Brain Spew

Stop National Healthcare

2009-06-11T09:21:00.000-04:00

It seems to almost be a foregone conclusion at this point, but we must put a stop to the idea of National Healthcare.

First, let’s look at the places that already have it. For example, the Canadian system is a nightmare and if it weren’t for the fact that Canadian citizens can come to the U.S. to be treated or to have surgery done, their system would collapse on itself. Do we really want to wait a year to have a simple, yet lifesaving, procedure because you are put on some government waiting list because they have to ration care?

In Germany, they have two separate systems. One is paid for by the government and one is a private system. You, hopefully, will not be surprised to hear that the private system not only offers better care, but does so more efficiently.

In England, they have to cut and restrict service. Is this really what we want to do to our system? We will not have another country as a safety net to go get necessary procedures done. Do we want a less efficient, lower quality system? How can any rational person think that is the direction to go?

I agree something must be done to control the costs, but letting the government run it is NOT the answer. The answer is to limit litigation that is brought against doctors and hospitals. I would not suggest that doctors be granted some sort of blanket immunity against malpractice, however the frivolous actions must be stopped. The amount of malpractice insurance required is one of the largest reasons a doctor closes the door on his private practice and treating the people of his community. If you have to see the majority of your patients just to pay malpractice insurance, that is an unsustainable business model. You still have nurses and administration staff to pay for, rent, insurance, power and water bills. Not to mention the equipment necessary to deliver care to your patients.

We have the best medical system in the world. We need reform…not a change to a system that has proven to be a failure. That would be change, but not change we should believe in.

National Healthcare....You really want this?

2009-03-18T10:22:00.003-04:00

Receptionists carrying out initial checks on patients;
Two clinical decision units - one unstaffed - used as 'dumping grounds' for A&E patients to avoid missing waiting targets;
Nurses who turned off heart monitors because they didn't understand how to use them;
Delayed operations, with some patients having surgery cancelled four days in a row and left without food, drink or medication;
Vital equipment such as heart defibrilators was not working

This is exactly what we will get if Obama and Crazy Pelosi get their wish of nationalized healthcare. I still cannot understand how anyone who has been to any local government office, Divers license office for example, would want government to control your access to healthcare. Government entities are the least agile and able to react to changes. They always need to commission a study, then discuss the results for a week before they can decide that changing their paper supplier.

You may not think our current system is all that great. And you are entitle to your opinion...but isn't our system better than the nationalized one in England?

Here...read the rest of the article yourself:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1162552/The-NHS-Third-World-hospital-patients-drank-flower-vases-Inquiry-12-Trusts-1200-died-needlessly.html

The user comments are rather enlightening. Seems to be not just this hospital...but hospitals all over the country. And, the user's are saying they would rather pay for private insurance than deal with this debalce they currently have with the govnerment in charge....

Global Warming? I think not

2008-11-11T09:02:00.002-05:00

More like Global Cooling. The entire country basically saw COOLER than normal temperatures.

Can Al Gore and all the Hollywood morons stop harping on this now?

Failure of the Republican Party

2008-11-05T10:03:00.005-05:00

In the spirit of full disclosure, I consider myself a fiscal conservative and a social moderate, maybe even leaning a little left. If a gay couple wants to get married, go for it. If I can get married, why can't they. If a woman wants to get an abortion, feel free. Frankly, I think it's rather absurd that any politician wants to legislate such an issue. For the most part, none of them even have a uterus, so their opinion really shouldn't matter.

That being said, if the Republicans ever want to win an election again, they need to do some serious self examination. Traditionally, Republicans stood for smaller government and restricted spending. Over the last 8 years, the government has grown faster than at any point in history and spending has increased significantly. While the creation of Homeland Security was probably a necessity after September 11 attacks, I have a hard time justifying the rest of the governmental expansion. We have seen millions upon millions spent on earmarks that pay farmers not to grow crops, ect.

While I tend to take what is said on the campaign trail with a grain of salt, I do believe that McCain would have restricted spending, especially earmarks. As he said, we don't need higher taxes, we need more controlled spending.

But I see three main reasons why the Republicans lost the Presidency and lost more ground on the house and senate. First off, Obama ran a better campaign. Time and time again, I saw Obama volunteers walking around my neighborhood handing out information about Obama's policies, as well as where and how to vote. Not once did I see anyone from the Republican party. Even though I am a registered Republican, I got calls on my home and cell phones from the Democrats asking if I would be supporting Obama. While I said no to them, at least they called. No one from McCain's campaign ever contacted me, and I live in a battleground state that voted for Bush in the last election, but Obama won this time. Maybe McCain assumed my support, but it sure seems like they could have used better turn out at the polls.

