"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." -Adolf Hitler
"I will bring this war to an end in 2009. So don’t be confused." -- Senator Barack Obama

"If you don't like Obama, you is a racist!" -- Kelonda

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"If the government robs Peter to pay Paul, he can count on the continued support of Paul.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Former Kansas State Trooper Greg Everson: 'U.S. Forces Plan DIRECT ACTION AGAINST American Citizens'

Sher Zieve: Was there a Bonus Paid on how fast Obama Could Destroy the USA?

"Knowing that all of Obama’s dismantling and destruction of the United States of America was and is the major mission of his existence, I have recently wondered if he will receive personal bonus billions if he completes said destruction within a defined and extremely short period of time. How much will he make? Apparently, said billions are being taken from now-much-poorer US citizens and being given to the increasing in wealth (on the backs of the American people) ruling elite; that’s Obama & Co folks. Also being 99.9% certain that The Obama is not a citizen of the USA (he will apparently never have to produce a viable birth certificate and is using his lawyers and bought-and-paid-for judges to ensure it), and placing it in the vernacular, it will be ‘no skin off his nose’ when the USA finally and formally fails and falls into the abyss of history. His pride at America’s destruction must be almost overwhelming. But, then Obama is a narcissist and narcissists worship themselves. So, as he is a godlike figure in his own mind, perhaps nothing truly surprises him."

Obama Speaks

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, Strobe, for your extraordinary leadership here at Brookings, and thanks to all of you in attendance.

Almost exactly one year ago, on a frigid winter's day, I met with my new economic team at the headquarters of my presidential transition offices in Chicago. And over the course of four hours, my advisors presented an analysis of where the economy at that time stood, accompanied by a chilling set of charts and graphs, predicting where we might end up. It was an unforgettable series of presentations.

Christy Romer -- who's here today -- tapped to head the Council of Economic Advisers, as well as Larry Summers, who I'd chosen to head the National Economic Council, described an imminent downturn comparable in its severity to almost nothing since the 1930s. Tim Geithner, my incoming Treasury Secretary, reported that the financial system, shaken by the subprime crisis, had halted almost all lending, which in turn threatened to pull the broader economy in a downward spiral. Peter Orszag, my incoming Budget Director, closed out the proceedings with an entirely dismal report on the fiscal health of the country, with growing deficits and debt stretching to the horizon. Having concluded that it was too late for me to request a recount -- (laughter) -- I tasked my team with mapping out a plan to tackle the crisis on all fronts.

It wasn't long after that meeting, as we shaped this economic plan, that we began to see some of these forecasts materialize. Over the previous year, it was obvious that folks were facing hard times. As I traveled across the country during the long campaign, I would meet men and women bearing the brunt of not only a deepening recession, but also years -- even decades -- of growing strains on middle class families. But now the country was experiencing something far worse. Our gross domestic product -- the sum total of all that our economy produces -- fell at the fastest rate in a quarter century. Five trillion dollars of Americans' household wealth evaporated in just 12 weeks as stocks, pensions, and home values plummeted. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs each month, equivalent to the population of the state of Vermont. That was true in December, January, February, March. The fear among economists across the political spectrum that was -- was that we were rapidly plummeting towards a second Great Depression.

So, in the weeks and months that followed, we undertook a series of difficult steps to prevent that outcome. And we were forced to take those steps largely without the help of an opposition party, which, unfortunately, after having presided over the decision-making that had led to the crisis, decided to hand it over to others to solve.

We acted to get lending flowing again so businesses could get loans to buy equipment, and ordinary Americans could get financing to buy homes and cars, to go to college, and to start or run businesses. We enacted measures to stem the tide of foreclosures in our housing market, helping responsible homeowners stay in their homes and helping to stop the broader decline in home values which was eating away at what tends to be a family's largest asset.

To achieve this, and to prevent economic collapse, we were forced to extend assistance to some of the very banks and financial institutions whose actions had helped precipitate the turmoil. We also took steps to prevent the rapid dissolution of the American auto industry -- which faced a crisis partly of its own making -- to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs during an already fragile, shaky time. These were not decisions that were popular or satisfying; these were decisions that were necessary.

Now, even as we worked to address the crises in our banking sector, in our housing market, and in our auto industry, we also began attacking our economic crisis on a broader front. Less than one month after taking office we enacted the most sweeping economic recovery package in history: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Recovery Act was divided into three parts. One-third went for tax relief for small businesses and 95 percent of working families. Another third was for emergency relief to help folks who've borne the brunt of this recession. We extended or increased unemployment benefits for more than 17 million Americans; made health insurance 65 percent cheaper for families relying on COBRA.

And for state and local governments facing historic budget shortfalls as demand for services went up and revenues went down, we provided assistance that has saved the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and public school workers, firefighters and police officers.

The last third of the Recovery Act is for investments to put Americans to work doing the work that America needs done: doubling our capacity in renewable energy like wind and solar; computerizing medical records to save money and lives; providing the largest boost to medical research in history; renovating classrooms and school laboratories; and upgrading roads and railways as part of the largest investment in infrastructure since the creation of the Interstate Highway System half a century ago.

And even as the Recovery Act has created jobs and spurred growth, we have not let up in our efforts to take every responsible action to get the economy growing and America working.

This fall, I signed into law more than $30 billion in tax cuts for struggling businesses, extended an effective tax credit for homebuyers, and provided additional unemployment insurance for one million Americans. And the Treasury is continuing to adapt our financial stability plan, helping to facilitate the flow of small credit to small businesses and families. In addition, we're working to break down barriers and open overseas markets so our companies can better compete globally, creating jobs in America by exporting our products around the world.

Now, partly as a result of these and other steps, we are in a very different place today than we were one year ago. We may forget, but we're in a very different place. We can safely say that we are no longer facing the potential collapse of our financial system and we've avoided the depression many feared. Our economy is growing for the first time in a year, and the swing from contraction to expansion since the beginning of the year is the largest in nearly three decades.
Finally, we're no longer seeing the severe deterioration in the job market that we once were. In fact we learned on Friday that the unemployment rate fell slightly last month. This is welcome news, and news made possible in part by the up to 1.6 million jobs that the Recovery Act has already created and saved according to the Congressional Budget Office.

But I'm here today because our work is far from done. For even though we've reduced the deluge of job losses to a relative trickle, we are not yet creating jobs at a pace to help all those families who've been swept up in the flood. There are more than 7 million fewer Americans with jobs today than when this recession began. That's a staggering figure, and one that reflects not only the depths of the hole from which we must ascend, but also a continuing human tragedy.

It was mentioned that I was in Allentown, Pennsylvania, this past weekend, and went to a job center where people were engaged in job search. And it ran the spectrum -- blacks, whites, Hispanics, young people who were just starting their careers, individuals 50, 60 years old, looking for a job. And they were putting a brave face on it, confident that eventually things would work out, but you could also see the sense of anxiety, the fear that perhaps this time it was different. Sometimes it's hard to break out of the bubble here in Washington and remind ourselves that behind these statistics are people's lives, their capacity to do right by their families. It speaks to an urgent need to accelerate job growth in the short term while laying a new foundation for lasting economic growth.

My economic team has been considering a full range of additional ideas to help accelerate the pace of private sector hiring. We held a jobs forum at the White House that brought together small business owners, CEOs, union members, economists, folks from non-profits, and state and local officials to talk about job creation. And I've asked people to lead forums in their own communities -- sending the results to me -- so we are hearing as many voices as possible as we refine our proposals. We've already heard a number of good ideas, and I know we'll learn of many more.

So today, I want to outline some of the broader steps that I believe should be at the heart of our effort to accelerate job growth -- those areas that will generate the greatest number of jobs while generating the greatest value for our economy.

First, we're proposing a series of steps to help small businesses grow and hire new staff. Over the past 15 years, small businesses have created roughly 65 percent of all new jobs in America.

These are companies formed around kitchen tables in family meetings, formed when an entrepreneur takes a chance on a dream, formed when a worker decides it's time she became her own boss. These are also companies that drive innovation, producing 13 times more patents per employee than large companies. And it's worth remembering, every once in a while a small business becomes a big business -- and changes the world.

That's why it's so important that we help small business struggling to stay open, or struggling to open in the first place, during these difficult times. Building on the tax cuts in the Recovery Act, we're proposing a complete elimination of capital gains taxes on small business investment along with an extension of write-offs to encourage small businesses to expand in the coming year. And I believe it's worthwhile to create a tax incentive to encourage small businesses to add and keep employees, and I'm going to work with Congress to pass one.

Now, these steps will help, but we also have to address the continuing struggle of small businesses to get loans that they need to start up and grow. To that end, we're proposing to waive fees and increase the guarantees for SBA-backed loans. And I'm asking my Treasury Secretary to continue mobilizing the remaining TARP funds to facilitate lending to small businesses.

Second, we're proposing a boost in investment in the nation's infrastructure beyond what was included in the Recovery Act, to continue modernizing our transportation and communications networks. These are needed public works that engage private sector companies, spurring hiring all across the country.

Already, more than 10,000 of these projects have been funded through the Recovery Act. And by design, Recovery Act work on roads, bridges, water systems, Superfund sites, broadband networks, and clean energy projects will all be ramping up in the months ahead. It was planned this way for two reasons: so the impact would be felt over a two-year period; and, more importantly, because we wanted to do this right.

The potential for abuse in a program of this magnitude, while operating at such a fast pace, was enormous. So I asked Vice President Biden and others to make sure to the extent humanly possible that the investments were sound, the projects worthy, and the execution efficient. What this means is that we're going to see even more work -- and workers -- on recovery projects in the next six months than we saw in the last six months.

Even so, there are many more worthy projects than there were dollars to fund them. I recognize that by their nature these projects often take time, and will therefore create jobs over time. But the need for jobs will also last beyond next year and the benefits of these investments will last years beyond that. So adding to this initiative to rebuild America's infrastructure is the right thing to do.

Third, I'm calling on Congress to consider a new program to provide incentives for consumers who retrofit their homes to become more energy-efficient, which we know creates jobs, saves money for families, and reduces the pollution that threatens our environment. And I'm proposing that we expand select Recovery Act initiatives to promote energy efficiency and clean energy jobs which have been proven to be particularly popular and effective.

It's a positive sign that many of these programs drew so many applicants for funding that a lot of strong proposals -- proposals that will leverage private capital and create jobs quickly -- did not make the cut. With additional resources, in areas like advanced manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels, for instance, we can help turn good ideas into good private sector jobs.

Finally, as we are moving forward in these areas, we should also extend the relief in the Recovery Act, including emergency assistance to seniors, unemployment insurance benefits, COBRA, and relief to states and localities to prevent layoffs. This will help folks weathering these storms, while boosting consumer spending and promoting job growth.

Of course, there's only so much government can do. Job creation will ultimately depend on the real job creators: businesses across America. We were encouraged today to hear from the Business Roundtable that their survey showed greater confidence and greater potential investment coming out of the business community.

Government can help lay the groundwork on which the private sector can better generate jobs, growth, and innovation. After all, small business tax relief is not a substitute for ingenuity and industriousness by our entrepreneurs -- but it can help those with good ideas to grow and expand. Incentives to promote energy efficiency and clean energy manufacturing don't automatically create jobs or lower carbon emissions -- but these steps provide a framework in which companies can compete and innovate to create those jobs and reduce energy consumption. And while modernizing the physical and virtual networks that connect us will create private-sector jobs, they'll do so while making it possible for companies to more easily and effectively move their products across this country and around the world, and that will create more jobs.

And given the challenges of accelerating the pace of hiring in the private sector, these targeted initiatives are right and they are needed. But with a fiscal crisis to match our economic crisis, we also must be prudent about how we fund it. So to help support these efforts, we are going to wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- or TARP -- the fund created to stabilize the financial system so banks would lend again.

I don't think I have to tell you there has rarely been a less loved or more necessary emergency program than TARP, which -- as galling as the assistance to banks may have been -- indisputably helped prevent a collapse of the entire financial system. Launched hastily -- understandably, but hastily -- under the last administration, the TARP program was flawed, and we have worked hard to correct those flaws and manage it properly. And today, TARP has served its original purpose and at much lower cost than we expected.

In fact, because of our stewardship of this program, and the transparency and accountability we put in place, TARP is expected to cost the taxpayers at least $200 billion less than what was anticipated just this past summer. And the assistance to banks, once thought to cost taxpayers untold billions, is on track to actually reap billions in profits for the taxpaying public. So this gives us a chance to pay down the deficit faster than we thought possible and to shift funds that would have gone to help the banks on Wall Street to help create jobs on Main Street.

Small business, infrastructure, clean energy -- these are areas in which we can put Americans to work while putting our nation on a sturdier economic footing. That foundation for sustained economic growth -- that must be our continuing focus and our ultimate goal.

I've said this before. Even before this particular crisis, much of our growth for a decade or more had been fueled by unsustainable consumer debt and reckless financial speculation, while we ignored the fundamental challenges that hold the key to our economic prosperity. We cannot simply go back to the way things used to be. We can't go back to an economy that yielded cycle after cycle of speculative booms and painful busts. We can't continue to accept an education system in which our students trail their peers in other countries, and a health care system in which exploding costs put our businesses at a competitive disadvantage. And we cannot continue to ignore the clean energy challenge or cede global leadership in the emerging industries of the 21st century. And that's why, even as we strive to meet the crisis of the moment, we have insisted on laying a new foundation for the future.

Because an educated workforce is essential to a 21st century global economy, we've launched a competitive Race to the Top fund through the Recovery Act to reform our schools and raise achievement, especially in math and science. And we've made college more affordable, proposed a historic set of reforms and investments in community college, and set a goal of once again leading the world in producing college graduates by the year 2020.

Because even the best-trained worker in the world can't compete if our businesses are saddled with rapidly increasing health care costs, we are fighting to do what we have discussed in this country for generations -- finally reforming our nation's broken health insurance system and relieving this unsustainable burden.

Because our economic future depends on a financial system that encourages sound investments, honest dealings, and long-term growth, we've proposed the most ambitious financial reforms since the Great Depression. We'll set and enforce clear rules of the road, close loopholes in oversight, charge a new agency with protecting consumers and address the dangerous, systemic risks that brought us to the brink of disaster. These reforms are moving through Congress, we're working to keep those reforms strong, and I'm looking forward to signing them into law.

And because our economic future depends on our leadership in the industries of the future, we are investing in basic applied research, and working to create the incentives to build a new clean energy economy. For we know the nation that leads in clean energy will be the nation that leads the world. I want America to be that nation. I want America's prosperity to be powered by what we invent and pioneer -- not just what we borrow and what we consume. And I know that we can and will be that nation if we are willing to do what it takes to get there.

Now, there are those who claim we have to choose between paying down our deficits on the one hand, and investing in job creation and economic growth on the other. This is a false choice. Ensuring that economic growth and job creation are strong and sustained is critical to ensuring that we are increasing revenues and decreasing spending on things like unemployment insurance so that our deficits will start coming down. At the same time, instilling confidence in our commitment to being fiscally prudent gives the private sector the confidence to make long-term investments in our people and in America.

So one of the central goals of this administration is restoring fiscal responsibility. Even as we have had to spend our way out of this recession in the near term, we've begun to make the hard choices necessary to get our country on a more stable fiscal footing in the long run. So let me just be clear here. Despite what some have claimed, the cost of the Recovery Act is only a very small part of our current budget imbalance. In reality, the deficit had been building dramatically over the previous eight years. We have a structural gap between the money going out and the money coming in.

Folks passed tax cuts and expansive entitlement programs without paying for any of it -- even as health care costs kept rising, year after year. As a result, the deficit had reached $1.3 trillion when we walked into the White House. And I'd note: These budget-busting tax cuts and spending programs were approved by many of the same people who are now waxing political about fiscal responsibility, while opposing our efforts to reduce deficits by getting health care costs under control. It's a sight to see.

The fact is we have refused to go along with business as usual; we are taking responsibility for every dollar we spend. We've done what some said was impossible: preventing wasteful spending on outdated weapons systems that even the Pentagon said it didn't want. We've combed the budget, cutting waste and excess wherever we could. I'm still committed to halving the deficit we inherited by the end of my first term -- cutting it in half. And I made clear from day one that I would not sign a health insurance reform bill if it raised the deficit by one dime -- and neither the House, nor the Senate bill does. We've begun not only changing policies in Washington, we've also begun to change the culture in Washington.

In the end, the economic crisis of the past year was not just the result of weaknesses in our economy. It was also the result of weaknesses in our political system, because for decades, too many in Washington put off the hard decisions. For decades, we've watched as efforts to solve tough problems have fallen prey to the bitterness of partisanship, to prosaic concerns of politics, to ever-quickening news cycles, to endless campaigns focused on scoring points instead of meeting our common challenges.

We've seen the consequences of this failure of responsibility. The American people have paid a heavy price. And the question we'll have to answer now is if we're going to learn from our past, or if -- even in the aftermath of disaster -- we're going to repeat those same mistakes. As the alarm bells fade, the din of Washington rises, as the forces of the status quo marshal their resources, we can be sure that answering this question will be a fight to the finish. But I have every hope and expectation that we can rise to this moment, that we can transcend the failures of the past, that we can once again take responsibility for our future.

Every night I read letters and e-mails sent to me from people across America -- ordinary folks, people who share their hopes and their hardships, their faith in this country, their frustration with what's happened in this economy. I hear from small business owners worried about making payroll, keeping their doors open. I hear from mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, who've seen one or two or more family members out of work. The toughest letters are in children's handwriting -- kids write to me, my dad just lost a job; my grandma is sick, she can't afford health insurance -- kids who can't just be kids because they're worried about mom having her hours cut or dad losing a job, or a family without health insurance.

These folks aren't looking for a handout, they're not looking for a bailout -- just like those people I visited in Allentown -- all they're looking for is a chance to make their own way, to work, to succeed using their talents and skills. And they're looking for folks in Washington to have a seriousness of purpose that matches the reality of their struggle.

Everywhere I've gone, every stop I've made, there are people like this, men and women who have faced misfortune, but who stand ready to build a better future: students ready to learn, workers eager to work, scientists on the brink of discovery, entrepreneurs seeking the chance to open a small business. Everywhere I go, there are once-shuttered factories just waiting to whir back to life in burgeoning industries. There is a nation ready to meet the challenges of this new age and to lead the world in this new century. And as we look back on the progress of the past year, and look forward to the work ahead, I have every confidence that we will do exactly that.

These have been a tough two years. And there will no doubt be difficult months ahead. But the storms of the past are receding. The skies are brightening. And the horizon is beckoning once more.

Thank you very much.

Obama Pitches Jobs Program, Points Finger at GOP for Economic Mess

What else is new?

Obama's 47 Percent Approval Lowest of Any President at This Point

What else is new?

PHILIP ELLIOTT: New Obama plans: 'spend our way out' of downturn

Fool me twice, shame on the voters.

The Great Lie Continues - UN Says 2009 Warmest Year In History?

Maafa21 screening and discussion

Story of Cap & Trade, The Critique

Truth, Democrats, Republicans, and Obama Change Question

Greg Albert: Where is your anti-war movement now?

“My comrades are still dying over there, but the left doesn’t care anymore now that it’s Obama getting them killed.”

and

"Six years ago, this campus was saturated with anti-war protestors chanting better-than-mediocre slogans about 'Bringing the troops home!' Two years ago, a not-insignificant overlap of that crowd chanted 'change' and promoted Barack Obama for president. Now Obama is president, but the troops are still getting blown to bits, and the protestors are all but gone. Was the anti-war movement animated by an identity-based distaste for Bush? If not, where is the courage behind the left’s supposed convictions?"

There is a portion of the antiwar movement who have set themselves against Obama.

Brother X says: "Of course we don't care about soldiers dying. We would care about them if a Republican is president. Since we have Obama, soldiers being killed is no tragedy."

Obama’s Economic Speech

"We deconstruct 'shovel ready,' 'up to' and other misleading phrases."

Black Informant: The Road to Self Genocide

“Contraceptives will become a form of drug warfare against the helpless in this nation.” Jesse Jackson, 1971

“Under the cover of an alleged campaign to ‘alleviate poverty,’ white supremacist Americans and their dupes are pushing an all-out drive to put rigid birth control measures into every black home. No such drive exists within the white American world.” Black Unity Party, 1968

“Proponents…have argued this bill is for blacks and the poor who want abortions and can’t afford one. This is the phoniest and most preposterous argument of all. Because I represent the inner-city where the majority of blacks and poor live and I challenge anyone here to show me a waiting line of either blacks or poor whites who are wanting an abortion.” Iowa State Rep. June Franklin, Democrat 1971.

“The abortion law, hides behind the guise of helping women, when in reality it will attempt to destroy our people.” Brenda Hyson, New York chapter, Black Panther Party, 1971

“A true revolutionary cares about the people–he cares to the point that he is willing to put his life on the line to help the masses of poor and oppressed people. He would never think of killing his unborn child.” Detroit chapter, Black Panther Party, 1970

“How the hell is getting the pill? The Mexican and the Negro. Do you want to wipe us out?” Caesar Chavez, 1967

“It is strange that they choose to start talking about population control at the same time that Black people in America and people of color around the world are demanding their rightful place as human citizens and their rightful share of the material wealth in the world.” Jesse Jackson, 1977

“In the National Right to Life news of January 1977, Jesse L. Jackson had this to say on the right of privacy: ‘There are those who argue that the right to privacy is of higher order than the right to life…That was the premise of slavery. You could not protest the existence or treatment of slaves on the plantation because that was private and therefore outside your right to be concerned…The Constitution called us three-fifths human and the whites further dehumanized us by calling us ‘niggers.’ It was part of the dehumanizing process…These advocates taking life prior to birth do not call it killing or murder, they call it abortion. They further never talk about aborting a baby because that would imply something human…Fetus sounds less than human and therefore can be justified…’

‘What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of person and what kind of a society will we have twenty years hence if life can be taken so casually? It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system and our mind set with regard to the nature and worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth.’

Afrocity: The Twelve Days of Obama Christmas

"♪♫ On the 12th day of Christmas Obama gave to me: 12 KSM Jurors, 11 $Trillion Debt, 10% Unemployment, 9 Communist Czars, 8 Adoring Networks, 7 Bush Blamers, 6 Death Panels, FIIIIIVE Wars on FOX……… 4 Years of Hell, 3 Crashing Polls, 2 Teleprompters and a Marxist Ideo-lo-gy! ♫♪"

Dick Morris: Obama channels Bush

No comment.

John Lillpop: Top Nine Liberal “Truths” About Christmas

"1. The real messiah was born 1961 years after Christ in a mud hut somewhere in a Kenyan village just a few thousand miles outside of Honolulu
2. Christians cannot produce a valid birth certificate for Jesus Christ; therefore, He is not, has never been, and never will be, eligible to serve as president or messiah
3. Turning water into wine is nothing compared to Obama’s ability to turn paper (dollar bill) into precious metal (silver half dollar)
4. Nativity scenes are offensive because Joseph and Mary were not married
5. Singing Christmas carols in public is not protected free speech because none of the founding fathers ever heard Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, or any other of the violent anti-Muslim lyrics so popular these days
6. Biblical accounts concerning the birth of Jesus are clearly flawed because there were not so many as three wise men in all of the Middle East back in those days and continuing to this day
7. Christmas trees are bad for the environment, are a serious violation of separation of Church and state, and piss off both Muslims and Jews
8. Tolerance is essential, except when it comes to gap-toothed, Bible thumping red neck Christians who actually believe that a baby Jew was born to a virgin just to save the world
9. Children should be protected from Christmas nonsense like Santa Claus and his elves, whereas teaching the young about Obama and his minions in Congress is an essential part of a quality education."

Molly K. Hooper: President Obama told me to stop ‘demeaning’ him, says Rep. Conyers

"Obama’s decision to challenge Conyers highlights a sensitivity to criticism the president has taken on the left. Conyers’s critical remarks, many of which have been reported on the liberal-leaning Huffington Post, appear to have irritated the president, known for his calm demeanor."

Conyers must be racist.

Cliff Kincaid: SOCIALISTS DEMAND TRILLIONS IN "CLIMATE DEBT"

"The U.S. failure to pay, argues leftist Canadian writer Naomi Klein, has already produced 'climate rage' and a 'global movement for climate justice' led by Bolivia’s socialist President Evo Morales. The implication is that if the U.S. doesn’t pay up, protests and even violence could break out."

Save the Planet, Hold Your Breath... Liberals first.

A True Tale of Canadian Health Care: Why some patients need to go to the U.S. for surgery



"Many advocates of health-care reform are admirers of Canada's state-run, no-opt-out, single-payer system. Indeed, in 2003, President Barack Obama voiced enthusiasm for such a health-care program.

"Proponents of Canadian-style health care should meet Cheryl Baxter, a Canadian citizen who waited years for hip-replacement surgery, only to be told that her operation would not happen any time soon. Instead of waiting, Baxter did what an increasing number of Canadians are doing: She flew to a clinic in the United States, paid out of pocket, and had a life-altering surgery in a matter of weeks rather than years.

"Baxter's experience doesn't just throw damning light on Canadian health care. The sort of clinic she went to in Oklahoma suggests a different way of delivering health care in the United States, too: A simple fee-for-service model in which providers openly advertise their prices, service, and reputation. Rather than a frustrating, complicated mess of intermediaries such as employers and insurance companies, U.S. health-care reformers should think about bringing medicine into line with the same dynamics that help deliver great service at great prices throughout most other parts of the economy.

"While Canadian health care is certainly cheaper than its U.S. counterpart (health care spending in Canada is about 10 percent of GDP versus 16 percent in the United States), it is not necessarily better or more equitable. As a recent National Bureau of Economic Research comparison concluded, 'Americans are more likely to report that they are fully satisfied with the health services they have received and to rank the quality of care as excellent.' Not only do Americans have far greater access to basic diagnostic tools ranging from mammograms to CT scans, the researchers found
'the health-income gradient is actually more prominent in Canada than in the U.S.' That is, wealthy Canadians receive far better care compared to low-income Canadians than rich Americans versus poor Americans.

"'A True Tale of Canadian Health Care' was produced by Dan Hayes and Peter Suderman. Interviews were filmed by Alex Manning and the segment is hosted and scripted by Nick Gillespie. Approximately 5.11 minutes.

NewsBusted 12/8/09

Vietnamese American Veterans Association thanks C. Mason Weaver for his service.

Abbott and Costello

This is TOO good! Yes, this IS what they would do if they were still here!

Read on:

You have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and too old to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this. For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please read on...

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, 'Who's on First?' might have turned out something like this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO:
Thanks I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT:
Mac?

COSTELLO:
No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT:
Your computer?

COSTELLO
: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT:
Mac?

COSTELLO:
I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT:
What about Windows?

COSTELLO:
Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT:
Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO:
I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT:
Wallpaper.

COSTELLO:
Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT:
Software for Windows?

COSTELLO:
No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT:
Office.

COSTELLO:
Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT:
I just did.

COSTELLO:
You just did what?

ABBOTT:
Recommend something.

COSTELLO:
You recommended something?

ABBOTT:
Yes.

COSTELLO:
For my office?

ABBOTT:
Yes.

COSTELLO:
OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT:
Office.

COSTELLO:
Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT:
I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO:
I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT:
Word.

COSTELLO:
What word?

ABBOTT:
Word in Office.

COSTELLO:
The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT:
The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO:
Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT:
The Word you get when you click the blue 'W'.

COSTELLO:
I'm going to click your blue 'w' if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT:
Money.

COSTELLO:
That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT:
Money.

COSTELLO:
I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT:
It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO:
What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT:
Money.

COSTELLO:
Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT:
Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO:
I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT:
One copy.

COSTELLO:
Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT:
Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO:
They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT:
Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT:
Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO:
How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT:
Click on 'START'..............

John Hawkins: Four Colossal Holes in the Theory of Man-Made Global Warming

"What the global warming alarmists are asking of people is no small thing. They want us to spend trillions of dollars, dramatically impact our economies, and change the way people across the world live for the worse. Those are not trivial changes and simply having scientists -- who've been put under enormous political pressure and make a living off global warming grants – say, 'Trust us, it's real,' isn't going to cut it for proof. If global warming alarmists can't even deliver plausible answers to the most obvious problems with their theory, then no one should take them seriously."