The Liberal’s Biggest Blind Spot: Who Really Rakes In Their Government Largesse?

"It was in late 2008, under President Bush, that a threatened financial meltdown triggered some hasty and dangerous Washington policy decisions to bail out large firms. Unfortunately, President Obama has doubled down and more on those policies, with unprecedented levels of government spending, most favoring big finance, big auto companies, big labor unions, and now big pharma and medical insurance companies."

The Liberal’s Biggest Blind Spot

From the Foundry 2010 Chart Book

Letter to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)

Arli Klassen
MCC Executive Director

Dear Ms. Klassen,

Today I received the Spring 2010 "A Common Place," featuring stories about microfinance in Cambodia and the earthquake in Haiti.

MCC's primary concern seems to be the material and political well-being of the people you're assisting with small loans, food aid, and "peace and justice" for immigrants. In the several years I've been receiving this publication (I sent a donation after the Tsunami which put me on your mailing list) I've seen very little about reaching anyone for Christ. Yes, you donate food and material goods, but if you tell them the Good News of the cross and resurrection it isn't reported. They are clearly Jesus for you (Matt. 25), but who is going to tell them so they have what you have? Is Jesus a secret? After the homes are built, the wells dug, the forests replanted and the schools staffed, then will you tell them? Or are they just supposed to figure it out?

In fact, the only spiritual part of the Spring issue is the story about the amazing faith of the Haitians.

"Earthquake survivors living in a camp in my neighborhood gather every evening to pray and worship--singing praises such as "God blessed us. He saved us," and asking, "God, don't leave us outside, give us homes." People shared testimonies of how they or their loved ones were trapped and rescued from under their homes. "When the earth shakes, Jesus is near us and we don't need to be afraid," my friend Emmanuel Michel preaches." [from article and photos by Ben Depp]

Over 30 years ago at Ohio State University I worked in a program sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development that did exactly what you describe in your small loan program. USAID didn't tell them about Jesus, although it did work with missionaries, nor would I have expected it. You folks, however, have a "great commission" to do so.

The cost of government workers

It is now known that government workers earn higher wages and have better benefits than private sector workers in the same or similar position. Therefore, I think it's time to start looking at some of the perks the private sector workers don't get, but have to pay for, or else Ohio will end up on the California/Illinois trophy head-on-the-wall award for bad fiscal management. Like this one for Ohio State University faculty and staff employees, for instance.

"If your dependent will be taking classes during summer term and you have an eligible regular appointment of at least 50 percent full-time equivalency, your family members can enjoy the benefits of higher education at a lower cost."

It's been awhile since I looked, but I think "family" has a rather broad definition in this case. Like the foster child of your same sex partner (not sure about opposite sex partner's foster child). And there is a "cap" on the benefits, but it's over $8,000 $6,000 per semester/quarter (in the process of changing from quarter to semester system).

Behavior, income and health

Because I knew the March 24/31 issue of JAMA contained that dreaded article that we need 60 minutes a day of exercise to maintain a normal weight (I'm barely managing 40 min. 3-4x a week), I didn't look at it until today. I discovered in that issue another, far more interesting article on socioeconomic status, personal behavior and health outcomes done in Britain, which has a single payer, government health care system and far more government interference in personal lives than we experience here.

Let me back up. One of the most frustrating features in reading JAMA is the constant emphasis on "the gap" and not on improved health outcomes for all groups over time. There's usually a PhD, MSoc or MSPH among the authors, which means the article will dredge up the obligatory difference between Blacks and Whites, or Blacks and Latinos or 10 years of education vs. 14 years, or inner city hospitals vs. suburban rather than lives saved by advances in technology, surgery or new miracle drugs. In many articles, there is at least the suggestion that the top two quintiles are somehow to blame for the bottom two in health differences, and more government funding (taking from the top 2) would somehow equalize this.

I'm guessing publication of this one was held up, and certainly not promoted in 2 minute summaries on the evening news. "Association of Socioeconomic Position with Health Behaviors and Mortality," JAMA, Vol. 303, no. 12, pp 1159-1166 with editorial content on pp. 1199-1200. CONCLUSION: "In a civil service population in London, England [i.e., white collar but from different social classes], there was an association between socioeconomic position and mortality that was substantially accounted for by adjustment for health behaviors, particularly when the behaviors were assessed repeatedly."

Let me translate. Smoking, drinking, over eating and little physical activity are not good for you, whether one or all four, and you are more likely to do these things if you have lower/working class origins. Health insurance doesn't change you or the outcome of your bad behavior. You don't become poor and less educated because of the degree of access to health care, and it's terribly hard to change behavior whether rooted in the genes or the early life culture.

Where do I get that free Obamacare?

Apparently, the President hasn't explained clearly enough the bill no one wanted, read, or understood.

Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.

Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors' offices, human resources departments and business groups.

"They're saying, 'Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?' " said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states."

Read more

What makes this Census different?

Michelle Malkin, after filling in "American" in place of race says:

"So, what makes the Obama census campaign different from other census programs? First, its naked, left-wing special interest pandering. The White House is championing a “Queer the Census” movement by pro-gay marriage groups, for example, and the Commerce Department is working with open-borders leaders who want to use the census as leverage to stop all immigration raids.

The electoral stakes are high. Some $400 billion in federal funding and, most importantly, the apportionment of congressional seats are up for grabs. Instead of straightforward enumeration of the American population, Obama and the left’s identity politics-mongers are turning the $1 billion, taxpayer-subsidized census public relations drive into a government preferences lobbying bonanza."

Full article here.

Why health care costs so much

"American health care is an accidental system. Private coverage - the type most Americans have - has its origins in the wage controls of the Second World War as employers offered rich health-insurance benefits in pre-tax dollars. Public coverage like Medicaid and Medicare, on the other hand, takes its inspiration from the Beveridge report in Britain, drafted in the early 1940s; Lord William Beveridge believed in zero-dollar health care - that people ought to pay nothing at the point of use. Today's American health care fuses these two systems, but with a common economic flaw: people are overinsured, paying pennies directly on every dollar of health service they receive.

The end result: for every dollar spent on health care in the United States, just 12 cents comes out of the individuals' pockets. Imagine what food costs might be if your employer paid 88% of your grocery bill or what a trip to Saks might be like if your company covered the vast majority of the costs of the shopping spree."

RealClearMarkets

The lying and stealing commandments as practiced by ABCNews

This account of Glenn Beck cautioning his listeners about the "social justice" scams in the name of the Gospel is pretty much a lie about stealing, but that's what happens when you don't listen to Glenn Beck--you just read the filters.

Anyone who's ever read the Old or New Testaments knows there's not a smidgen of advice, commandment or admonition about taking money from the rich through government which got it through taxes or take-overs to "help" your fellow man. But many churches and their non-profit para-church arms regularly take government grants in a Faustian contract not to mention their religious beliefs, then preach diversity, sustainability, justice and whatever from the pulpit. Now, during the Bush administration, the liberal churches were all over President Bush for his conservative Methodist beliefs. Believe that sex should be reserved for marriage? Abstinance programs? Yikes. Marriage of a man and woman? That's just horrible!! That's obviously a violation of separation of church and state (which isn't in the constitution) because sexual purity is a religious, worthless, impossible to achieve concept. Sanctity of life? That's violating women's bodies in the name of religion, since everyone knows a fetus is a parasite without rights. Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, and Desmund Tutu are brought up as examples of "social justice" by Jim Wallis in this story. But I don't recall them taking government money, do you? In fact, the U.S. government kept a pretty close eye on Dr. King and Democrats tried to destroy him. Glenn would be in perfect agreement that theirs was a life style all religious people should seek, using their own resources, own time, and own beliefs.

When the rich don't buy

All sorts of people are losing their jobs--not so much from the recession, although that's part of it--but from the hostile, unfriendly, investment-cooling policies of the Obama administration. Let's say, just for fun and fantasy, you are worth a few million (like the current President) or many millions (like our former Presidents Bush and Clinton). How eager in today's climate would you be to invest in the finer things of life--like art. Now if you're a speculator, this might just be a great time. But let's say you became wealthy through solid investments and/or the smarts of your handlers and political friends.

In the WSJ today there's a story about a classy art gallery defaulting on loans. And apparently there have been a number of NY galleries go under. The rich aren't buying and probably credit sources have dried up because the bailouts have gone to a much higher tier in the credit food chain (that's not in the article--just my opinion). What happens when a first class art gallery closes? Staff is left go, of course; rent isn't paid and that hurts the bank that holds that mortgage; real estate firms are hurt; neighborhood business is hurt; the staff and shoppers who would have patronized the area shops now go elsewhere to spend their money; the delis and restaurants in the area lay off their immigrant counter clerks and bussers; the graphic artists and printers that worked up the catalogs have to cut back; the webpage designer for the gallery's sales has lost an important customer; rent payments and mortgage payments fall behind sending the economic ripples far down the subway line through people that never bought a piece of art in their lives; less tax money comes to the city, district and state; city workers get laid off; more demand on unemployment payouts.

