Musings of a Banana

The nerve

As Arizona is trying to do what Washington, DC is suppose to be doing which is secure the border, our illustrious president and secretary of state have included Arizona S.B. 1070 in the Universal Periodic Review report submitted to the United Nations  Human Rights Council.  This is an outrage.  The federal government has already sued Arizona and now they are taking it to the international community.  The United Nations Human Rights Council is composed of 47 countries.  Some of the countries on the council include Cuba, China and Libya.  Libya is ranked Not Free by Freedom House (http://www.freedomhouse.org).  It was one of only nine countries to receive the worst possible score of 7 for political rights and civil liberties.  It is considered one of the “world’s most repressive societies.  China scored a 7 out of a possible 7 for political rights and a 6 out of 7 for civil liberties. It is considered not free and has increased restrictions on online writers and democracy activists among others.  Cuba also received the same scores as China and is considered not free.  These three examples are sitting on the UN Human Rights Council.  This council will be reviewing what the State Department calls “a partial snapshot of the current human rights situation in the United States, including some of the areas where problems persist in our society.”   This is one more example of the Obama administration being totally out of touch with the majority of American citizens.  The majority of American citizens are in favor of the Arizona law. The majority of American citizens don’t want the United Nations interfering in our country’s business.   Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, has sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that S.B. 1070 be removed from the report.  I doubt this letter will get much traction. The Arizona bill will still be included and it will be judged by the likes of great human rights “champions” like Cuba, Libya, China and others on the council that don’t make the mark.

Let them eat cake

Michelle Obama recently took her youngest daughter to Spain.  The trip is getting a lot of attention especially with the economy not doing so well.  When I first heard this story I didn’t really think too much about it. Yes, it did bother me that it cost $146,000 to fly the Air Force 757 that took Mrs. Obama and her daughter to Spain.  It also bothered me that it costs $95,000 for the Secret Service, but I really wanted to just gloss over this story.  Then I went to downtown Albuquerque to drop off donations to Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless and St. Martin’s Hospitality Center.  Seeing people who have very little or nothing made me think that although the first lady is not an elected official, she is someone that some people look up to as an example. She certainly did not set an example by going to Spain.  In her husband’s inaugural address he talked a lot about sacrifice,.  Or course, he meant the American people and not him or his family or his administration for that matter.  While Michelle Obama wants everyone to grow a garden and eat healthier, she jetsetted off to Spain to take her daughter somewhere she always wanted to go.  When I was downtown today, I thought maybe it would have been better for her to take her daughter to Southeast DC.  Instead of an international lesson, she could have given her daughter a domestic lesson.  I have a feeling it would have made a bigger impression than the King and Queen of Spain.

Stop staring at us

I have two very rambunctious boys.  They can be good and sit still, but when confronted with a huge tree house inside of a McDonald’s they get a little wild.  Today this scenario happened,  a huge tree house inside a McDonald’s.  We went to breakfast with my mom before we started our drive home.  When we got there, there was nobody else sitting in the play area.  Then an older couple came in and sat down. I thought it was odd that they would pick the play area to sit and have breakfast.  While the boys ran around, they gave us dirty looks.  When I took Baden to the bathroom they watched me walk all the way there.    It was rather uncomfortable.  As we were getting ready to leave, we walked past them and the man said “good”. I took this to mean good they are leaving. I don’t normally confront people, but this time I turned around and said do you have a problem.  They looked at each other with shocked looks on their faces.  The woman said no I don’t have a problem. I said well obviously you do because from the time you got in here you have been watching us.  I know my boys were running around and yelling, but you are sitting in the kids area.  If you don’t want to be around kids, sit somewhere else.  I turned around and walked out.  I was so mad.  First of all, the boys would be enduring a 6.5 hour ride in the car.  They needed to be able to run around before we got in the car. Second of all, they were sitting in the kids area where normally there are a lot more kids than just my boys.  They should be thankful it wasn’t a whole slew of kids.  My mom told me I surprised her when I turned around and said something, but she said sometimes you just have to speak up.  You are so right, Mom.

There are more important things to do…

According to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, the White House is going to sue Arizona over it’s impending immigration law that will go into effect in July.  Remember that when asked in a congressional hearing if he had read the law, Eric Holder said no.  Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, also had not read the law. I seriously doubt that BO (that’s the president) has read the law.  Why oh why spend our money on suing a state that is only doing what the federal government should be doing and that’s enforcing immigration laws.  I have read and watched debates about the Arizona law. BO said if you go out for ice cream you could possibly be stopped by police and asked for your papers.  How silly.  If you are doing something wrong that warrants being stopped by police then you may be asked for papers if the police have reasonable suspicion that you may be in the country illegally.  Some New Mexicans are afraid they may be stopped in Arizona because New Mexico gives drivers licenses to whoever wants them.  New Mexicans believe they may have to carry a passport to Arizona.  This is really getting out of control.  First, the president, the attorney general and homeland security secretary don’t read the law but decry it.  Then they decide to sue Arizona.  There are a lot more important things to do.  Let me think… the economy, the oil spill in the Gulf (that’s another blog post), the war in Afghanistan just to name a few.  Let’s get this country back on track and forget about the state that is only trying to do what the federal government should have been doing all along.

