Stockholders Unite!

More and more Americans own corporate stocks because of the development of mutual funds. Americans would rather invest in mutual or other funds than save money in savings banks.

Corporation stock prices are predicated upon the expectations of profits now or in the future. Profits are the bottom line on a corporation's financial statement. Generally salaries are the largest expense affecting the profit of a corporation. The salaries of those running a company are a part of that expense. Therefore, overpaying top executives is actually a drag on stock prices. A corporate board really concerned about seeing the company thrive, would give officers more reasonable salaries. That action would make bottom lines better. Lowering the expectations of future executives would then lower rewards.

The duty of the board of directors is to see that the company does well, primarily to benefit the company's stockholders. This does not seem to be the case based upon the past actions of many corporate boards. Boards seem to represent themselves and their own interests. Many board of directors give themselves golf club memberships. How do golf club memberships advance corporate interests? How does supporting charities and lobbying governments or political parties represent all stockholders interest? It may not be the desire of socially conscious stockholders to lobby the government at the disadvantage of the general public. Avoiding paying taxes may offend those shareholders who are patriotic. If the boards took actual votes from stockholders and obtained more than a plurality of support, then these expenses would be acceptable. Stockholders are the actual owners of the company, not the boards. There are nine members of the Supreme Court who hardly ever all agree. How can anyone expect all stockholders to agree on any issue? If the boards did not spend corporate money on non-business activities, stock prices would be higher and stockholders would have more in dividends. The stockholders could then personally support the activities that the corporations had previously supported.

It is understood that corporations do keep aside money to use for reinvestment or for potential growth. Expanding a business is a worthwhile and legitimate activity of any business.

How do stockholders react to perceived or actual abuses? They really can't! Stockholders only obtain proxy forms that offer a method of voting with stated candidates. The people who are chosen as candidates are insiders who will never rock the boat. Mutual fund managers, bank trust officers or others who manage large holdings of other owners will do better if the corporations in their group's portfolios do better. They can offer other names to be voted upon since they control large blocks of corporate votes. (This can actually be done now, but with little success.) That could then expand the basis of voting for other fund managers to support. This could potentially cause a change in corporate thinking and hopefully promote increases in the bottom lines of corporate profits, which would make stock prices higher. That would benefit everyone. Stockholders would have more spending money by way of larger dividends.

An example of what corporations face! Drug companies have been spending large sums in lobbying congress, in order to protect the prices of their drugs from competition. It can be assumed that a large minority of drug company stockholders are seniors, thus major consumers of drugs. Would these senior stockholders prefer seeing the companies they have stocks in making bigger profits or obtain lower prices for the drugs they rely upon? The answer to that question is lower prices. That answer probably goes for large pension or retirement funds that probably own drug company stock.

Maybe a better day will come where corporations will be more civic minded and support the nations needs as well as their own board members interests. Right now corporations seem to be serving their own parochial interests to the disadvantage of workers, stockholders or financially supporting the country that helped them initially thrive.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   

Truths About Democrats They Don't Want You to Know

Are you a Democrat? Why is that? Have you ever stopped to think about what the Democrats are about and whether or not they really represent your values?

Some people don't care one way or the other, while there are those who haven't really thought about it.

Any decent person will not remain associated with the Democratic Party once he knows the truth about them. Most people do not know their dark and evil history. They just happen to be Democrats because their parents or friends were Democrats. They were led to believe that the Democrats were for "the little guy" and champions of causes for those who were just ordinary working middle class folks.

A Call from Ministers to Exit

There have been a number of ministers, particularly in the black community, who have been calling for Christians to "Exodus Now" from the Democrat Party. Why would they say this?

Bishop E.W. Jackson, Chairman of Ministers Taking a S.T.A.N.D. (Staying True to America's National Destiny) gave such a message to Christians in the black community. He said "It is time to end the slavish devotion to the Democrat party. They have insulted us, used us, and manipulated us. They have saturated the black community with ridiculous lies." He continued "They think we are stupid and that these lies will hold us captive while they violate everything we believe as Christians."

The time has come to set the record straight. All Americans, especially the 90 percent of black Americans who vote for Democrats, deserve to know the Democratic Party's hidden history.

Why Has This Been Suppressed?

People don't know what they don't know, because the Democratic Party has worked hard to keep it hidden. Democrats do this because they only care about their own power, control and money, and they will do anything to keep those things. They are not for America but for themselves as a political force, and a bad one at that as I will explain.

Here are several reasons why the public doesn't know:

The public education system - it is a costly, ineffective mess when it comes to really preparing students for their future, and certainly doesn't cover much history Ignorance - people do not know because of plain old ignorance. They won't get this from school and they won't get it from the media Laziness - people are not curious enough to question what they hear and research to find out for themselves. They just watch TV and get their news from equally biased sources and take that as truth

An Attempt to Rewrite History

Democrats tend to write the history books. For one thing, they rewrite history in such a way to distort and play down the heritage and achievements of the Republican Party, who has stood in opposition to what Democrats are about.

Democrats work endlessly to convince the American people they are the party that stands with minorities to combat the "evil Republicans." They claim that Republicans are for the wealthy and against anything that would help those in need.

Liberals can only resort to name calling and attacks when challenged. They are incapable of sane, rational discussion. Liberals boast endlessly about their love of diversity and tolerance, but when push comes to shove, they reveal their hypocrisy in strident and bigoted colors. You will witness this behavior when they spew words of hatred and anger to any who oppose them especially conservatives, Christians and Republicans.

Republicans are not perfect or without fault, but when compared to the Democrats, they have a much better record in terms of working to improve life for all the people in the United States.

Democrats have a long and consistent history of deception. Why is that? Look at their behavior for the clue. Everything that is morally questionable is attached to the Democratic Party. They resort to deception because of the shame associated with what they are and represent.

Morals matter. I want those who govern to be of good character - to be righteous and moral, otherwise, how can we trust them?

Racist and Divisive

While they have accused everyone else of being racist - the truth is Democrats themselves are racist and thrive on being divisive. That's why they always make race an issue. They don't see "people," they see "black people" and "white people" and "brown people" etc. They are about hate. The Democrats and the KKK are blood brothers. The Democrats don't want people to know this, particularly young Americans who have attended public schools where these facts are never mentioned.

The Democrats and the Democratic Party ran the old South. They were so determined to keep blacks in slavery they were willing to go to Civil War over it.

After the South lost the Civil War, Democrats created a surrogate form of slavery by enacting so-called black codes and Jim Crow laws. These laws were designed to strip blacks of basic rights and privileges, such as employment and voting rights. It was the Democrats, not the Republicans who robbed the freedmen of all personal autonomy and decision-making power in their own lives.

In most areas of the South, leadership of the Ku Klux Klan and the Democratic Party were indistinguishable, and the white supremacist Democrats used the Klan to eliminate Republican opposition, assassinating many Republican officeholders and intimidating countless others to maintain power and control.

The Democratic politicians, the Ku Klux Klan and newspapers formed an "Iron Triangle" to work together to make sure Democrats stayed in power to dominate blacks even after they were freed. The media today serves their purposes in biased, slanted and altered news stories.

Any blacks or whites who refused to vote Democrat suffered at the hands of the racist Democrats-Ku Klux Klan and were lynched, beaten or killed. It didn't matter whether they beat and killed men, women or children.

