07.11.09
Universal Health Care?
First, I have been busy with work, and I got fed up with politics, so I stopped updating this for the few that read it. I had some thoughts that I wanted to post.
Is compassion a freedom that we have or something that should be forced upon us?
Look, I hate the fact that people go without health care. It sucks, but am I the only one that is scared about the fact that we are no longer going to get a “free-look” period that was promised before it gets voted on? Transparency? How are we supposed to trust that we have somehow come up with a plan better than Canada or the U.K.?
I had surgery a few months ago that under a universal health care system would be deemed as a non-emergency procedure. I missed a lot of work. What kind of waiting list would I go on before I could have a surgery like that? Is it true that in some countries, if you have a greater chance of dying, then you will not be a priority? Where is the compassion in that?
What about the economic impact of this? Forget the deficit and the taxes that will forced upon us. What about jobs? How many jobs are reliant on the current health care system? Not just processors, doctors, nurses..but salespeople, long term care insurance companies, health insurance companies, etc. People will lose their jobs, and the government will be there to rock their cradle when that happens. More government jobs, more dependency on government. The closer we get to complete reliance on the government, the closer we’ll be to _________. If you have the argument of, health insurance companies will be fine because employers can still carry health coverage. What employer is going to continue to pay costs out of their pocket if people can get it for free elsewhere? These collapse of these companies will drive long term care costs up, as well. Long term care is broken into two categories of people. One, the people pay for insurance and get to choose how they receive their care. Two, the government gets to choose, but before the government will take care of it, you have to spend down your assets to under $2000 and you have no choice how you receive it. My point here (sorry, I got on a tangent) is that when we rely on the government, we lose the option of choice.
Has everyone else considered the standard of living cut that they will take when a plan like this goes into effect? What has everyone else done to help there brothers and sisters afford health care? or are you waiting on the government to do something, so you don’t have to be proactive? If you have given in some way, how will the government taking out of your pockets to achieve the same thing, affect your willingness to give? Keep in mind, you will have a lot less money to give at that point. My point is, the more we depend on the government to do things for us, the more money it will take from us, and the less we will be willing to help our brothers and sisters ourselves. Charitable giving dollars (to a well-minded charity) will ALWAYS go alot further than what the government can do for the same money. That’s government mandated compassion. That’s not freedom. God gave us this free will to choose to do right and wrong. He didn’t force the right choice upon us, just as no other leader should force that upon us. Let’s figure out another way, and be proactive about it instead of waiting on our government to do that for us.
That’s my two cents. Also, if I am incorrect about any facts, please correct me and cite your source. I am not perfect, and always love to hear what anyone else is thinking.
Blessings,
Colt
09.22.08
Tell Congress to Stop Screwing Us
Quick note.
So, congress has decided that the oil crisis is too big to deal with until after the election.
We can save money if we are able to drill where the big oil is, but instead of granting us this freedom, they are going to wait. What in the hell are we paying them for and why are we paying so much more than they deserve to be paid which we never agreed to their ridiculous government salary anyway? I know that was a run-on sentence, but I’m a little aggravated that they are in office to serve a purpose and the only purpose they are worried about is who’s candidate is going to be helped more by postponing this offshore drilling plan.
Yes, I hear that this won’t help right away and that we need something now. But meanwhile, we are going to argue this so long, the time will have passed that we would benefit from it. Drill now and we can work on other things meanwhile. This is an example of ridiculous partisan politics.
Why can’t we hold them accountable for these things when election time comes around? Where is the accountability for these stupid acts?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
I welcome any knowledge you can offer on the following subject. I’ll admit that I don’t know too much about these public-private companies, but I do know one thing: it is stupid. The outdated policies that govern these two companies became a bubble too big to pop.
The FDR administration created Fannie Mae, in order to stimulate the housing market during the great depression. Essentially, it would use federal money to finance local banks providing home mortgages. It operated like a national savings and loan, thus the name, “secondary housing market.” After thirty years, the government decided to privatize Fannie Mae, with the financial backings of the Treasury. The monopoly got so big, that the government created Freddie Mac to essentially do the same thing, from what I understand.