He just doesn’t get it and probably never will

Thursday was Tax Day.  A perfect day to protest and show the government how unhappy we are.  But some people just don’t get it.  One is President Obama or as I affectionately call him BO.  At a Democratic fundraiser in Miami on Thursday night, he told supporters he is amused by the protesters’ complaints about taxes because, contrary to their claims, he’s cut taxes. “You would think they’d be saying thank you,” the president said.  Yeah, right.   The Tea Party protests across the nation were not all about taxes and it was about taking control of our country.  The government spending is out of control.  The recently passed health care reform bill is not reform.  BO has shunned one of our greatest allies, Israel.  Government is becoming more pervasive in our lives.  We don’t need government to tell us what to do.  The United States has always been a nation of go getters.  We were founded on the premise that everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Everyone in this country has the opportunity to make their lives better without the help of the government. Unfortunately there are many in this country that feel they deserve a handout.  I have heard stories from my grandparents who grew up during the Depression.  They didn’t get handouts.  They had to make due with what they had and they did.  There was no complaining and there was no feeling that the government was going to pay their bills.  This is what the Tea Party is all about.  As Americans. we have sat on the sidelines way too long and let Washington do whatever they wanted.  We cannot afford to do that any longer.  There are radicals in the White House.  They want to control every aspect of our lives.  We cannot stand by and let this happen.  The Tea Parties are not going away and they certainly won’t be telling BO thank you.

A sad day for America

“If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.”

Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice

I knew that the health care bill would pass the House. There wouldn’t have been a vote today if the democrats didn’t have the votes.  Nancy Pelosi and her gang have shown their arrogance.  This vote shows that the house leaders don’t listen to their constituents or to the American public in general.  I am happy to say that my representative, Jim Matheson (D-Utah) did vote no on the bill.  He did listen to his constituents.  There is no argument that there is a need for health care reform, however, this bill that will likely be signed by President Obama on Tuesday will hurt this country.  It will bankrupt this country.  I thought it was ironic that this morning as Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders came to the Capitol building with the gavel that was used when Medicare was passed.  Now Medicare is broke.  It is insolvent.  The health care bill passed tonight will cut  Medicare to pay for all of the new enrollments on Medicaid.  They are robbing Peter to pay Paul.  The White House, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid think that the American people will eventually warm to this bill, but I think they may have a rude awakening come election time in November.  They may think we are stupid and are sheep, but when all of the details of this bill are brought to light there will be an even bigger uprising.  As I have said before get involved. Let your representatives know how you feel on the issues and use your power at the ballot box.   This fight is not over!

Let your voice be heard

I just tried to call my representative in the House of Representatives.  Jim Matheson (D-Utah) voted no in November, but now has not said which way he will vote.  This really irritates me.  Nothing has changed from the bill in November to the one that will be voted on Sunday.  I tried calling his office, but the phone lines are busy.  If I still lived in the DC area, I would be downtown at his office.  But I no longer live there so I did the next best thing and that is send an email to let him know that if he votes yes on the health care bill, I will not vote for him in November.  Jim Matheson is in a tricky spot. He is a lone Democrat in a very red state.  The majority of Americans, 55%, do not support this bill.  We the people need our voices to be heard.  We cannot sit back and let Washington make choices for us and our families.  There is no doubt that our health care system needs reform, however, this bill is not the way to go.  We are already over $12 trillion dollars in debt and it goes up everyday.  We cannot afford this bill.  Let your voice be heard.  You can send a message to your elected representatives through Citizens Against Government Waste at  http://www.cagw.org

Some facts about the health care bill:

Myth: This legislation won’t cut Medicare.

Reductions in Medicare outlays finance about half of the legislation’s $1 trillion in new entitlement spending. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office verifies that the legislation would reduce Medicare benefits. President Obama’s top Medicare actuary verifies that it would reduce access to care for Medicare beneficiaries.

Of course, Congress needs to restrain Medicare spending. Otherwise, income-tax rates would have to double by midcentury. But the solution is to make Medicare more efficient, not to use price controls and bureaucratic rationing.

Myth: The legislation would contain health care costs.

The Obama plan would increase health care costs for the simple reason that it would put millions more patients, plus doctors and insurers, in a position where they are spending the taxpayers’ money. That never produces frugality.

Its command-and-control approaches to cost containment have failed over and over in Medicare and Medicaid because they don’t change the incentives that encourage cost growth.

The only provision that would change incentives is the president’s proposed tax on the sick and others with high-cost health plans. But he appears ready to abandon that, anyway.

Stanford health economist Alain Enthoven writes, “The American people are being deceived.” The Senate bill would “do little or nothing to curb [health care] expenditures.”