Where the Credit Belongs

The Republicans, not the Democrats passed the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments giving the newly freed slaves citizenship and the right to vote. It was the Republicans who were the champions of civil rights, and not the Democrats as they want Americans to believe.

Did you know that the Republican Party began as a civil rights movement? That's right. On July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan they had their first meeting with the mission to end slavery and ensure equality for black Americans. And it was Republican President Lincoln who issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves. Democrats do not deserve any credit for this and for their so-called civil rights work in the 1960s under JFK and LBJ. Both of these men were not "for" civil rights as much as people have been led to believe. Johnson himself was a big racist.

Blacks began as Republicans and worked with the Republican Party leadership from the Civil War period forward. When the Great Depression came, it was brutal on all Americans, but its effects on blacks were devastating. Low education and high poverty rates made blacks economically vulnerable. That meant the political climate was ripe for exploitation.

Where the Credit Does Not Belong

Like most Americans, many blacks, struggling to survive, were taken in by the great American "savior" Franklin D. Roosevelt. They bought into his promises to use the government to take care of citizens and their needs. The alphabet soup of New Deal programs FDR set in motion were especially popular among the poor who saw they had the most to gain from government assistance. Yet FDR turned a cold shoulder to the cause of advancing black civil rights.

New Deal programs were not active in any direct way in promoting civil rights legislation. And Democratic leaders in Congress vigorously opposed any civil rights legislation. President Roosevelt depended on Southern political leaders and did not push them very hard.

Liberals argue that FDR's social policies and income redistribution were advantageous to black Americans and the poor. But the truth is exactly the opposite - FDR's New Deal policies prolonged joblessness for millions of Americans and were especially devastating for blacks.

Throughout the history of the United States, hardly any of the Democratic presidents were strongly in favor of civil rights or equality for blacks. Woodrow Wilson in particular was another bigoted Democrat. Bill Clinton for all his talk of multiculturalism and a government that "looked like America," didn't respect people of color enough to put them in positions of real authority and influence.

In fact, Republican George W. Bush, who is talked about in the most disrespectful way by Democrats, actually did far more in terms of putting minorities in positions of authority. For example, he had the first and second black secretary of state, the first black National Security Advisor and the first Latino attorney general.

The way history records things is that whoever happens to be President at the time, they get the credit. But a lot of Republican law makers who worked behind the scenes are the real heroes. So since FDR Democrats have convinced blacks they are "for them." Not true.

But let me move on to another disgusting fact about the Democrats.

If you ever seen a case where a black was stoned, lynched, tarred and feathered, or prevented from voting, the person or persons who did this to them was most likely a Democrat. That's because they have been guilty of lynching, beating and killing black folks over the entire history of the United States! But now they have cleverly gotten black folks to help them do it.

The Plan of Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood gets its funding from the Democrats. So when people vote for Democrats they also vote for killing black babies through abortion under the guise of "women's health care." And they are making big money while distracting the public with accusations against anyone who opposes them for their evils.

As far back as the 1939 Negro Project, they did not want it to get out that "we want to exterminate the Negro population" according to Planned Parenthood's racist founder Margaret Sanger.

The National Black Prolife Coalition exposes Planned Parenthood as the number one killer of Blacks. Abortion is responsible for 363,705 black deaths per year. A black baby is five times more likely to be killed in the womb than a white baby. The CDC even found Black mothers get abortions at a 300 percent higher per capita rate than other races.

But wait, there's more.

Waste, Inefficiency and Intrusiveness

We can thank Democrats for waste and inefficiency along with intrusiveness. Here are a few things they are noted for:

Democrats have exploded the size and reach of the federal government way beyond anything the founders intended Democrats have no respect for individual rights, privacy and the like Democrats are fiscally irresponsible - Their solutions are always a costly waste of billions of dollars to create labor-intensive administrative bureaucracies employing thousands of Paper Pushers who don't produce a thing but instead just fill forms to put into file cabinets and databases Democrats always exaggerate and underestimate the real cost of their nightmare programs which should have been handled by businesses or organizations at the state level Democrats make unfounded, unsubstantial, outrageous claims Democrats distort the facts - all in a desperate attempt to get people to vote for them Democrats act irrationally, and when caught lying, guilty, wrong, etc., quickly fabricate some insane excuse rather than own up and admit they were wrong

Democrats are the primary cause of the plagues of the black community. It is because of the Democrats that the large African American community is the great exception to the spread of American prosperity. This was particularly critical during the 1950s and 1960s when the United States became, in the words of economist John Kenneth Galbraith, the "affluent society," in which an opulent consumer lifestyle came within reach of nearly everyone. These are some effects of their actions:

Rampant out-of-wedlock birthrates Soaring incarceration rates Disappointing educational attainment The failed "War on Poverty" And many more ills

New Victims Must Beware

Democrats are already targeting Latinos and even illegal immigrants as new sources of votes once the numbers of blacks have fallen off.

They already got women and gays supporting them by playing the "victim card." It is only a matter of time before the emotional and physical scars show up as a result of following the ill-conceived advice of the Democrats. If you ever suspected something wasn't quite right about the Democrats, you now see your concerns were justified. Americans have been bamboozled.

Decent, God-Fearing Folks, Listen Up

This has always been a battle between good and evil. No one can believe anything the Democrats say. The truth is likely to be the exact opposite. This includes accusations they make about the Republicans. They have been telling us how "evil" the Republicans are.

Jesus said the devil is a liar and the father of lies.

John 8:44 - You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

The fact is that the Democratic Party is anti-God. Anyone who professes faith in God, in Jesus Christ his Son, must not clearly understand why association with that party is inconsistent with their claim to be followers of God. This is why black ministers have spoken out calling on Christians to exit the Democrat Party.

As a Christian believer it is clear from the fruit the source behind the Democrats is not God. Their tactics match those of Satan whom Jesus in John 10:10 called "the thief" who is out to do the following:

To Steal - as in taking your hard-earned money through all their taxes To Kill - as in continuing their KKK legacy of lynching, beating and killing by now supporting and funding the termination of millions of potential new American citizens and convincing women it is okay through their racist partner Planned Parenthood To Destroy - as in families, the American way of life, everything God-fearing, freedom-loving people hold dear

Bishop Jackson says "It is time for Christians to have the faith and courage to refuse to associate with a political party that has over the years become anti-Christian, anti-church, anti-Bible, anti-life, anti-family and anti-God." Amen brother, Amen. I suspect there are many, many people who never knew this.

American Blacks don't need the Democratic Party. They need us, but we certainly don't need them. Let's turn to each other, strengthen our families (at least what's left of them) turn to our churches and rebuild our communities.

To be sure the Republican Party isn't perfect or without fault. In comparison to the Democrats, however, its record of support for equality and justice is sterling. From its founding to this point today, Republicans have supported equality and justice. On the other hand, Democrats have literally had to be forced kicking and screaming to support justice and equality.

Conclusion

Don't just take my word about any of this. Do your own research and look into history to get to the truth. My curiosity about American history got me started on the road to discovery.

Bad people do bad things and they are not necessarily limited to Democrats. There could be some Democratic politicians who will rethink their association with a political party aligned with evil. They may find that they too don't really agree with what the party represents.

Republicans need to do a better job of stating their case and explaining in simple terms how things work. They need to reach out to those who have stood on the sidelines with fears and doubts about their intentions.