The thing about these two companies is that they are the only companies in the Fortune 500 that aren’t bound by the governing laws of the SEC. This means that they don’t have to report any financial crisis that they predict to the shareholders. Allegations of accounting deception and fraud have been surround these companies for a while now.
It’s ridiculous. It’s like the government will slap them on the wrist, while slapping us in the face with these bailouts. Come on!
And amidst this crisis that has apparently been going on for a while now, I would like to mention something I just learned about. Obama, in his short stint in the U.S. Senate(and I mean 130 days short), has received the second most lobbying and financial contributions to a politician in the two companies’ history with $126,349 (the most was Dodd). He states most of of the money came from individual employees, but most doesn’t mean all. McCain does have some stocks and bonds in the company, but no contributions that I found out about. This are reported by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Correct me if I am wrong. To me, this means that if these companies have been going through a financial crisis, why would Obama accept money from these companies? Once again, even if he claims MOST came from individual employees, doesn’t that mean some came from the companies? Why is a candidate accepting contributions from a semi-public company anyway? Would he have known that the government would bail them out when he accepted contributions? Is this ethical? I could be completely wrong in my assumptions, but then again…
These companies are responsible for 4.8 million dollars in congressional contributions. The majority are democrats, but it is still on both sides. We need some deregulation and to privatize them. I don’t want to pay to lobby candidates, so why I am bailing them out?
09.13.08
Obama’s “Classy” Campaign Ad
Senator talks about a different kind of campaign, and just released an ad attacking how McCain barely knows how to use an email or even a computer. This is truly a low blow that I think will backfire once people realize that he can’t type on a keyboard because of injuries he incurred during war. Boston Globe published an article, which can be found here that states:
“McCain’s severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain’s encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He’s an avid fan – Ted Williams is his hero – but he can’t raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball.”
Either this has been a low blow or his campaign staff is filled with idiots. This is a shame.
Let me ask, what is worse? Making fun of a handicap because of his inabilities to perform or… wait… That’s what this is.
This combined with Joe Biden asking the handicapped, paraplegic Senator to stand up would definitely make this one great “foo pah” week!
09.10.08
“Lipstick on a Pig”
Whether Barack’s comments about putting lipstick on a pig was a direct jab or not at Palin, we won’t ever know. One thing I did notice was his comments when he addressed the McCain ad mentioning his comments. He said the McCain camp didn’t want to put ads out that discuss the issues, and are simply putting ads out that are playing that ’same ol’ political game that we all hate. If you recall as I do, his camp released an advertisement that spoke about the number of houses that John McCain and his wife own. Explain how this advertisement he released about a month ago is discussing the “issues” either.
Obama’s attack advertisements have proven to be more helpful to McCain than to Obama. Keep up the good work!
09.08.08
McCain’s Ahead! and The NY Post
According to all major polls, McCain has taken the lead. USA Today Gallup has him 4 points over Obama. Today, NY Post has backed him with the following article. My favorite part is, “McCain’s lifelong record of service to America, his battle-tested courage, unshakeable devotion to principle and clear grasp of the dangers and opportunities now facing the nation stand in dramatic contrast to the tissue-paper-thin résumé of his Democratic opponent, freshman Sen. Barack Obama”
<a href=”http://www.nypost.com/seven/09082008/postopinion/editorials/post_endorses_john_mccain_128044.htm?page=0″>POST ENDORSES JOHN MCCAIN</a>
You Decide
Here is the full video, which is being shown out of context on youtube by several people. It is Obama talking about his faith a bit and the abortion issue on Monday’s interview with George Step… Does this “…my Muslim faith” come naturally? I think so, but someone who was raised in Muslim schools, it’s not that hard to believe. I’m not saying he is a Muslim, even though I have a very reasonable suspicion. But if he is, let it be known that I don’t mind him being Muslim. I mind that he might be covering it up and lying about it. He has little history in a Christian church. I mean, he did, then he didn’t, 
if you know what I’m saying. Once a controversy comes up, he’s outta here!!! Anyway, I’m just ranting now. Here’s the video:
