The Golden Rule
Sep 18, 2010 Political
The Golden Rule is basically, the one who owns the gold makes the rules which might explain why two moron members of Congress will be holding hearings on the gold industry. Henry Waxman and Anthony Weiner (an appropriate name if ever there was one) want companies that sell gold to disclose what the resale value of the gold would be.
The government does not like individuals owning gold. In the 1930s the president signed an Executive Order making it illegal to posses gold after a certain date**. People foolishly turned their gold into the government and they lost a fortune in value. A person who owned 100 ounces of gold back then would have about $2,500 in gold which would be worth about $120,000 today. People were robbed of their future wealth and their possessions by the government.
Now Weiner and Waxman are concerned about the new gold rush. But is their concern for those who are buying the gold and how they might get ripped off or is it for the people who act as spokespersons for the gold companies? There is a fairly long list of conservatives who pitch gold for various companies. Waxman and Weiner do not like that and while they might feign indignation because they are worried the ignorant public is being duped, they really appear to be going after the conservatives who make money hawking ads for gold.
These two morons are also concerned that the people who are selling gold are fear mongers stirring up the public and making the rubes believe that things are worse than they really are. The real problem is that things are worse than they are being portrayed. Gold is the only real hedge against inflation and we will have inflation. The government cannot keep printing money without causing inflation.
Gold is the hedge against that inflation and was one of the precious metals that backed our currency until the government decided not to have our money backed any longer. So it makes sense that people would want to buy it.
So while these two morons ignore the real problems and focus on gold and the people selling it, it might be a good idea if people did what they thought was prudent and ignored these bumbling morons.
If you decide to buy gold just keep in mind that the government will illegally confiscate it if it decides to and if you are not smart enough to keep them from knowing that you have it.
**To make this clear the government made it illegal to own more than $100 worth of gold. Later that was tightened by certain licensing restrictions. People could not move their gold because of the restrictions. History
Cave Canem!
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: confiscation, conservative, gold, lies, waxman, weiner
The Plan For Incremental Takeover Of Our Lives
Mar 31, 2010 Political
The health care bill recently signed into law is a staring point for the Democrats and their progressive allies who intend to continue hammering away until government is completely involved in our health care decisions. Their ultimate goal is to have a single payer program run by the government. They want to put insurance companies out of business.
And they will do it with a manufactured “crisis.”
There were warnings that the health care takeover would result in higher costs for companies. The alleged benefits from tax cuts for small business are narrow and limited in scope and actually punish those with more than 50 employees.
As soon as the bill was signed into law many companies filed information regarding the impact on their business. The businesses have cited impacts of up to 1 billion dollars. For many, this is because they will no longer be able to write off a subsidy they get from the federal government. The government provides a subsidy to these companies to keep their retirees on the company plan for prescription coverage. Private plans are much better at cost control than the government and this is why the government pays a subsidy for companies to keep retirees. Having them on Medicare would be more costly to the government.
Now these companies are reporting the impact of the bill and how the new law will affect them. Their claims drew the scorn of Henry Waxman who wants to know how their assessments can be off compared to the independent assessment (read CBO) that Congress relied on.
News flash, the companies base their numbers on reality and the CBO bases its numbers on the imaginary world of government make believe. If the CBO was not told to assume anything that is actually impacting these companies then it could not figure the cost.
Waxman is trying to intimidate these companies because their reports run contrary to what we were all told. This plan is supposed to save money but it will cost us all money. If people think that these companies will not pass the cost on to consumers then they are living with Alice in a place called Wonderland.
Better yet, suppose the companies decide not to keep their retirees on the company prescription plan? They will be moved to Medicare prescription which would add about $1000 for each person enrolled. If this happens, about 2 million people could end up in the government plan. This would take away the “savings” estimated by the CBO ($5 billion) and would increase the amount the government spends by around 2 billion dollars (a 7 billion dollar swing). The CBO estimate was no doubt one of the “assume the companies can’t write off the subsidies and still keep their retirees on their rolls.”
If retirees are forced into Medicare prescription it would end the debate on whether you could keep your plan if you liked it.
Waxman is making a show of this but this is by design. Obama and the Democrats want costs to rise because then they can declare another crisis that requires government intervention. As Rich Lowry points out in his latest piece:
Democrats clearly plan to blame the private sector for all the downsides of their health plan. Pres. Barack Obama told liberal lawmakers in a private lobbying session that the bill is only “a beginning.” Any increase in costs and premiums — both of which are inevitable — will be attributed to corporate malfeasance requiring yet more government intervention.
Increase in costs and premiums both of which are inevitable. We were sold this plan on its cost saving qualities. Pelosi, Reid, Obama and every other Democrat appeared before the cameras and told us this would lower our costs and save money. Any mention of the increases in premiums that have occurred since the bill became law has been met with scorn and ridicule from those who believe that it will drive costs down.
