr hope businesses are looking for is a period of time of being able to sale that medicine without competition. Seven years is the standard period of time for such intellectual property to be protected. During that time, medicines can vigorously pursue recouping the cost of bringing a drug to market before other players can legally come along. This may be expensive, but that is a small price to be paid for innovation.

Policy makers who do not understand the economic dynamics of drug innovation want to fight the problem through reimportation, which is the US purchasing medicines from countries that receive them at a lower cost because they have less personal incomes and the drug companies change the cost accordingly. With reimportatin the drug companies would have to compete against themselves. Although the practice is currently illegal, many states have pursued the policy and now it has become front and center of the current health care debate.

Jack Calfee of American.com observes "This week, the Senate is expected to vote on an amendment to the healthcare overhaul bill that would incorporate the chief features of Senator Byron Dorgan’s drug importation bill. The Dorgan amendment would essentially require U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply importers from foreign nations with unlimited quantities of low-priced drugs, which could then be resold in the U.S. market." It is interesting because I am sure the foreign companies that resale it to the US will do so for a profit, so our policy makers are sending these jobs to foreign countries. The question is, for how long? With these companies being forced to compete against themselves, the development of new drugs will be hindered. Simply put, there may not be new drugs to export in the future.

The economics of this are bizarre, Calfee notes 'The central feature is 'forced sales,' not in the sense that any sales are literally required, but because a manufacturer that sells to any particular nation has to sell as much as buyers want at whatever price those buyers pay in that nation. The implications are bizarre. If Lipitor is 40 percent cheaper in Germany, a German importer could order enough to supply not only Germany but also the entire U.S. market. The manufacturer (Pfizer) could try to meet domestic German demand and no more, but the Dorgan bill includes provisions to make that difficult. But why worry about Germany? Prices are certainly cheaper in, say, Greece, Portugal, or one of the Eastern European nations (the Dorgan bill includes a list of acceptable nations). A lot of drugs could flow through Portuguese seaports, assuming that anyone bothered to ship them back and forth instead of directly to the United States.

"US health care certainly has problems. Most of them are created by excessive legal rewards, government mandates, and bureaucracy. Innovation is one of the crowning achievement of our system. If this amendment passes, innovation will certainly suffer.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Throw Out the Textbooks!

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Wendy Lynn Day
From Facebook

Throw out the textbooks. There is no need to read the Declaration of Independence or U.S. Constitution. No need to read about the Greatest Generation or Founding Fathers. No need to learn about America tearing herself apart and putting herself back together again to right the wrongs of slavery and segregation. Nope.

In fact, there is finally a book, and now movie, that gives the honest social progressive view of American history. The People Speak is a documentary to prove just how sexist, racist, and elitist America is.

Howard Zinn wrote A People's History of the United States and now brings us The People Speak. He is portrayed as a revolutionary, except that now most standard textbooks mirror his view of American history. The History Channel is showing The People Speak; and it may be coming to a classroom near you. The movie is social progressiveness at its best. There is a stream of Hollywood faces, including producer Matt Damon.

Here is one example from the movie:

"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" was originally "Life, Liberty, and Property." According to Howard Zinn, the "Property" label proves the Founding Fathers were elitists. He claims that the Constitution was designed so that slave owners could run the country; also that the Bill of Rights was only added after protest, against the original intent of the Founding Fathers.

The reality is that "Property" was changed to "Pursuit of Happiness" because the Founding Fathers didn't want further the cause of slavery by giving more credence to the terrible institution. The Founding Fathers originally wanted to include the term "Property" because without the right to own property, people cannot be free.

Do we need to hear voices of dissension to honestly look at our Nation's history? Yes. But the history so many of our children are learning is almost entirely voices of distention. What has fallen out of fashion is teaching about the good in our history, the heroes.

Howard Zinn tries to bring down the American heroes and undermine the greatness of our country. Yes, American is flawed- because people are flawed. But I, like so many of you, believe that America is great. America has always held the promise of liberty. That is why so many fight to come here.