Secondly, weather McCain isn't as smooth a speaker as Obama, or the people running the campaign weren't on their game, the messages that needed to be delivered weren't getting there. Why didn't McCain hammer the "tax cut for 95% of Americans" statement when 45% of Americans don't pay any taxes. Or the fact that Obama is going to let the Bush tax cuts expire and go back to taxing us at the levels during the Clinton administration and he doesn't consider that raising taxes. If I am going to pay more taxes in 2010 than I am now, that is a tax increase. Or the misconception of lowering capital gains taxes for small business, when they don't pay capital gaines tax....they pay income tax. This was a huge failure of the campaign. I think McCain really did have some of the right messages, but they didn't get delivered in a very effective way. Hell, "Joe the Plumber" was more successful and effective in getting Obama to talk honestly about his policies than anyone associated with the Republican party. Now Joe seemed like a pretty smart guy, but when regular civilians are better at playing the political game than the people running the Republican party, that's a huge failure.

And third, if you go back over the course of history, you will find with almost 100% certainty that if the economy is doing well, the incumbant party will stay in office. If the economy is suffering, we tend to vote them out. We've heard a lot in recent weeks and months about red states and blue states, but we are all truely green states. If we are all making money and doing well financially, we don't want to buck the trend.

BAR STOOL ECONOMICS

2008-10-27T15:16:00.001-04:00

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each MAN'S bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.!

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20, 'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten Times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

I knew Pelosi was crazy...but seriously?!?!?!

2008-09-17T14:04:00.003-04:00

When asked Tuesday if Democrats had any responsibility for the current economic crisis gripping the United States, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had just one word to say: "No."

I'm sorry Nancy, but you have either lost your remaining marbles, or you are flat out lying. The latter is far more likely considering your chosen profession.

The vast majority of today's economic problems stem from the fact that under Clinton, the federal government used their power to force banks and mortgage lenders to make loans to people who couldn't qualify otherwise. Either make these bad loans to people who are not fiscally responsible enough to repay them or we will install so many new regulations, you will be sorry.

So, you now have people armed with their faulty pre-approval letters going out and buying more house than they could afford. And, let's not forget, the mortgage payment isn't the only thing to consider when calculating your monthly expenses as a home owner. You also have insurance, taxes, and up keep. When you were a renter, when the A/C crapped out or the fridge stopped working, that wasn't your responsibility. No landlord to call when you're the owner.

So, these people can't afford their mortgage payments, and certainly cannot afford the upkeep on their homes. Not only is the house falling into disrepair, but also foreclosure. With all these "fixer uppers" in a slumping housing market, they cannot even sell the house for what they owe on the loan. So they have drained their bank accounts and have no equity in their homes.

So, Ms. Pelosi, what say you now? Oh right...don't let the facts get in the way of a good argument. And, if you think that most Americans are stupid enough to actually buy this load, don't forget that this democrat led congress has a FAR lower approval rating than President Bush.

Do you remember when?

2008-07-03T14:20:00.003-04:00

At the last election, we were promised the world. And what did we get by handing over the house and senate to the Dems? Well, we certainly didn't get what they promised us.

Nancy Pelosi said the Dems have a "common-sense plan to lower our gas prices". Since she took her position, gas prices have gone up by 75%!!! I bet none of our paychecks or investments have gone up even 10% since she became Speaker of the House....maybe her own, but I digress.

The world demand for oil is increasing as China, India, and other's continue to develop. If we, stubbornly, rely only on traditional channels for oil, we are destined to pay more and more for gas. Why has the house and senate continued to deny us the ability to get oil from new resources. It is estimated that there is more oil available from the shale in the western US than in all of Iraq. Why have our elected leaders made it illegal to develop this technology? Why can China drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and we cannot?

Another "do you remember" moment: Peolsi, and those of her ilk, claimed to put an end to the "culture of corruption" in Washington by reducing ear-marked spending because that was allowing special interest groups too much power.

Interesting to know that ear-mark spending is up 29% this year alone.

They got into power in both the house and senate, but didn't deliver the things they rode to victory. As a matter of fact, they went COMPLETELY the opposite direction once they were elected. Typical politician move...bait and switch. Well, if they are not voted out of office the next chance we get, there is something seriously wrong with us and the system. Either the people voting are too stupid, or the ear-mark spending is doing it's job and they are simply buying their seat.