Obama told his Democrats that costs and premiums will go UP and that this was inevitable.
And that is good because the Democrats can blame it on the companies and generate the need for even more government intervention.
Henry Waxman is the tool who is making this happen. As companies demonstrate the rise in costs (something Obama said was inevitable) Waxman can call them out, claim they are to blame and then Democrats can get busy generating more legislation designed to take control of even more of our lives.
This is all by design. These Democrats now have a foot in the door and they will, as Pelosi suggested, be kicking more doors down.
In other words, we created this mess which will create more messes and then we can get involved even more.
Remember, America will never accept Socialism outright but we can be led to it in tiny increments. The progressives have been making small gains for nearly a century and now they are ready to take much bigger ones.
They are ready to declare another crisis and generate more new laws to control more of our lives.
The Democrats must be defeated in November. We need to destroy them.
UPDATE: Interesting article from the American Spectator.
Never surrender, never submit.
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: at&t, business, health care, lies, Obama, socialism, waxman
Wait Til Young Obama Supporters See This
Mar 29, 2010 Political
The youth of America supported Obama and his promise of free health care for all. Unfortunately, it looks like they will be paying for their insurance and might pay about 17% more for it because they are needed to fund the program for the elderly and those with preexisting conditions.
An AP story reports this but says the pluses might outweigh the minuses because up to 2 million people will be allowed to stay on their parent’s insurance until they are 26. This assumes that those parents have or will have insurance and that they will let their children stay on their policy.
Even if it is true, it is only a plus if you are one of the 2 million.
The story is here (did not print quotes from it because of AP copyright notice in the article).
Also in the news, now that several major companies have expressed that the new plan will cost them millions or billions in health care costs each year (AT&T, Verizon, Caterpillar, Deere, Valero Energy, AK Steel and 3M), Henry Stalin Waxman has demanded that they turn over certain documents regarding this issue. He says it is to see how this could be since the CBO and others have said the opposite would be true.
But the reality is that this is an attempt at intimidation. Waxman and Stupak (of all people) sent a letter detailing what they wanted. How dare you companies question Obamacare?
Perhaps these things should have been looked at before the bill was signed into law. No, the Democrats were in such a rush that they failed to ask companies how this would affect them. They relied on estimates and now that reality has hit they want to intimidate the companies.
If it is not intimidation why do they need all emails relating to this matter?
I hope the companies show up and present their case while telling Waxman he cannot have the emails or anything else not necessary to support their claims.
Make some popcorn folks, this could start to get interesting.
Never surrender, never submit.
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
The politics of intimidation.
Tags: companies, increased health care premiums, intimidation, st&t, stupak, waxman, youth
Obama Invokes Executive Privilege; Where Is The Outraged Left?
Dec 3, 2009 Political
When George Bush was president there was a trumped up scandal involving a faux undercover CIA agent and her wanna-be ambassador husband. The entire “scandal” was called Plame Gate after Valerie Plame, the CIA agent who was not covert but acted like she was a secret squirrel. There was also a so called scandal involving Bush’s dismissal of several US Attorneys, an act that was completely within his power as president (and something Clinton did as well).
Several of President Bush’s aides and Vice President Cheney were subpoenaed to appear before Congress (with regard to these and other incidents) and explain themselves but their boss declined invoking executive privilege (though he offered limited access). The Democrats were livid and the leftist blogosphere went nuts with visions of people being “frog marched” out of the White House. Here is what Democrat Henry Waxman had to say about the executive privilege claim in the Plame case:
The claim of executive privilege is ludicrous.
We are not seeking access to the communications between the Vice President and the President. We are seeking access to the communications between the Vice President and FBI investigators. The Vice President talked with the FBI investigators voluntarily and he did so knowing that what he said could be disclosed publicly in a criminal trial. Mr. Fitzgerald told us that “there were no agreements, conditions and understandings” that limited Mr. Fitzgerald’s use of the interview in any way.
This unfounded assertion of executive privilege does not protect a principle; it protects a person.
The President is wrong to shield Vice President Cheney from scrutiny. In our system of government, even the Vice President should be accountable for his actions. [from an above linked article]
Here is the big question. Where is Waxman and where are the other Democrats who had their panites in a wad over this incident now that Barack Obama has invoked executive privilege. Yep, Obama has said that his Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers, will not appear before Congress to provide information on how two people were able to get into the White House without an invitation. Congress wants her to appear and she was in the middle of the episode but Obama said she will not appear.
Earlier Wednesday at his regular briefing with reporters, Mr. Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said Ms. Rogers would not testify. “I think you know that, based on separation of powers, staff here don’t go to testify in front of Congress,’’ he said. “She won’t — she will not be testifying in front of Congress.’’ Jammie Wearing Fool
It appears as if Gibbs is saying that the rules that Waxman and others wanted applied to Bush do not apply to Obama.
Where are you liberals? Where is your outrage? Where is Henry Waxman discussing the “unfounded assertion of executive privilege” and admonishing Obama on how our government works?
The liberals seem to be fairly silent on this and feel that Obama is within his right to keep Rogers from testifying. Personally, I believe that Bush was within his right and that Obama is as well. There is established law to support the decisions each of them made in US v. Nixon which limits executive privilege claims only during criminal proceedings.
That case dealt with people who were subpoenaed. I don’t think Rogers has been subpoenaed yet. Her presence was requested and Obama refused. A subpoena might come next but I doubt Obama would honor it.
In any event, I never blew a gasket over Bush’s refusals, the liberal left (but I repeat myself) did. So, where are they now?
Some much for transparency. So much for an end to politics as usual. They said if I voted for McCain I would get four more years of Bush.
It is beginning to look like that is party true. Of course, I would love to hear the liberals chime in on this. You can be sure that some will comment and justify this behavior. They seem to be able to justify everything that they so vehemently opposed when Bush was in office. Hell, they might even blame this on Bush since that seems to be the way the Democrats address everything.
As an aside, if the government panel’s recommendations on breast cancer screening had been made (and followed) 20 years ago Rogers might not even be here. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, when she was 44 years old. That is six years before the new recommendation. Under Obamacare, she might not be living through this mess. I’m glad she was able to get it diagnosed and has survived it.
Sources:
Commentary Magazine
Jules Crittenden
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: Bush, Congress, desiree rogers, Obama, party crashers, Plame, subpoena, waxman
little kings
Aug 20, 2009 Political
Well, its good to be king, if you are only really a kinglet- you know, like piglet, only without the good connotations.
Apparently, if you are Henry Waxman or Bart Stupak, you feel that you can do anything you wish, even if it flies in the face of the Constitution and the capitalist free market. What scum they are.
Ever since the “bailouts” of the banks and lending institutions, these little kings have decreed that there will be no excessive pay or bonuses with taxpayer money (ignoring, of course, the pay raise they gave themselves, those hypocrites), but that was in the case of taxpayer subsidized bailouts, and partying on the taxpayer’s dime is a little gauche- and these little kings should know, because they party with the best of them.
But since the memo went out from Nancy the numbskull (quite literally- I understand excessive botox does numb the nerves in a head- some of them possibly vital) to demonize the insurance companies, now the mental pygmies Waxman and Stupak are leading the charge to investigate the pay of insurance CEOs and other honchos. What moral midgets they are.
Two powerful House Democrats have sent a letter to insurance companies asking them to provide detailed information about their conferences and retreats, executive pay, and other business practices.
The letter comes in the midst of a campaign by Democrats, as part of their push to build support for a health overhaul, to portray the insurance companies as the villains of the health-care system. Insurers say they are working with Congress on an overhaul and resent being cast as the bad guy.
The letter is from Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.), who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.), who heads the panel’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
online.wsj.com
It might appear that these a**holes are trying to show the Resident how tough they are, but the bottom line is that what they are doing in this instance, in essence threatening these companies with the weight of a government “kangaroo investigation” into executive compensation. They have no right, period. Not when these companies haven’t taken the taxpayer’s money. In a free market, which is what our system is based on, people are free to earn as much as they can, the whole purpose of this system is to get ahead.
If you are constrained in how much you can earn by government dictate, then you are living under a totalitarian regime, that much is certain, and this is not the United States I know and love.
The letter, sent Monday, did not refer to the health overhaul debate, saying only that the committee “is examining executive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry.” The letter requests the companies’ help, but is not a subpoena.
Chris Curran, a spokesman for Cigna Corp., said the company had not yet received a letter from Mr. Waxman, but like the rest of the industry, expects to get one shortly. He said the company planned to respond appropriately.
Mr. Curran defended the company’s executive compensation program, saying it is designed to reward executives and attract talent, and added that more than 90% of the compensation of Cigna’s CEO is performance-based.
Much of the information requested in the letter is available in public documents, Mr. Curran added, and the company has no problem turning it over.
online.wsj.com
The government does not actually have the powers to do what these liberal pimps want to do. Not when there is no taxpayer assistance involved. It is just a naked power play by some very insecure people, and someone needs to challenge them so this can go to the Highest Court in the land.
It’s way past time for the third branch of the government to weigh in, because the “fourth branch” of the government is gutless, and will not be critical of their new “buddies”.
They are BFFs on each other’s Facebook- why would they want to spoil that?
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: rodent, squirrel, unconstitutional, vermin, waxman