What frightens me most about this one-sided negative view of America being taught as truth and beauty is that if we give up the will to fight for our country, we will surely fail. If we feel like offering apologies is more appropriate than fighting for freedom, we will fail. And if we believe this view of American history, we are more likely to land on the side of apology.

What kind of stories would have been in this book if written 100 years from now?

1. Cindy Sheehan, just a mom who wanted to stop an "unjust" war.

2. Nidal Malik Hasan,the misunderstood Muslim who shot 13-people in Fort Hood, TX.

3. Dr. Tiller, the great fighter for women's rights, unless of course you are a baby girl.

Actually, lots of the dissenters he would have written about are now part of the status quo; and those who are fighting against the system are those who actually love this country. Wonder what he would do with this reality? I imagine he wouldn't be so quick to write about those who love liberty and attend tea party rallies. He would probably wait five years, for the socialist policies to show their inability to provide "social justice" and then write about how it was racism, sexism and the rest of the "isms" that prevented Eden from taking root.

Bottom line- ask your child's teachers and your local school boards about this film. Will they be showing it? Will they be showing some counter story, like the HBO miniseries John Adams? This will be a good litmus test for the condition of our education systems and its treatment of the history of our great nation. Will your school pass the test?

The Popular Disdain for the Constitution

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:58:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From Facebook

At one of her recent press conferences, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's was asked by a CNS News reporter, "Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?" the Speaker was clearly agitated by the question and responded, "Are you serious? Are you serious?" The reporter said, "Yes, yes, I am." Without commenting further, Pelosi shook her head in disgust and took a question from another reporter. Later on, the Speaker's press spokesman Nadeam Elshami told CNSNews.com about its question regarding the constitutionality of socialized medicine that "You can put this on the record. That is not a serious question. That is not a serious question."

Like every member of Congress, Pelosi takes this sacred oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." She swears to defend the Constitution, but does not take this question seriously? The arrogance or ignorance is amazing. The question is legitimate, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution lists the enumerated powers of Congress and there is no provision for health care. Furthermore, the Tenth
Amendment makes it explicitly clear that the powers not listed in the Constitution are to be left to the states and the citizens.

For decades government has gone well beyond it Constitutional responsibility and has become more cavalier about the role of government. Essentially our government is on auto-pilot and simply picks up new duties as it deems fit.

I have said often on my radio show that to be for the Constitution is simply not "cool" and you will not be taken serious in Washington. I have had friends -- both Democrat and Republican -- smugly smile at me and say that arguments about the Constitution are laughable. Discussions about a "strict constructionist" view can only be academic.

I must ask the question, by what standard than are we going to judge government? If not the Constitution, what will be our measure of whether government is serving us properly? It cannot be popular opinion, because the masses can be convinced to believe anything. That is why the Founding Fathers put such safe guards against pure democracy.

This is why I have grown frustrated by the "liberal" versus "conservative" debate. All these two views argue is the pace towards socialism. Liberals ask why we are not fully under government control while conservatives want to argue to slow down the pace. What is there to "conserve" any more? Massive deficits and debts? Taxation out of control? A regulatory system that is hostile to freedom? If we are serious about the Constitution we should drop the conservative label and state we wish to restore the Constitution.

Until we have a serious debate about the Constitution we can only expect our freedoms to further disappear while are political leaders show extreme joy on the left or slight discomfort on the right. The leaders in Washington believe there is nothing government cannot do and they intend to only prove that in the years to come.

Economist Walter Williams recently noted that "in each new session of Congress since 1995, John Shadegg, (R-Ariz.,) has introduced the Enumerated Powers Act, a measure 'To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes.' The highest number of co-sponsors it has ever had in the House of Representatives is 54 and it has never had co-sponsors in the Senate until this year, when 22 senators signed up. The fact that less than 15 percent of the Congress supports such a measure demonstrates the kind of contempt our elected representatives have for the rules of the game -- our Constitution."