People need to be reminded of the painful, brutal, and shocking truth about the party that actually took civil rights away. It is linked to what is morally questionable, satanic and evil. Are you sure you want to be a part of that?

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Your Miracle Is On The Right Side   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please   

The Loyal Raccoon

While walking home one May evening I came across a baby raccoon on the side of the road. It was curled up on its side peacefully. It looked asleep, but it was dead. I passed it on the way home and it had gained a companion. Another small raccoon had joined the first, nuzzling its dead sibling with its nose. As I got close to get a picture I talked soothingly to it (much to the amusement and disdain of a family friend). Even when I was about five feet away it didn't run, but rather stayed as we left, sitting a silent vigil.

Animals have been known to be very loyal. Several pets have been known to stay with their companions - be it human or animal - after death or during emergencies. Hachi, a famous canine example of this, has a movie made in honor of his life of waiting by the train station for his Master, who died of a heart attack while at work [1]. Pudding, a large tomcat, saved his owners life when she was having a seizure in her sleep and he woke up her son to get help [2]. There are TV shows, books, and websites dedicated to honoring pet heroes. Animals have been known to follow their owners around the house or even when they are abandoned.

I've begun to wonder if humans show the same level of loyalty. Of the 2,315,000 marriages in 2000, 19% of them ended in divorce. In 2010, the number of marriages had dropped by 219,000, while the population total had increased [3]. Many couples I know live together unmarried, and while I am not going to argue if its right to do that, it seems like animals lately have displayed more loyalty than humans.

When a dog will stay at a train station in rain or shine - 'for better or worse' - for his friend that is not coming home why won't couples fight harder to save marriages? When a cat saves its owner the same day it is adopted why will friends allow themselves to split because of arguments? When a raccoon will sit vigil with a dead sibling why do some people take theirs for granted?

I'm not perfect, but I do believe one of the qualities lacking in society is loyalty.

1. Hawkins, Katheryn. "Hachiko: The World's Most Loyal Dog." Gimundo. Hawkins Multimedia, April 26, 2010. Web. 4 Jun 2012..

2. Coffey, Laura. "Cat named Pudding rescues owner hours after his adoption." Today.com. MSNBC, 2012. Web. 4 Jun 2012.

3. "National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA.gov, January 10, 2010. Web. 4 Jun 2012..

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   Your Miracle Is On The Right Side   

The Willing Farm Laborer From Another Country

Many are referring to the illegal immigration condition today as a "crisis". It is certainly true that by shears numbers alone, this is an issue that is beyond control. There are more than ten-million immigrants in the United States who currently have no legal green card status. This article will not discuss the pros and cons of immigration. Rather, an in depth look will be taken from the perspective of the willing workers, who takes advantage of the lack of political will to do anything, to come to this country and make a better living than they otherwise do in their native countries.

The willing migrant worker is drawn by strong market forces. The worker may have a specific skill in masonry, for example, or no skill other than a willingness to work hard for two-thirds of each day. In the United States, the labor-intensive, lower paying jobs are not desirable, mainly because of high unemployment benefits that are long-lasting. In other words, the United States is paying its citizens not to work at these jobs. This provides the opportunity, and the incentive for migrant workers to take a risk to come into the country, and work at these jobs.

The first risk that the migrant worker faces is the border crossing, itself. This is usually done at a relatively high cost to a someone who is in the business of getting workers across the border. Once a successful crossing is made, the same coordinator may also have connections to regional "coyotes" who broker with the employers and the workers to get the two together for a time. Sometimes, the migrant worker gets a loan from their new employer to pay the coyote, in advance, and then works off the loan as part of the labor agreement.

While the workers are at a particular job, they generally are confined to the property on which they are working. Since they have no legal status, they are unable to go to town, shop in stores, or generally be found off-premises for fear of being apprehended by the authorities. If apprehended, the process simply repeats. They can re-enter the country, pay another coyote, and continue their work somewhere else.

In general, working conditions are livable, and somewhat comparable to the working conditions found in the migrant workers home country. Usually the worker is employed at one location for a few years, and then either returns home, or finds another location to continue working. The average illegal worker is preparing to return home to a better living situation there.

Given the high number of workers needed to work, and the lack of any comprehensive permanent residence status for workers from other countries, the time is ripe to look for a suitable political solution to this issue.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please   

When Racial Quotas At Top Universities Go Too Far

The other day, I was talking to an acquaintance about college entrance exams, and how hard it was to get into some of the top colleges and universities. Their daughter has been nothing short of a stellar student, and dedicated herself to her studies. She graduated with honors, was involved in nonprofit groups, and even a member of the student government in high school. She plays a musical instrument, and sports.

Now then, this Asian gal with a 4.5 GPA is wicked smart, yet she gets a rejection notice from Stanford University Admissions, not due to academics, in fact she's practically over qualified, but rather because of her ethnicity, she's Asian and the college says they already have too many Asian students, and need more kids from other ethnicities. I know this is common to all colleges, yet, I feel that this is ridiculous and it is reverse discrimination. Have we lost our marbles in America?

Why would we want under qualified people graduating from Stanford who are lesser, as these kids with those degrees will be hired into the top levels of our society. This is crazy if you ask me, but I can recall that my track scholarship went to someone of a different race less academically and athletically qualified too, and this was 25 years ago, so we keep changing the rules and cheating people out of their rewards for excellence, which I might add goes against everything this nation stands for.

When the top universities and colleges in this country do not accept the smartest and best candidates, and lower their standards based on someone's race, perhaps so their college yearbook pictures look like the United Nations, we have a problem. In the United States we stand for excellence, and the best person should get the job, and the opportunity. Not someone who didn't try, or didn't try hard enough. In this case study, she obviously deserved the spot, but it was reserved for someone of any other nationality besides Asian because they already had too many Asian students that had applied.

This is just terrible, and it's happening at all the Ivy League schools across our country. It's bad because businesses and governments recruit from those top schools for the highest positions. If you have a graduate degree from Stanford, Yale, Wharton, Harvard, or any of the others you can write your own ticket. You could be practically running our country someday, or work in a very high capacity in a major Corporation. Don't we want the best people involved who can make the best decisions, and have applied themselves, and work hard, and therefore deserve it.

If not, well, look what we have now? We are constantly catching the top people in our government and corporations for fraud, and we have terrible decision-making leading to unintended consequences that affects the rest of us out here in society and civilization. Not to mention the United States leads the world, so what we do here affects the rest world.

We should only be putting the best of the best into the best schools. The future of our civilization depends on it, and perhaps the future of the world. You may not think it's that serious, but I do, and I think our racial quota system at are top universities has gone entirely too far. Please consider all this and think on it.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please   

If Someone Calls You A Member of the Tea Party - It's a Compliment

Not long ago someone tried to label me as a member of the Tea Party. Then, they quickly took back their comments thinking that I might be offended by that. I'm not, not the least. I feel as if the tea party is filled with great Americans who very much care about this country, but they've been completely maligned by the news media and the left-wing socialists, not to mention the majority of Democrats. I find this rather unfortunate because many things the Tea Party believes, most Americans agree are part of the problem that we have in Washington DC.

You see, the often maligned Tea Party is an interesting phenomena, and there is nothing wrong with their main focus, they are right, and if you have misgivings of this group or folks who align themselves with that political signature, that's only because they've been trashed in the media by the leftists which run a large number of our news stations here at home, plus much of the news media in Europe such as BBC and others there.

Indeed, I see the Tea Party as filled with strong Americans and it would not be offensive for you to call me a Tea Party member, I'd gladly accept such designation, although I do agree some go too far with their rhetoric at times, but that's a very small minority, and we seem to give the Democrats a break for their radical elements. Indeed, Obama's most vocal supporters go quite extreme the other way - so, the hard-core tea partiers are a balance in that regard. Good to have them on board. I am quite concerned with ACCORN and other left-wing groups which Obama has been quite close too, especially in his prior career as a "community protest organizer". You see, there is no honor in that, in my opinion.

Everything about Obama Care smacks of socialism. The attempt to take over the industry, issue price controls, and give free-health care to those who can't pay without any responsibility on their part. Further, and it's already happening and we will get more and more doctors and hospitals who refuse Medicare patients, then we will have shortages, and the price will continue to rise and really isn't that always what happens with socialist strategies when free-market capitalism is hijacked? Mandated purchasing of insurance is completely unconstitutional, it goes against the "right to free contract" and whether it's called a tax or whatever is immaterial to what it is.

There's nothing wrong with the Tea Party. In fact, I would submit to you that many of the founding fathers would have applauded citizens coming together to demand a fiscally responsible government, and one that would honor their constitutional rights for freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness along with all of the stipulations in the Bill of Rights. So, if or when someone calls you a member of the Tea Party, that my friend is a compliment because all great Americans think like that. Please consider all this and think on it.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please   

The Small Business Myth of Job Creation

I have been a small business owner for my entire business career. Most of those small businesses have been real estate ventures of come type such as real estate brokerages, property management and owning different types of real estate. But I have also owned and been involved in insurance, restaurants, bars, garment factories, hotels, building and general contracting, convenience stores, food marts and gas stations. I was a partner in my first small business, a diner, at age 18. Even while I worked as an employee in someone else's small business, I owned and operated several of my own at the same time.

I have only worked for one large corporation, and I hated every minute of the time spent there. I was employed for less than a month before I quit. I felt as if I were in prison. My boss was someone who had been in his position for many years, and he was counting the days so he could begin his impending retirement. Some of my co-workers were spending more time thinking up ways of not doing their jobs than actually performing their jobs. I was a nameless and powerless spoke in a wheel. When I realized that I had more authority and responsibility in my after-school jobs than in that behemoth of a business, I knew that I wanted to be my own boss at all costs even if it meant never playing with the big boys in the corner offices. So when you hear someone say a "mom and pop" operation, I am that business owner.

Some of the businesses I had were out-and-out financial disasters. Others became very lucrative. Most, though, just allowed me to make a decent living. I never started one in my garage that ended up being an Apple Computer. All of my businesses were just small operations. A few times when I felt the business was becoming too big, I either sold it or cut back. I wanted to know everything about the operation. Even if I did not possess the skills to do every job myself, I wanted to be able to at least understand what was needed to succeed in performing that particular job in my shop.

Why does someone like me decide to toil as an owner-operator and chief bottle washer than pursue a career with IBM? There are several reasons for taking the plunge into a life of entrepreneurship. When I was growing up most of my family, including my parents, were owners or employees of small businesses. My father went from owning a bar to being a bartender for someone then owning another bar again sometimes within weeks. That is why today I understand that failure is not defeat if one learns and tries again. We were a working class first generation and immigrant family looking to earn a decent living. For someone without skills or fluent in English or familiar with American customs, owning your own small business is the only way to grab for the brass ring. Small business ownership is in my genes. Even though I went to college and could have gone a different path, my personality and characteristics nudged me toward entrepreneurship.

Small business ownership is not for someone who doesn't want to sweep the floors or carry out the trash. It is not for someone that wants to go home after their shift and leave business worries on their doorstep. It is not for someone that wants a guaranteed two week uninterrupted vacation each year or a pension or health insurance. It is not for someone who doesn't possess a little of the dreamer in his soul. To be a successful small business owner, you need to be a romantic pragmatist, with a strong ego who can get out of bed in the morning day after day, week after week and year after year. You need to be self-motivated and confident that whatever happens, you can handle the day's problems.

During this crazy political season, the four candidates for president and vice-president are extolling the virtue of small business people as job creators and the backbone of the United States' middle class. They poetically tell the electorate that this policy or that policy is what is needed. It would be nice if one of them had ever owned a small business. The only person that states he had a job in a small business is Congressman Ryan. In high school, college and for a short time after graduating while waiting to be employed by the federal government, young Paul toiled at McDonalds, as a waiter and a trainer.

Mitt Romney at least made a fortune in the private sector. I guess you could call his boutique firm, Bain Capital, a small business. But I bet he never swept the floor trying to save the money on a cleaning person. He may have built that fortune but it wasn't with the proceeds of his house being mortgaged to the hilt to allow him to pursue that dream. He had contacts and referrals from his father and mother. Governor Romney went to Harvard Business School and Law School. He worked hard and diligently for everything he accomplished. But Mitt is certainly not one of the guys from the neighborhood who made good. I doubt he can understand what it is like to be sweating out collecting what is owed to you so you can pay your employees that week.

President Obama apparently didn't even have a job while in high school or college. Harvard and Yale is where he learned about private enterprise. He never experienced being a stock clerk at the corner hardware store or the kid that delivered the pies from the neighborhood pizzeria. His knowledge of small business comes from being a customer. He never invested his savings into opening a dry cleaner or even a law office. While his running mate, Joe Biden, might speak as if he knows how it is to work the factory line, he has been in politics his entire adult life. His greatest financial risk is if the Republicans shut down the government and he misses his paycheck.

The myth, we hear from our candidates, is that as small business people we are going to add jobs to the economy, that we are the job creators. It has and continues to be my firm belief that hiring additional employees is the last thing any smart small business person wants to do. I would much rather work harder and keep that person's salary. I would much rather spend money on technology to be more efficient. A robot or computer program never walked out or didn't come into work. Small businesses are not Fortune 500 companies. A small business owner has no bruised ego with not having thousands of employees under him. It might sound good to say I own a company that has 10 employees but I would rather have 5 employees and have more money in my pocket. That is the only way I will ever have a raise.

That is not to say that I don't hire additional employees. I am not going to lose business over staffing issues. Additional employees have to have a benefit directly to me... not the macro economy of the U.S. It is true that small businesses hire the bulk of American workers. It is also true that small businesses jettison the most workers because most small businesses fail. The great thing about the United States is that failing is no barrier to trying again. Small business people get up, analyze why they failed and open a new business.

Another myth is that small businesses will expand by hiring more employees. That may be true for a very few business startups like Microsoft, but for the vast majority growth is measured in increases of one or two employees not hundreds. If I open a 24 hour a day 365 day convenience store no matter how successful it is, I will only employ so many workers. Even if I buy another store a mile away and staff it; have I increased the number of people working? The answer is probably not. Because if I hadn't open that convenience store someone else would have. Sometimes, especially for small businesses, it really is a zero sum equation.

Our politicians need to stop making scape goats and heroes and concentrate on facts. The first fact is, Mr. President, I did build that business by my own ingenuity and hard work. However, Mr. Romney, I needed to count on the government to provide security, infrastructure and the rule of law to be successful. When I opened my first business more than 40 years ago, I never worried what I would pay in taxes if successful, I only worried about success. The tax rate never stopped me from going into business. Going into business is what I do just like an actor acts and a clergyman prays. What I so need of my government is consistency in laws, and tax rates and regulation. For my planning purposes I want to know what I can expect, today, tomorrow and next year.

I don't mind being regulated. I've been a New York City property owner and building manager, I have lived with the stupidity of rent regulation. I've succeeded and prospered in spite of it. What I want to see is smart regulation. Any regulation or law that requires thousands of pages to explain its meaning becomes meaningless. Simplicity is the key to enforcement. It is not productive for the economy to have lobbyists, congressional staffers and attorneys writing arcane laws and regulations. That only ends up employing people in those nonproductive occupations. At the end of the day, it adds no new products to the American economy.

I think most Americans and the majority of small business owners agree with my sentiments. I would like my elected officials to reflect the American electorate. Perhaps we need fewer graduates of Harvard, fewer lawyers and career politicians running for office. Harry Truman was a farmer, a citizen soldier and a failed small business man before turning to elected offices. A little practical world experience would make for a better president.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   

December 21, 2012 - A Portal Opens

This date has stirred so much emotion, confusion and anticipation around the world. So many felt threatened by the forecast of doom and gloom. It is not surprising that resourceful and enterprising groups found an opportunity for profit, capitalizing on the fear and naivete of so many. Hollywood did its share of fear-mongering.

To prepare for this dreaded day, there are rumors that some countries have actually built "bunkers" for the safety of some. It is foolish to think that a country can save all its citizens. But some chosen groups need protection. For the general public, the internet is flooded with information on how to survive and live through December 21st. There are some brave seers that dare pinpoint the dangerous zones that will be most affected, even to the extent of completely disappearing from the face of this Earth.

Did the Mayans really predict the end of the world? Actually, the Mayans were not the only ones who had prophecies about the dawn of a great shift.

Prophecies from the Hopi Indians

It is believed that the Hopi prophecies of the coming earth changes are among the most ancient and accurate.The Elders came forward since they believe that man has reached a point of no return. It is their hope that man will return to a simpler and more spiritual way of life. The Great Shift has actually begun.

Reflect on the weather pattern these past few months. You won't read about these in newspapers. There are reports of tornadoes spinning the wrong way, there are places in Mexico where the ground temperature is heating up above 200 degrees. Over a seven-day period in early June 2012, 772 earthquakes were recorded on the California-Nevada border near Mammoth Lake. Skeptics will say there is an earthquake everyday but it is too low to feel it.

Simon Hunt writes:

"In an unprecedented and totally unexpected way, Hopi Elders for the first time in history have openly shared their sacred, and heretofore secret prophecies with the world. Robert Ghost Wolf, noted Native American Prophet and author arranged for two Hopi Elders to appear for three hours on the nationally aired Art Bell show (out of Pahrump, NV) and freely discuss their sacred, and heretofore secret prophecies."

Carrington Event of 1859

Going back to some historical data, in September 1,1859, a powerful solar storm was observed by British astronomer Richard Carrington. Its effects were felt from the Rocky Mountains to Cuba where the northern lights were visible. There was a collapse of the telegraph communication around the world. There were reports of sparks showering from telegraph machines and setting papers ablaze.

The event happened without warning in the midst of an average solar activity cycle. Some thought it was the end of the world. But Carrington spotted the true cause for these bizarre happenings-a massive solar flare with the energy of 10 billion atomic bombs which spewed electrified gas and sub-atomic particles towards earth. This resulted in a geomagnetic storm, thus the name Carrington Event.

Ice core samples have determined that the Carrington Event was twice as big as any other solar storm in the last 500 years. What would be the impact of a similar storm today? According to a 2008 report from the National Academy of Sciences, it could cause "extensive social and economic disruptions" due to its impact on power grids, satellite communications and GPS systems.

According to NASA report, more severe eruptions/solar storms than the Carrington event may be in store for us.Yet,with this possibility and with the advanced technology of the 21st century, the government and the general public seem to show an apparent lack of awareness of this threat.

Are solar flares a random phenomenon? With the use of supercomputers, patterns of solar flare cycles were discovered. Is it just coincidence that these cycles correspond with the periods in the Mayan calendar? The long count calendar is based on astronomical calculations of the solar year, and in terms of our calendar, it extends from 3114 BC to December 21, 2012.

Can solar storms wreak havoc on earth? In 1989, a solar storm knocked out power in Quebec province of Canada. This disabled the communication system- computer systems, traffic signals and air traffic. There was a massive disruption of everyday life. The province was plunged into darkness due to massive power outage.

A similar event occurred in Sweden in 2003. A solar storm knocked out the country's electrical grid. This proves how life can grind to a halt in the face of a massive power outage.

Astrophysics and solar storms

Massive amounts of gases are emitted from the solar corona during a solar storm. This corona is the outer layer of the solar atmosphere, visible at sundown as a pearly faint halo that extends to a great distance. Experts refer to these as " mass coronal projections". These electrically charged masses spew hot plasma into space at speeds of millions of miles per hour. If these particles enter the Earth's atmosphere, they can provoke magnetic storms and polar lights, which affect the geomagnetic field and thus all life on Earth. It is scary to think that its effects can go deep into the cellular level of all living things, especially mankind.

"The explosions, called coronal mass ejections, are as powerful as billions of nuclear explosions and can affect radio communications, electrical power systems and satellites orbiting Earth."...MSU Solar Physics Group

Currently, there is an increase in solar activity. It is believed that at certain times, the Earth's orientation may make it vulnerable to particle bombardment. It is observed that the electromagnetic fields of Earth are weakening and so is the heliosphere, the protective sheath of energy put out by the sun. This makes our planet increasingly susceptible to transformative effects of cosmic radiation and solar winds.

"Cosmic rays are the fastest matter known to man. Some cosmic rays are moving at more than.999999 times the speed of light."..Astrophysics.com</i>

To the Mayans, the Sun is significant. Their observation that our galaxy contains a central sun is scientifically accurate. Astrophysicists confirm that this " central sun" that Mayans refer to is the black hole phenomenon which is thought to be at the center of our galaxy and around which the entire solar system orbits. Such orbit takes 225 million years.

"A black hole is a region, where the gravitational pull is so strong that even light cannot escape from it. This celestial object is formed at the end of a star's life cycle. There are many interesting facts regarding black holes in space"... buzzle.com/black -holes-in-space

Scientists observed that in recent years radiation has been detected at increasingly short intervals directed towards Earth. These are referred to as GRBs- gamma ray bursts. They believe these originate from the farthest reaches of our galactic center- from the black hole.

"Until recently, GRBs were arguably the biggest mystery in high-energy astronomy. They were discovered serendipitously in the late 1960s by U.S. military satellites which were on the look out for Soviet nuclear testing in violation of the atmospheric nuclear test ban treaty.As recently as the early 1990s, astronomers didn't even know if GRBs originated at the edge of our solar system, in our Milky Way Galaxy or incredibly far away near the edge of the observable Universe."NASA

The White Light- a new era of spiritual dimension

The Mayans and followers of other indigenous cultures like the Hopi Indians of Arizona add another dimension to this prediction. The prophecy is about a new era as the Solstice portal opens on December 21,2012. Such an interpretation has also been offered by contemporary Mayans and followers of other indigenous cultures with prophecies about this time. Does this has anything to do with the white light Carrington referred to?

Some believe that a cosmic electromagnetic force and gamma radiation will have far-reaching impact on the human body. There is supposed to be a beam of radiation from the Milky Way and synchronizes with the solar cycle. This could transform, re-encode the double helix of our DNA. Are human beings as they are today be re-structured?

There are also proponents of a spiritual awakening, raised consciousness and non-believers will perish. Perhaps a calamity of never before seen magnitude will teach mankind a lesson. It will not be because of an cosmic-electromagnetic force that will all of a sudden elevate mankind to a new level of consciousness and awareness.

After all, humanity is all about opposites- perfection-imperfection, truth-false, good-bad, truth-hypocrisy, love-hate, brotherhood and sisterhood, ambition or lack of it. Looking back into history, mankind has made great strides into progress and of course retrogress. What is man without love and emotions- these are our driving forces.

The world today is more aware of spirituality. It is believed that a portal opens for many to enter into a new dimension of spiritual awakening. There is hope that with this awareness, man will learn to be in tune with the forces of nature, respect the earth and all life on this planet. This is beneficial to the continued healthy survival of Mother Earth. This " awakening" may hold the key to peace and goodwill among mankind and among nations, regardless of spiritual beliefs and cultural differences.

2012: The End of Time Patricia J. Heavrene

"Options for 2012: Impending doomsday disaster? Global financial market collapse? Earth changes? Or perhaps a consciously held combination of all three? What about an impending quantum shift, the presence of higher human or divine values in the commerce and exchange of relationship? What about the possibility of a world-changing tsunami of consciousness? And if the latter is my choice, what are the steps necessary to have that call to consciousness heard and made manifest?"

Ref: MSU Solar Physics Group

NASA

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/cosmic_rays.html

www.buzzle.com

Patricia Heavrene

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   

Our Beliefs and Preferences Follow Our Passions and Not Our Power to Reason

It is natural for us to believe only what we want the truth to be. We are a product of bias, prejudice and bigotry that has formed throughout our lives. We tend to see things through a prism that shapes and distorts all that we take in and makes it conform to our own comfort.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to shake us from a position that we have long held and steadily reinforced with selective information that we have gathered for that purpose. We close our ears to anything that would threaten to disprove that with which we have become comfortable and we become annoyed if not angry with anyone who attempts to have us see another point of view.

We reject any input of any kind from people whose bigotry is different from our own. When we hear that a certain piece of information or opinion came from Glen Beck or Al Gore, we reject it out of hand as misinformation or simply laugh it off as being totally without merit because of its source. At other times we become committed to an idea or opinion because it gives us an opportunity to demonize someone we don't like and we resist all efforts to let them off the hook.

Any time a big problem or harmful event occurs we are quick to blame it on someone or something we are prejudice against. This is the basis for most conspiracy theories. The CIA killed Kennedy; Bush had the twin towers brought down; Roosevelt was in on the Pearl Harbor bombing and on and on. If there are five possible explanations for something and one of them fits our prejudice, the other four will never be considered.

That's just the way we are. Something goes wrong; someone we don't like has to be punished. Or in some cases, the person or persons actually responsible for the problem are held harmless because they are one of us. This is nothing new. This bigotry in action has been around forever. The problem only gets serious when it causes harmful action to occur.

In the mid nineteenth century, a Cholera epidemic claimed thousands of lives in London England. The common belief at the time was that it was caused by miasma (the odor and fumes from industrial pollution and sewerage) but it was not true. According to Bill Bryson's "At Home" subtitled "A Short History of Private Life" The true cause of the epidemic was drinking water polluted with human feces. This was discovered by a physician named John Snow.

Even though he was able to prove the cause beyond any rational doubt, and back it up with extensive research, Snow was detested for his evidence and accused of "being in the pocket of business interests which wished to continue to fill the air with pestilent vapors, miasmas and loathsome abominations of every kind and make themselves rich by poisoning their neighbors."

Unfortunately, the desire to blame business interests was stronger than the desire to stop the cholera epidemic and many people died in order to satisfy this hateful urge.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a "Bigot" as one who is strongly partial to ones' own group, religion, race or politics and is intolerant of those who differ. We all tend toward bigotry, at least to some extent and in extreme cases the bigotry defines a person and becomes a way of life. It is hard not to be partial to ones' own group or ideological persuasion, especially when one has been educated into it from an early age. But the intolerance component of Bigotry is what causes all the problems.

Intolerance quickly escalates into hostility and when that happens, tragedy is just around the corner. People have shown that they are willing to sustain great tragedies in support of their bigotry. The Cholera epidemic is a case in point. Others include the American Civil War, lynching's, internment camps, unions that would rather see a plant closing than yield and budget disputes that result in government shut-downs.

Religion, one source of bigotry, tends to be passed from one generation to another and so, to some extent do racism, attitudes toward sexual preference, politics and more. Unfortunately, hostility toward other people and groups is also passed on. Members of the Ku Klux Klan, for instance, have generational dislike for African Americans, Jews Catholics and foreigners among others. Others are raised in families and cultures that have disdain for Corporations and the people who run them, Unions, Gays, various nationalities, different social levels and occupations.

These biases have a strong emotional content and any attempt to dislodge them by way of reason will usually prove futile. As has been said many times "You cannot reason someone out of something they have not been reasoned into."

Views of what or who is responsible for something that goes wrong is often formed by what or whom we have been taught to dislike. The collapse of heavy manufacturing in what has come to be known as the rust belt, was caused by unions who were constantly pushing for more pay, better benefits and more restrictive work rules backed up by repeated strikes and the threat of strikes, or greedy corporate executives who would do anything to protect their obscene salaries and bonuses. You can also throw the politicians who do the bidding of one group or the other into the mix.

While it is fairly harmless to rant against those who are the object of our bigotry, when the sentiment runs strong enough to begin to impact law and policy making, we are on dangerous ground. Ignorance, the handmaiden of bigotry, can trump reason and create disastrous results. The nineteenth century London cholera epidemic is a case in point. Thousands died rather than let an unpopular truth prevail.

Then there is the case of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. As President, Nixon did more to advance Liberal causes than Clinton and Clinton did more to advance Conservative causes than Nixon. Yet Nixon remains despised by Liberals and Clinton is broadly disliked by Conservatives. Sometimes our system of bigotry is such that our bias against an individual overrides our stated beliefs and ideals. In fact, Nixon proposed a National Healthcare bill very similar to the one supported by President Obama and it was killed in congress by Liberals. Go figure.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please   

A Smarter, More Responsible Approach To Healthcare Reform

Signed into law on March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) was a large step towards a needed reform in healthcare. However, it was a large step in the wrong direction.

Democrats and President Barack Obama resorted to a flawed system of government-subsidized healthcare accompanied by a mandate (now regarded as a tax) forcing every American to purchase healthcare if they are not offered coverage by their employer.

Critics have highlighted many issues and possible problems with Obamacare ranging from underfunded "high-risk pools" to a growing government deficit due to a lack of revenue to provide for those who will be receiving healthcare for very cheap prices. Surrounding the law are several myths that Barack Obama and his allies in Congress like to parade around Capitol Hill and through the media.

Republicans and Democrats agree that the American healthcare system is not perfect. It is flawed, and there are many Americans who are not receiving coverage simply because they cannot afford it. However, despite these worries, Barack Obama's healthcare law is not the solution to an ever-growing problem. In fact, the Affordable Care Act could likely cause many more issues separate from the issue of how many Americans are covered by health insurance.

It is for these reasons that I bring forth a new idea for healthcare reform. I feel that this plan is one that both parties can rally behind because of its simplicity and ease of institution. The Affordable Care Act was highly criticized because the Speaker of the House herself did not even know what exactly was in the law. Nancy Pelosi admitted this when she uttered her now famous phrase, "We will just have to pass it to see what is in it." If a law is so complex and large that those voting on the law do not even entirely understand the principles of it, then it is not a good idea to blindly accept the law so that America can "see what is in it."

Here is my proposed healthcare reform plan:

Political ideology and world viewpoints aside, economists and politicians generally agree on the fact that the laws of supply and demand and the dynamics of price action are constantly at work in the market. Furthermore, all Americans generally agree that incentives are very strong things. Consider taxes for example. If a business owner will be taxed higher for every dollar that he makes over a certain point, what incentive does he have to work harder in order to earn more money above this tax threshold? If this threshold were not present, then he would be much more inclined to work, therefore, earn more money.

The reason I bring up this tax incentive, or lack thereof, is because of the role that taxable income can play in a smarter route to healthcare reform.

Consider this scenario: A physician runs his own practice in downtown Charlotte. Every day, he treats people that have health insurance; he receives his payment from the insurance company, and he pays his taxes. His costs remain high because of his need to make a profit, therefore stay in business. He must take into account how much of a percentage he will be taxed on the revenue that he is generating.

What if this physician did not have to worry about how much of a percentage the government would take in taxes, however?

In my plan, when a doctor or physician treats someone without health insurance, every cent's worth of that treatment will be non-taxable income that the doctor has generated. For instance, if Mary, an uninsured single mother, gets treated for an illness at Doctor Smith's office for $100, Dr. Smith would not have to pay taxes on any of that $100. However, taxes would still be taken out on income generated from payments originating from insurance companies.

Obviously, in this situation, Dr. Smith would not set the same price for Mary that he would for an insured person. In an effort to attract more uninsured patients, Dr. Smith would lower his prices for the uninsured so that he could generate more income that would not be taxed. Dr. Roberts, another physician down the street would see that Dr. Smith has lowered his prices for the uninsured, and he would attempt to undercut his prices to be more attractive. Barack Obama has flaunted the idea of "shopping around" for the most affordable coverage. This plan causes a healthcare market that promoted exactly that.

Think of how gas station owners determine prices. There is a general accepted price for a gallon of gas in each state based on the cost of a barrel of oil, the state taxes on gasoline, and other factors. After determining the accepted price in the state, gas station owners attempt to attract more customers by setting their prices a little lower than their competitors. Why would doctors not do the same provided with an incentive to generate more income for themselves?

Furthermore, this plan has an effect on the already existing insurance companies. To prevent their customers from dropping their healthcare plan and choosing to become uninsured due to lower costs, premiums would decrease. The insurance companies would also want to remain attractive to customers, and the only way of doing this would be to lower the cost of their own healthcare coverage. Premiums would especially decrease if these insurance companies were also extended tax breaks.

I understand that the issue of high-risk patients and those with pre-existing conditions would still need to be met. No matter to what extent doctors lower their costs, those considered "high risk" would likely still not be able to pay for the frequent coverage that they would require. However, my plan does a much better job at addressing the largest portion of Americans who are uninsured.

This plan is far superior to Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act for several reasons.

First, there is no government healthcare pool that requires an individual mandate to ensure an equal distribution of costs. Let's be honest, if the government must require that every uninsured American either buy healthcare or pay a tax in order to pay for its own subsidized healthcare, it is highly likely that the plan will crash and burn. Such an approach is just not smart. In my plan, neither the government nor individual citizens are responsible for ensuring that costs are equally distributed. The pure method of implementation is already much simpler.

Second, Obamacare provides no incentive for doctors or physicians. Many have already expressed concern over the healthcare industry and whether this law may negatively affect those that work in the industry. My plan provides an incentive for all in the healthcare field to provide more coverage. If we are seeking to reform healthcare, is it better to incentivize those in the industry or ultimately hurt them through government-subsidized healthcare that cuts into their profits and ability to make their own decisions?

Thirdly, the current Affordable Care Act is a job killer. If a business hires over 50 employees, then it is required to either buy every employee equal healthcare or pay a penalty. Why would any small business seek to hire if they are near this threshold? With this threshold removed, businesses can again feel free to hire new employees.

Without a doubt, Obamacare will be a failure. While it will bring healthcare coverage to millions of Americans, it will place undue strain on the government, the American people, and the healthcare industry. A much smarter, much simpler approach has to be instituted. I feel that my plan is the beginning to such an approach. My plan addresses and solves many issues generated by the Affordable Care Act, and it also provides a much easier method of implementation.

As stated earlier, I feel that healthcare reform is something that our nation needs to address; however, I do not feel that Democrats and our president have taken responsible steps to ensure that their plan is one that can ultimately solve the healthcare problems in America.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   

The Loss of Confidential Documentation

It doesn't seem like a month goes by at the moment where there isn't a news story of either a large corporation accidentally sending their clients details out to all and sundry, or a politician dumping sensitive documents in a public bin. This is very worrying as it means our personal data can easily get into the wrong hands, encouraging fraud.

In a recent month long study, in which the contents of London's commercial rubbish bins within certain areas were examined there were worrying findings, among the sensitive items found were:

The records of 70 vulnerable patients including their names, addresses and details of their treatment, which had been dumped by a leading private hospital. Top legal offices in London were found to have dumped documents including clients personal details and case information in black bin liners on the pavement outside. Outside a chemist's, the rubbish contained over 20 prescription labels, some of these included patients names, addresses, details of medication, doctors names, date of birth and future medication needs.

It is worrying to think these items were found as part of a small study, how much more would be found if a larger study were carried out.

Another case that has been reported is where a document was found on the seat of a bus that contained sensitive data relating to criminals and victims of crime. All of the page's were marked 'restricted' and revealed the addresses of the most dangerous criminals being supervised by a county police force and the prison service. Also included within the document were the names, addresses and phone numbers of witnesses, victims and those who were thought to be at risk from the listed offenders.

Firstly you wonder why a document like this was allowed to leave a secure area, and how a person knowing it contained such sensitive data could accidentally mislay it.

By law all companies and organisations are required to protect private data, and should have policies in place to ensure that nothing like this can happen. The Data Protection Act also states that all companies should have the correct polices in place to ensure that all private data is properly destroyed and disposed of. So why isn't this happening, and why aren't there harsher punishments for those that do perpetrate these crimes. Maybe if the punishments were made more severe it would deter others from treating our details with so little respect.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   

Rich People Are A Minority Too, Why Doesn't Anyone Care About Them?

Not long ago, I was at Starbucks and I was listening to an occupy protester speaking with a few of his friends. They went on and on about the top 1% and also claiming their group was the 99%, and that the top 1% rich people didn't care about them. I laughed to myself, because it was obvious to me that "they" representing the 99% surely didn't care about the top 1%, so I had to stop them and ask a question.

"Do you care about the rich people?" I asked.

"Hell oh," one of them said.

"Okay then, I guess you are even," I simply stated.