The Real Obama

2008-06-02T11:56:00.001-04:00

Ken Blackwell - Columnist for the New York Sun

It's an amazing time to be alive in America . We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first front-running freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.

We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender.

Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.

The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him.

Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.

Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate.

He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton. Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.

Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant.. Mr. Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America . But let's look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial 'beauty..'

Start with national security, since the president's most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists - something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s.

Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.

Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago.

Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on 'the rich..' How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes.

His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.

Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, 'All praise and glory to God!' but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have 'hijacked' - hijacked - Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and promises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing.. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois , he refused to vote against a statewide ban - ban - on all handguns in the state. These are radical left, Hollywood , and San Francisco values, not Middle America values.

The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent But Mr. Obama could win if people don't start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches.

His vision of 'bringing America together' means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandoning any conflicting beliefs.

But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and - yes - they're talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama's radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.

It's time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let's first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.

Congress fighting for the "less fortunate"

2008-03-14T10:42:00.003-04:00

The report said, "Members of Congress, who are now paid about $169,000 annually, saw their net worths soar 84 percent from 2004 to 2006, on average."

How can members of Congress, and even worse, the Senate talk about the less fortunate and how we must do more to help them. There are a hell of a lot of people that makes less than the $169,000 than these guys do. How can they sit on their throne of lies and say they are here to help the common man when they are so far removed from the common man. I don't consider myself "the less fortunate" and I make a hell of a lot less than $169,000. So, how "in touch" with the masses can they be when the masses are making $35,000 and these guys are making more than 4 times that much.

Politicians will say anything to stay in power. And, the really sad part, is the people who only make the $35,000 are stupid enough to believe it.

Denver Public Schools

2008-03-07T10:05:00.003-05:00

The Denver Public School System is lowering it's standards for the gifted and talented program. Simply writing that statement makes me want to puke. But they feel there is not enough diversity in the program, so they are lowering the standards so that more students who are economically disadvantaged or non-native English speakers qualify for the program. DISGUSTING!!!

And, here is the e-mail I sent to the DPS administrators. Think I get a response?!?!

I can only assume the people responsible for lowering the standards of the gifted and talented program were themselves not. As educators, you are supposed to be enabling future generations for greatness. All you are teaching these kids is that the 75th percentile is good enough to be great. Congratulations on pandering to the idiot masses and making our truly gifted be taught to the lowest common denominator. We shouldn't change our standards because there is some third world child who doesn't live up to them. Children need to know that in the real world, you don't always qualify and you don't always succeed. It requires hard work and learned skills. If a child really wants to be part of the gifted and talented program, they should spend less time playing video games and sitting on Myspace. They should, instead, be reading and attending museums (both of which are free, so even the "ecnomically disadvantaged" have these at their disposal) to broaden their horizons and life experiences. Then, if they qualify, can enroll in the gifted and talented programs the following year. Give them something to work towards....don't just give them something.

Vote Gender or Race

2008-01-22T10:39:00.001-05:00

There was an article on CNN talking about the difficulty that black women voters will have in the primary. Do they vote for race or gender?

Anyone who simply votes based on gender or race shouldn't be participating in the election process. If that is the only criteria you've considered, then you are a moron and I ask you to please stay home on election day. Try this on...look at where they stand on issues, find the candidate who you mostly agree with, and elect that person. You will not find a candidate who you agree with on everything...that's called being an individual. I don't agree with Huckabee's uber-religious stance, but I love that he supports the FairTax. I really like Romney's business savvy and think the economy could benefit greatly from his experience, but he just seems to be too much of the slick, polished politician, and that turns me off.

Notice I haven't said anything about them being white males...because that shouldn't matter. I am a white male, and there are things about Obama that I really like. It doesn't seem that he would be "in bed" with as many special interest groups, but he and I disagree on the privatization of social security. Again, no mention about him being a black male.

So, if all you know is that Hill-bag is a woman or Obama is black, then you are not educated well enough to vote and by doing so, you are slowly chipping away at the greatness of this country. They don't let the janitor vote for the board of directors of a large corporation because he doesn't know enough about what is going on. You, by voting purely on gender or race, are the janitor.

2008-01-22T10:09:00.001-05:00

Packers loss - Depressing

2008-01-21T09:57:00.001-05:00

It sure seemed that neither team wanted to win that game last night. Maybe neither team wanted to be out in that crappy weather. But, the Giants kept missing field goals and fumbling the ball at mid-field. The Packers, in turn, didn't recover any of those fumbles. Rather, they kept throwing interceptions to try and "even the playing field".