How has your member of Congress stood on this important first step in restoring Constitutional government? Instead of arguing with politicians on specific policies, let us make them defend their view of the document they swore to defend .

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

ACORN And OBAMA Cookie Jar - Slap You In The Face WH Cookies

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:23:00 +0000

fingers in the dam

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:13:00 +0000

Dennis Thompson
from Facebook

The word says to never grow weary in doing well. I find that very important. It is indeed a good thing to do good in this world that needs a lot of good. This morning I am thinking of what someone said onetime that was in regards to the abortion issue. They said that instead of dealing with it at the root level, we seemed to always deal with it at what we could see above ground. Many times you can cut things down to the root, and although you think they are dead because you can no longer see them, its like the seed planted that you do not see but is growing. Life is still in it.

There is more than enough injustice in the world to go around. We can listen to cultural and political activists every day and get so aroused. So upset over what "they" are trying to do to us. There will always be a "they". There will always be groups and causes to be upset about. In most cases the roots have taken hold very deep under the ground. ou can only do so much.

I love the United States Constitution. In all honesty it has never been completely followed. To think that it ever will is not really logical. Yet it becomes our focal point and sounding board for our anger and displeasure. In the case of war, which no one is dor, you will find some extremists claiming we were never to have had a standing army. Life is so complicated. It is not always black and white. That is why the constitution allowed for amendments.

Personally I used up all my fingers in the holes of the dam a while ago. I saw that there were many more leaks than I myself could stop. It is good to try and fight the good fight. But ultimately God is bigger than any marxist movement. He will be with me nomatter what the outcome of all of this onslaught. I believe there are good and evil people just as there are also right and wrong people.

But where is the balance if each day we need to listen to someone telling us of the enemy's plans? Its good to be informed, but it is not good to be consumed with anything other than God's goodness. Nothing else is lasting and when the dust settles, what do you have but bitterness and anger. God would that we be balanced. That we have our jobs, and when we come home we have our families. Something always suffers when our focus is always about something going awry.

The war is coming make no doubt

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:29:00 +0000

Kender MacGowan
from Facebook

The war is coming
I know this as the winds of change
flow steadily from the east
Evil festers in the halls of power
where lives are chosen, fates decided
The simple rules of yesteryear have been torn down
Replaced with an endlessly litany of
You shall not this and you shall that
You cannot and you must
Gone are the day of you can
Replaced with you cannot

Freedom? DEAD

LIBERTY? DEAD

Tyranny rules and the shackles
are being laid heavily upon our wrists
Shackles of laws today, shackles of steel tomorrow
Continue telling us we need this change
While we scream you are wrong.
Continue calling us ignorant racists
Hateful elitists
THE MAN
While ignoring that our lost freedoms
are your lost freedoms
Then who shall stand to protect you?
Not those in the festering halls of power
From whence evil winds blow

Those foul winds covering our land
portend a mighty battle
Fought between those defending
Their power
And those defending
Their freedom

Choose your side quickly
No mercy shall be shown
Evil must be eradicated
Not rehabilitated.
Physical deformaties are rehabilitated
There is no rehabilitation
For evil
You kill it or it kills you.

Those fetid winds flow from the east
Mordor is now a White Domed House
Sauron is entrenched and grows ever stringer
From whence will our Frodo appear?
Where lies this night the hero who will rise and saved us?
The winds of change are blowing foul
The darkness spreads
The war comes.

The War on Job Creation

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From Facebook

Back in the Dark Ages, doctors were known for bleeding patients to reduce fever and cracking skulls to relieve headaches. Everything old is new again as the Obama Administration pursues excessive taxes on job creators on both Wall Street and Main Street in order to create new jobs.

Elizabeth MacDonald brings the Administration's current efforts to light in a column at FoxBusiness.com. She points out that "A House bill now being drafted would raise $150 billion each year to pay for new manufacturing jobs by taxing securities transactions such as stocks, options, derivatives and futures...But the effect here would be the polar opposite-it would hurt job creation and even though Congress says they'll exempt trades made for retirement savings, chances are slim that will happen, and the fees will get passed along. And jobs in the finance sector, already flattened, will fly overseas if the US is the only country with this taxing regime."