They were taken aback, they hadn't considered that argument, and then I went into a quick lecture that rich people are a minority also, as a matter fact, the 99% want them to become an even smaller minority, as in make everyone equal, by taking away their money and redistributing, in some Robin Hood socialist motif. Make no mistake, in the story of Robin Hood, he may sound like a very nice gentleman, but he is a socialist nevertheless.

Okay so, in Los Angeles it is 65% Hispanic, and yet, Hispanic is said to be a minority, but I ask; how can that be a minority when demographically speaking it is in fact the majority? Indeed, I have several friends who are Hispanic, a few that were born in Mexico and are now American citizens, and they laughed when I mention this, and said I was correct, but they still like the idea of getting discounts, and a good deal in getting government contracts for their business, or with their children applying for college to get student loans or grants.

Only one of my Hispanic friends votes Democrat, the rest are Republicans or conservatives due to their religious displacement, and the fact that they own businesses and really don't want to pay higher taxes. In fact, most of them would like to get into the top 1% themselves. In other words, they like the idea of their minority status, and they would like to get into an even smaller minority.

Rich people are Americans just like poor people. We shouldn't have class warfare of the majority versus the minority. Is amazing to me that so many people who are left-leaning liberals want to pick and choose which minorities we picked on, and which ones we hand out a bonus to.

If everything was totally fair and we really were equal under the law, then we wouldn't enlist our government, or vote for political leaders who promised to attack the rich and give their wealth to the poor. That's called stealing, and Americans should never steal from minorities, even rich ones. Please consider all this and think on it.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please   

Is The Government Food Stamp Program Making Me Fat?

There are a lot of reasons why our politicians like the food stamp program so much. Number one they can get big campaign contributions from food processing companies and farmers by giving food stamps to people so they can buy their food. Also, the populous also likes getting free stuff, and those in the Democrat party are all about maintaining their base, even if they drift us into socialism. If all the people getting the free food will vote for various politicians, and if the politicians are getting campaign contributions from businesses continue to do so, then there is no one who is going to stop the program.

However, this becomes a giant smorgasbord of government giveaways on the taxpayer's dime. Further, people keep piling the food on their plate, and it's free, so they are going to try to get all they can. Don't worry, that's human nature, that's how it works, and it's obvious that there is abundance in our society judging by how many fat people are in the United States these days. In fact, because of our abundance, quality-of-life, everyone seems to have gotten fat, dumb, and happy. Some might say that this spells the beginning of the end for our great civilization, and although the jury is still out on that concept, they might be right.

Okay so, let me ask you a question? Are you on food stamps? If so, you are not alone, 47-million Americans are now. Now then, if you are on food stamps ask yourself something; "is the government food stamp making me fat?" Well, I don't know, but if you are on food stamps and you are fat - then the government is the biggest contributor to your ill-health and fatness. One could say that all this free food, or you can call it "free fishes" is making you unable to fish for yourself. Okay so, let's ask that question again, and let's be honest; is it making you fat, dumb, and happy?

Indeed, there is an irony here because the more you eat and the fatter you get, the less quality of life you will have in the end, thus the less happy you will be. Of course while you are busy getting fat and eating all that food, you will be happy in the interim, and the politicians will be happy during their term, as long as the money keeps flowing, there will be no one to stop it because there are so many people getting free food that there is no way they're going to vote against the politicians giving it to them.

You may think by getting free food you're getting a free ride, but in the end it is the American citizen who's been taken for a ride. I just hope you don't get so fat that your last ride comes sooner than you wish and you find yourself in the back of a hearse. Please stop overeating just because the government is giving you free food. Please consider all this and think on it.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   

Are You a Potential Hero?

Are You a Potential Hero?

It is my opinion that there is a hero inside of every person, waiting for two things to happen: opportunity and circumstances.

The National Safety Council reports there are over five thousand children per year under the age of fourteen who lose their lives through drowning incidents nationwide.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 26% of children between the ages of one and four who die, are from drowning accidents. Fatal drowning continues to be the second leading cause of death (injury-related) with children from ages one to fifteen. Of the children who do survive, 92% are found within two minutes from the time they submerge, and of those children who die, close to 90% are found after 10 minutes. Nearly all of those children who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation ("CPR ") either die or are left with severe brain damage.

Most likely, you either know someone who drowned or know someone who lost a member of their family through a drowning accident. You may even have witnessed a drowning, or near drowning in your lifetime or no of someone who did.

Most drownings happen within the first one to two minutes from the time they submerge from exhaustion. For this reason, it is most unlikely that a drowning victim can have any hope of being saved by calling 911, or even in the time that it takes to summon help or even a lifeguard. In Shreveport Louisiana six teenagers 13 to 18 old from two separate families all drowned in the Red River after stepping off a ledge into an 18-foot sinkhole. In a chain reaction, each child pulled the next one into the sinkhole while they were attempting to save each other. All six drowned within three minutes, while several adults watched in horror helplessly listening to their children's horrifying screams of terror, pleading and begging for someone to help, as one by one they watched them slipped beneath the surface. Not only did none of the children or the adults know how to swim, there were no life jackets, rope, or flotation devices available to attempt a rescue from shore.

So tell me, if you were there when this happened, would the hero in you have been able to save even one of those children? Even if you do know how to swim, would you have been able to swim while pulling a frantically thrashing, teenager to shore? Or would you have become yet another victim, pulled under by them during their desperate attempt to use you as their flotation device in an attempt to keep their head above water?

This is what I meant by the terms opportunity and circumstances. Opportunity is the simple portion of the equation which is nothing more than being in a specific place at a specific time. However, in a situation like this one, even a trained lifeguard would have found it impossible to save six kids at one time.

Circumstances are what make all the difference between life and death. If any of those adults standing onshore had a rope, would this tragic outcome have been different? My guess is, in the two or three minutes that it took for all six of these children to drown, there is no doubt that if a rope, life ring, rope bag, or rescue disk were available at a moment's notice, there is a good chance that all would have survived.

I appeal to that hero in you to never visit a swimming pool, river, lake, or ocean, nor board a boat or yacht, without having a life vest, throw rope, life ring, or rescue disk in tow. Since a life vest, rope, or life ring can only be thrown 40 to 50 feet, a rescue disk is the best device available. A rescue disk is the official water and ice rescue tool used by Coast Guard, lifeguards, border patrol, fire and rescue teams, and state police nationwide. Rescue disks are simply a large Frisbee-type disc with rope wound around the outside. As it travels through the air to the victim for over 100 feet, the rope unwinds as it spins to its destination. By throwing the rescue disc beyond the drowning victim, it can then easily be pulled to the victim from shore, with the victim grabbing either the rope or the disk. The disk has 5 pounds of flotation to keep their head above water while being pulled to shore.

The two main reasons why a rescue disk is so valuable in saving lives are:

unlike the other devices, it can be deployed in seconds, by even a child or person in a wheelchair; it can be tossed over 100 feet, without the need of the rescuer risking his or her own life by entering the water.

When considering the value of a human life, an investment of $50-$150 for a Frisbee-style rescue disk is a small price to pay and will allow that hero in you to emerge when opportunity presents itself. The life it saves may be your own.

The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   Do Lazy Americans Forgo Voting If The Weather Isn't Being Nice?   Obama Says His Initiatives Would Help The Middle Class - Fact Check Please