Myth: This legislation is a moral imperative.

The Obama plan would impose additional taxes on the sick — in part, to subsidize abortions — and would threaten people with jail time if they do not purchase health insurance. Where’s the morality in that?

Myth: This legislation is about saving lives.

Congress could save more lives with less money by creating smaller programs that fight high blood pressure, diabetes and other specific ailments.

By expanding health insurance instead, Democrats are implicitly showing that saving lives isn’t the primary goal.

Myth: This legislation would stop abusive insurance practices.

The Obama plan would encourage abusive insurance practices. Research by Obama adviser David Cutler shows that the plan’s price controls would force insurers who provide quality care for the sick into bankruptcy. Insurers would therefore use countless and covert means to deny care and avoid, mistreat and dump the sick.

Along the way, the legislation would shower private insurance companies with half a trillion dollars in government subsidies.

Myth: The public wants this legislation.

Polls that ask whether respondents like the legislation’s supposed benefits (e.g., reduced insurance premiums for the sick) without asking about the corresponding costs (higher premiums for the healthy, insurers denying care to the sick) are meaningless.

The public has consistently expressed its intense opposition to the Obama plan for eight solid months. Democratic pollsters Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen note that “four-fifths of those who oppose the plan strongly oppose it … while only half of those who support the plan do so strongly.” A small, radical, left-wing minority is foisting this legislation on an unwilling public.

Myth: This isn’t a government takeover of health care.

This legislation would force all Americans to purchase health insurance coverage. Government would control what kind of insurance you purchase, where you purchase it, how much you pay and what kind of medical care you receive. Our health care sector would be “private” in name only.

Once government controls those decisions, there will be nothing left to socialize. Make no mistake — this is a vote on socialized medicine.

Michael F. Cannon is director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute and coauthor of Healthy Competition: What’s Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It.

Campaigner in Chief

When Barack Obama was running for president, he was the ultimate campaigner.  Now that he is president, he continues to campaign. I don’t think he really knows anything else.  He was a college professor, worked as a community organizer, served in the state legislature in Illinois and then in as a senator in the US Senate and now he is president.  He seemed to have a made himself a plan long ago and he made his goal of becoming president, but now that he is in the Oval Office he has no idea what he is doing.  He is a smart man, but I think he is arrogant.  Take for instance the health care debate.  The majority of Americans do not want this bill to pass and are against the democrats using reconciliation to do so.  Does anyone in Washington listen to the American people?  There are some members of congress that appear to want to do the right thing, but will it happen?  Will they let the campaigner in chief persuade them or will they listen to their constituents and do what is right.  There is a need for health care reform, but this bill is not the way to do it.  The health care summit was just a bunch of hot air.  Nothing was accomplished and the democrats are determined to do something, anything to get this bill passed.  As the president continues to campaign on health care maybe he will start listening and find out what the American people really want.  That’s probably just wishful thinking.

Political Theater at its best

The Health Care Summit held by President Obama and attended by members of Congress was billed as a  way to get ideas out on the table. President Obama said he didn’t want talking points and hoped the meeting wouldn’t turn into political theater. Unfortunately, that’s all it was.  For seven and half hours live on TV, Republicans and Democrats filled the room with hot air.  Then by the end there was no compromise and no promises of working together. Instead the president wants to go ahead and try to ram the bill through.  Does he even care about the American public thinks?  I know health care reform is important and something does need to be done, but I think the Health Care Summit should have been a Getting America Back to Work Summit instead.  A lot of people don’t have health care insurance because they don’t have jobs.  I don’t understand why the White House is so hell bent on getting health care reform passed.  Polls taken by Rasmussen show that 56% of Americans oppose the proposed health care reform while 41% favor the reform.  I don’t think the White House is really paying attention to the American people.  In case any politician has forgotten, you work for us.  The people voted and fortunately we have the power to vote you out.  I think the 2010 elections will be very interesting for both parties.  Both parties, Republican and Democrat, have done a big disservice to our country.  We have to regain control of our country. Remember the opening line of the Constitution … “We the People”.

Nobody cares, Tiger Woods

This morning Tiger Woods had a press conference after months of silence after his fall from grace. He has been reportedly in therapy for sexual addiction after it was found out that he had affairs with several women.  He has lost some sponsorships, but I don’t think it is really hurting his pocketbook.  His wife has left him.  The day after Thanksgiving is a slow news time. Tiger Woods to the rescue.  He crashed his car and then the fallout.  I was disappointed in him.  I admired his athletic ability, but also his poise that he showed on and off the golf course.  I was right about the athletic ability, but not the poise.  It is a sad situation, but I really don’t care.  Couldn’t he have just apologized in private? Why does everything have to be in the public eye? Even after this press conference most questions on people’s minds weren’t answered.  He will be back playing golf, but when? Is he trying to work things out with his wife? Are they heading for a divorce?  But ultimately, I really don’t care.  Tiger Woods needs to continue to work on his “atonement” and the world doesn’t need to be a part of that process.