MacDonald's article points out the obvious. Politicians develop and implement policies as if we were trees. They believe we will take a tax, regulation, or other cost of doing business without blinking. Unfortunately for government, we are not trees. I do not know about you, but if someone attacks me with an axe I am either going to fight or take flight. That is the same thing that happens in public policy. When government attacks with a tax on job creation, that job creator is either going to fight (which in this country requires a long term strategy that includes changing the people in power) or they are going to run (which is much easier to do in our current political environment and our abilities thanks to technology).

Where and how do people run? We have many examples of this in recent years and the Internet makes it very easy for people to move their money and the rest of their lives, wherever they need to go to do business.

For example, A recent study from the Empire Center for New York State Policy is showing that the state is suffering from a similar fate. The authors of the studies -- E.J. McMahon and Wendell Cox -- point out that between the years 2000 and 2008 and following massive tax increases for those with higher incomes, the families that have been leaving have income levels that were 13 percent higher than those arriving to the Empire State. In Manhattan and the New York County area, the impact was even more profound. Those leaving the Big Apple had an average income of $93,264, which was approximately 28 percent higher than those who were arriving (which made $72,726 on average).

What is most ironic about these type of policies is that they not only fail to create jobs, but also fail to generate new revenues. They simply do not work. The old saying remains true, "the more you tax something, the less you get of it." If you heavily tax job creators, you will lose them and the jobs they create. MacDonald believes that the bill being argued in this Congress will actually force some job creators out of the country. They, in turn would likely take the jobs with them. It is time to abandon ancient practices that do not work and pursue policies that simply make sense.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

futility of reality

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:32:00 +0000

Dennis Thompson
From Facebook

Someone is always looking for a hero. Someone is always trying to make sense of things that do not make sense. There is only one that is perfect in the end and that is Jesus. He is the only one that is for us. And yet we tend to complicate him. Its always Jesus plus this for continuing salvation.

Once our children are born to us, are they all of a sudden not our children because they may have broke a few house rules? No we deal with the issues with them. Our ways in doing that are so different than God's ways. He is the good father that know so much better how to deal with us.

Life is self inflicted on our part. We choose either good things or bad things.We try and get so many little pat answers that help us deal with what is, yet in many cases we are just upset and have to do something for the case of doing something.

Fight the good fight. What if our participation in the fight is that we have to watch daily the injustices in life and our government and get all worked up with that when there is just a lot of injustice nomatter what? I am trying to recall the scripture where it tells us each day has enough trouble as it is. Yes let not your heart be troubled.

However there is injustice and an onslaught everyday. There is always tragedy. Thats why stupid laws are over calculated because a few people did some things wrong and now the laws complicate everyones lives. Some answer huh? New stoplights at corners where they do not need them, because of one persons' carelessness? I have seen that too.

Its good to see what is going on, its also good to try and change bad issues that will hurt our country. But there is something wrong when a persons day is consumed with one talk show after another and one political TV show after another in the course of the day. Why? because it robs people of their peace. For a Christian, Paul encouraged us to strive to do one thing. Enter into the peace of the Gospel.

The founding fathers warned people here in the united states of the importance of having good people in office,or the great constitution would be negated. That is true. We have a big personal responsibility in our own ship here in America. However I see all of a sudden this surge to throw them all out. This is like a mob that gets angered and does irrational things.

Rational is finding the ones that are indeed doing well as a whole, because no one is perfect and supporting them. The second thing is key marking those that are destructive and finding poeple in their area that are good and raise them up. Are we really doing that? Are we fairly looking at some who proclaim to be something they are not.