Favre looked like he was actually bothered by the supreme cold. He said after the Chicago game that the cold and wind was bothering him to the point of distraction. Seems like that happened again yesterday. He was missing open throws. Favre played great all year...depressing.

The defense didn't help either. Aside from Al "My head is in my ass" Harris getting burned by Plexi-glass all night long, the defense kept giving free first downs on penalties. I love the in-your-face style of defense they typically play, but the d-line kept jumping offsides and the secondary had more interference/illegal contact/hands to the face penalties that kept so many Giant drives alive. And they always seemed to come on 3rd down...KILLER.

So, now I don't care about the Super Bowl. I hate the Patriots because they are cheaters and Bill Beli-Cheat couldn't be more dull. The Giants just don't have a compelling story to bring me in.

Time to focus on the NFL Draft and College Basketball, I guess.

NO TICKETS

2008-01-18T16:01:00.000-05:00

A man goes to the Minnesota Viking ticket office...inquiring about purchasing play-off tickets. The ticket teller replied that there weren't any tickets for sale because the "Vikings did not make it to the play-offs".

The following day the same man goes to the Minnesota Viking ticket office and inquires about purchasing Viking play-off tickets. The ticket teller politely replies that there weren't any tickets for sale because the "Vikings did not make it to the play-offs".

This goes on for an entire week! The man goes back to the Viking ticket office inquiring about play-off tickets and the teller says none are for sale because the "Vikings did not make it to the play-offs".

And yet another week of this goes by and the man still is asking the ticket teller about Viking play-off tickets.

Finally, ticket teller in a loud voice says, "I'VE TOLD YOU FOR THE LAST 2 WEEKS THERE WERE NOT ANY TICKETS AVAILABLE BECAUSE THE VIKINGS DID NOT MAKE THE PLAY-OFFS"!

The man replied, "I know! I drive all the way from Green Bay just to hear you say that"!

Tough day

2008-01-17T19:04:00.000-05:00

The Illegals Invasion

2008-01-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

"A delegation of nine state legislators from Sonora traveled to Tucson to make the case against Arizona's new employer sanctions law,

The lawmakers say it will have a devastating affect on the Mexican state.

At a news conference Tuesday, they said Sonora cannot handle the demand for housing, jobs and schools it will face as illegal Mexican workers in Arizona return to their hometowns without jobs or money."

My thoughts, where do these Mexican officials get off?!?!? Mexico can't handle the demand for housing, jobs, and schools? This is what the Mexican invasion has been doing to the US for years now. In California, they need to build and staff a new school EVERYDAY of the year to keep up with the influx of the illegal immigrants.

If you have an extra 10 minutes available, check this out: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n7WJeqxuOfQ

Do we have any say in the rules and regulations that govern Mexico? Do we always like the laws they pass? Probably not, but our opinion doesn't really matter. So why do they get a say in our laws? We passed a law, that was really just to enforce other laws there were already on the books, and now they have their panties in a wad. They are called ILLEGALS because they are here illegally. They did not come into this country through the legal channels, therefore they are not paying taxes on the money they earn here. Those taxes, by the way, would go to build the schools we need to keep up with the exploding population thanks to them.

I know people will say, "This is a country build by immigration". That is very true, but a country built by people who came here legally and assimilated to our society. My family is from Scotland, England, Wales and Germany. Go far enough back, and my family members were the new immigrants here...but again, they came through Ellis Island and registered with the government. They worked, paid taxes, and raised their families. No problem.

But, if you come to this country on a floating door and get a job that pays you under the table, you are a strain on our society. I cannot say it any clearer than that. You use the schools, public transportation, community hospitals, and other social services that taxes support. Since you don't pay taxes, you are stealing.

Welcome to Brain Spew

2008-01-17T15:55:00.001-05:00

As I sit to watch the news or read things in the internet, sometimes my brain really starts to hurt because I simply cannot comprehend the decision and actions of people in this world. I think Denise is tired of hearing me complain about things, so I decided I needed a better forum for my brain explosions.

Therefore, welcome to my brain spew. Whenever I have either new pictures of the family or something that I simply cannot contain to myself, I will add them here...enjoy. Some of what I say, you may not agree with or may even offend you. Sorry, but these are my thoughts.

Big Hannah Smile

2008-01-17T15:52:00.001-05:00