America is about individual greatness. Obama is obviously greatly lacking in every aspect and is hurting America. He is viewed as being black, even though he is half white. There are mamny many great people of every race that are more than qualified to lead this country. However at the economic freefall we are in, there are few able to fix this and very few proven. That is why I looked long and hard and chose Mitt Romney. I also know what happened with Heathcare in Mass and that smear is no different than any smear against Sarah Palin or Ronald Reagan in his day.

I would encourage people to find some other things outside of the political realm There is a life. What exactly has changed but a daily anger of injustices? Yes there is plenty to be angry about. However what has really changed? Acorn is still getting money. Cap and Trade has passed its initial stages. Healthcare will pass in some form. The stupid stimulus has us on our knees in problems. The list goes on and on. It is good to be aware but it also is not good to be consumed. There is indeed more to life.

Global warming scientists E mail hacked. 23rd 11th 09.

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:21:00 +0000

Global Warming Campaign Proves to be Expensive Joke

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:18:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From Facebook

Conspiracy theorists have argued for years that government officials who support the massive regulation of industry in the name of environmentalism, do so in order to pursue even greater government control It is not about a cleaner environment, but a more powerful government. Meanwhile, scientists who have advocated Global Warming have often been accused of being professional "Chicken Littles," who make a living predicting that the sky is falling. After all, if research studies had indicated that things were fine or temperature changes were cyclical, there would be no need for future research and the funding that comes with it. There is a business side to everything, including environmental research, and fear has proved to be a successful element in obtaining increased funding.

The media has been quick to defend those in government and science in the alarmist camp, creating a powerful and effective troika supporting an ambitious agenda. They have apologized for the many exaggerations and have gone to great lengths to defending the most outrageous of claims. The recent release of some rather incriminating emails are embarrassing to the media, scientists, and government officials behind the Global Warming movement. Forget embarrassing, the movement is now on life support.

The Wall Street Journal discusses the content and the implications of the emails in question, quoting several including one stating that "The two MMs have been after the CRU station data for years. If they ever hear there is a Freedom of Information Act now in the U.K., I think I'll delete the file rather than send to anyone. . . . We also have a data protection act, which I will hide behind."

"So apparently wrote Phil Jones, director of the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU) and one of the world's leading climate scientists, in a 2005 email to 'Mike.' Judging by the email thread, this refers to Michael Mann, director of the Pennsylvania State University's Earth System Science Center. We found this nugget among the more than 3,000 emails and documents released last week after CRU's servers were hacked and messages among some of the world's most influential climatologists were published on the Internet."

"The 'two MMs' are almost certainly Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick, two Canadians who have devoted years to seeking the raw data and codes used in climate graphs and models, then fact-checking the published conclusions-a painstaking task that strikes us as a public and scientific service. Mr. Jones did not return requests for comment and the university said it could not confirm that all the emails were authentic, though it acknowledged its servers were hacked."
The emails in question are in the thousands and the thread demonstrates a similar theme and are most enlightening. The Wall Street Journal article goes on to point out that "In them, scientists appear to urge each other to present a 'unified' view on the theory of man-made climate change while discussing the importance of the 'common cause'; to advise each other on how to smooth over data so as not to compromise the favored hypothesis; to discuss ways to keep opposing views out of leading journals; and to give tips on how to 'hide the decline' of temperature in certain inconvenient data."
In essence, the world has been duped by scientists driven by the desire of prestige and funding, politicians driven by a lust for control and power, and a media that makes a living by creating alarm. The cost of pursuing a battle plan against these false problems has cost countries like Spain millions of jobs in its "cap and trade" style legislation and countries through out Western Europe and the United States billions of dollars in regulations to date. What will these false prophets receive for their crimes against economies? Probably Pulitzers and Nobels. What a strange world indeed.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Health Care Debate: Lessons to be Learned from Cleveland

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Joseph A Milan
From Facebook

For those unfamilar with Cleveland's Medical Mart, please do a news search. We have been paying taxes for years for a "plan" that has changed locations several times and has not become the income generator we were promised. The paralels between this and the health care plan that won't start paying benefits for years but we will get taxed on from the moment it becomes law should not be overlooked):

There is a lesson to be learned from the Medical Mart project that should be applied to the health care reform bills now being debated.Now ousted county commisioners voted for the medical mart with the promise of jobs and attraction of business that would bring our city back. Instead, county taxpayers have been footing the bill for years and plan after plan has been scrapped.We already know some facts abouth the current health care reform if it becomes law. If the bill were to pass today, no benefits would be paid out for years while the country's taxpayers pay into the plan. Many of the congressmen and senators who vote for this plan may not be representing us should we ever see any benefits from health reform.Does the country really want to go through the same process that Cuyahoga residents have been through? How many times will this reform be reformed before anyone gets to use it?Our U.S. congress and senate may have wonderful intentions on this legislation becoming law. So did our county comissioners, who have been asked by the voters to leave. Since our county revolted against the commisioners, it is possible health reform could have the same effect on our representatives in Washington

Liberalism: A Mental Illness, No Matter The Address

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:14:00 +0000

by Audrey Russo
From Facebook

I find Liberalism fascinating, in a macabre sort of way. When Liberalism has infected the brain for too long, the victim turns into an unpatriotic, seditious problem child...am I speaking of one of the 20% of Liberals in the US? Not this time, though that list would be interminable...this example comes from 'the land of the four seas'...

A former leader of the Meretz Party in Israel (self-defined as green, left-wing and socialist), Shulamit Aloni, told Ynetnews on her 81st birthday: "It's hard for me to say a kind word about the state today...We are a nefarious people. What we are doing in the West Bank is worse than all the pogroms done to the Jews (referring to the Cossacks)."

Hmmm...do I smell a 'mea culpa tour' in the near future? We have a paradigm for just such an outing...

"A nefarious people?" I believe Ms. Aloni is a wee bit confused. The criminals are those targeting innocents...and that would be the 'Palestinians', NOT the Israelis.

Ms. Aloni added: "No one should be speaking this nonsense about 'blood on the hands'. Since 2000, with the launching of the second Intifada, we have murdered thousands. We too have blood on our hands."

Ah...the effects of Liberalism on the brain...confusion, the convenient absence of truth...it doesn't get better than this.

Since 2000 and the 'Palestinian' war on Israeli innocents...Israel has responded in a defensive mode only. They targeted ONLY those terrorists (um, that would be the PA ['Palestinian' Authority] comprised of the terror groups Hamas and Fatah) that attacked their citizenry. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) work arduously to prevent collateral damage (the deaths of innocents)...with warnings to civilians well in advance of a defensive attack in a civilian area, because groups like Hamas hide among the civilian population and use them as human shields.

Ms. Aloni's remarks are reprehensible...and along with Goldstone and his paltering particulars...they make for a pernicious pair that aids-and-abets Israel's enemies globally.

But again...no surprise here...for these are the consequences of liberal dogma upon vulnerable prey: Those willing to entertain such tripe.

Shalom through strength...

Opposition to Obamacare Should be Unconditional

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From Facebook

Recently I received a request from a very well intended and concerned individual about the health care debate. She wanted me to promote a provision that would have a "whistle blower" provision as a part of the socialized health care bill. It is a great measure that those who want to protect our health care system should support, but avoid like the plague at this time. Meanwhile it is the type of provision that Obama, Reid, and Pelosi hates and they hope and pray that conservatives pursue such with a passion. The reason for this is simple -- it legitimizes the role of the federal government in the health care debate. Once we concede to this type of discussion, there is no longer a question as to whether there will be a socialized health care program, but what it will look like.

I hear people say, "government spending needs to be lower before we pursue such an ambitious program," or "the number one priority is unemployment and until it is below a certain level, we should not be even discussing health care," or other conditions that some deem necessary before we begin a health care debate. Our view must be different. Our opposition to this health care proposal should be unconditional. There should be nothing the federal government can do to make it worthy of consideration. The reasons for this are numerous, here are just a few:

Socialized medicine destroys innovation and will throw our health care into a new Dark Ages.

The federal system our republic is built on intended for issues like this to be addressed exclusively by the states and not the federal government. To date states like California, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Hawaii have attempted such programs and they have all been complete failures. Hawaii's socialized health care program almost put the entire state into bankruptcy and had to be discontinued in seven months.

Socialized medicine has not worked in other countries and, where applied, is noted for rationing and shortages. The average wait time to see a specialist in Canada after a general physician has noted a health care issue requiring further attention is 17 weeks (approximately four months). This is more than enough time to turn an early detected cancer into one that is inoperable. According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, women with breast cancer have a 14 percent higher survival rate in the United States than in Europe. Breast cancer mortality is 52 percent higher in Germany than in the United States, and 88 percent higher in the United Kingdom. Breast cancer mortality is also 9 percent higher in Canada than in the US. Less than 25 percent of US women die from breast cancer. In Great Britain, it's 46 percent; France, 35 percent; Germany, 31 percent; Canada, 28 percent; Australia, 28 percent, and New Zealand, 46 percent.

Finally, and most important in my opinion, socialized health care is unconstitutional. Our constitution limits the federal government to 17 specific powers and none of them include health care. The argument that the government is already doing many things beyond the mandate of the Constitution does not justify further expansion. The line must be drawn some where. This is the time and this is the place.

If those who oppose socialize medicine engage in the debate by discussing provisions "necessary" to make it "work," the battle is over and we lose. We must stand opposed to socialized health care and do so without exceptions.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Public Funding of Elections Provide Predictable Results

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:22:00 +0000

Kevin Price
From facebook

Many have been crying for government funding of elections as a vehicle to make elected office more accessible for those who are not rich and to weaken the influence of money on the policy process. A new report by the Goldwater Institute indicates that may not be the case. The Goldwater Institute is a state public policy foundation for the state of Arizona and its recent report shows that public financing has empowered substantially more "big government believers" than supporters of smaller government to the process, according to the Director of its Center for Constitutional Government, Nick Dranias.

The report takes a rather objective look of the impact of public funding on candidates by grading and ranking state legislators based on their commitment to small government as demonstrated by the bills they supported. The institution's philosophy is best described as classical liberal, meaning that government simply should tax, spend, and regulate as little as possible. Like those report cards you received in school, the grading looks familiar -- an "A" for those who would vote like the organization's namesake (Barry Goldwater) and an F of those who reflect the views of the current sitting President, Mr. Obama.

Here are some of the facts from the study:

As shown in the Institute's report, publicly-financed candidates in both the State Senate and House disproportionately receive failing grades.

More publicly-financed candidates rank in the bottom half than in the top half.

And publicly-financed candidates that rank in the bottom 10 are nearly double the number of publicly-financed candidates in the top 10.

The report went far and wide in its scope and its grading scale made the legislature's work very clear. The report was also quite thorough, going through over 1,200 bills, memorials, and resolutions introduced this pass session. It gives a solid framework for individuals to determine what work their elected officials are about: protecting taxpayers or exploiting them.
The National Center for Policy Analysis summarized the report by pointing out that, "Scores for the 49th Arizona Legislature remain around the 50 percent mark, indicating a near equal amount of votes that undermined liberty as upheld it. While legislators with the highest scores received a letter grade of A, it should be remembered that this rating represents a percentage score of 80, leaving much room for improvement. Likewise, these scores illustrate legislators' relative commitment to liberty. They are not absolute measures of a legislator's merit, and do not constitute any endorsement, says Dranias."

In my opinion, this study's findings should not surprise anyone. If one uses welfare to get elected (public funding), how can one expect them to hold a tough line on welfare for the general population once elected. That would be the epitome of hypocrisy. The moral legs necessary for supporting smaller government are wiped out by the power of government subsidies for these candidates. Like virtually every other area of discussion, more government in election funding is not the solution to our problems.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Clean Elections Debate

mgpogue@gmail.com (Mark G Pogue) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:19:00 +0000