On the plus side there are very good buys for art speculators; warehouses and storage facilities are doing well as banks look for places to store the seized art; court dockets fill up keeping their clerks busy; there's a demand for bubble wrap and protective coverings as art goes into storage; fraud investigators have more work as owners try to hide sales; lawyers are rubbing their hands since it looks like the terrorist trials might move elsewhere; they all need to hire more support staff.

And in Washington DC and the rubber chicken campaign circuit, our President flogs his health care plan oblivious to the ripples he sends out every day that keep the economy struggling and businesses sinking to the bottom of the government quagmire.

God, Satan and the Environmentalists

The coal mine tragedy in West Virginia is in the news. It is already morphing from a story of anxious relatives, grieving co-workers and community to one of the need for more government regulation for safety, and (who knew?), the dangers of fossil fuels. Let's forget for a moment that we Americans could save 2,000 to 3,000 lives a year by just raising the legal driving age to 18; what clout in Washington DC would that have? So whatever the hoopla or spin by the media, it isn't rooted in concern for the lives of the miners and their families and way of life in Appalachia.

Turn the page of the newspaper to the World Bank investing $3.75 billion to finance a coal fired power plant in South Africa. Notice the global spread of personal names and titles--Hitachi Power (Germany), Eskom Holdings (South Africa), the African National Congress, and S. Vijay Iyer (India) of the World Bank. This investment has the support of China, India, Brazil, and the African country members of the World Bank. Not so much the United States, which owns a lot but not enough to fight the rest.

I do love this quote by Mamatho Netsianda (who claims he answers to no white man) of Chancellor House Holdings, the investment arm of the African National Congress, which has a 25% stake in the new coal fired Hitachi Power. "I don't care who our shareholders are--whether it's God, Satan or the ANC--I'm running the company in accordance with South African law." Lucky he doesn't have a part African statist president changing all the rules as he goes along in order to by-pass both the laws of the nation and the power of the Congress at the expense of the shareholders.

Genetically Engineered Pig With Earth-Friendly Poop

Imagine the unintended consequences! Be sure to read the comments about Enviropig.

"The “Enviropig” has been genetically modified in such a manner that its urine and feces contain almost 65 percent less phosphorus than usual."

Meet the Genetically Engineered Pig With Earth-Friendly Poop | 80beats | Discover Magazine

Stain solutions

Here's a handy, dandy website from my alma mater, the University of Illinois. Or rather the Extension. Stain Solutions which is set to "grease" since "cat snot" didn't work. I'll have to browse a bit and see if it lists my favorite carpet spot remover, glass cleaner. Works like a charm (Windex or a knock-off from Meier's).

Speaking of colleges, I was going through a box of memorabilia the other day and found a clipping of my college graduation announcement from my hometown paper. Turns out I'd taken a class at Butler University and I didn't even remember! But last night I think everyone west and north of North Carolina was from Butler. Wasn't that a game! They had nothing to be ashamed of.

When Tea Party organizers say Take back your country

For some reason, they are racist haters and homophobes. How dare the Tea Party stand on the Constitution! When James Carville said it after the Democratic flop of 2004, well, it was just the coach laying out strategy (and it worked in 2006 by pretending to be moderate, middle of the road, core values candidates). "The book is organized under chapter headings from the Constitution, such as "The Common Defence," "Insure Domestic Tranquility," and "Establish Justice," under which he presents brief essays on Homeland Security, the deficit, jobs, the environment, etc."





The leftist media can say "Bush regime" thousands of times during his administration (a search of the Nexis database for "Bush regime" yields 6,769 examples from January 20, 2001 to the present) to proclaim their dislike, demean the war effort, and throw out road blocks to fight terrorism at home and abroad, but if Rush Limbaugh says "Obama regime," he becomes a racist who is accusing Obama of nefarious behavior, an act needing more government regulation of free speech. Drudge Report, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are somehow a threat to the most powerful man in the world, a man supported uncritically by the little watched broadcast media and cable news and opinion shows, leader of the formerly most wealthy country in the world just by criticizing him.

Meanwhile, the federal appeals court today has ruled that the FCC doesn't have the authority to require "net neutrality." This is not a ruling about the good guys and bad guys of free speech, but big and bigger. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and eBay all have lobbied for net neutrality and stand to profit from it. This court ruling is a setback not only for the Obama administration, but also for Obama's corporate allies in the fight according to the Washington Examiner.

Child abuse in the news

You don't have to be a genius, or a math whiz or believe in conspiracies to figure out why the media plays up the problems in the Roman Catholic church. If it is 1% of the sexual and physical abuse problem, it's too much, and should be reported. The question is, when there is an elephant, why go after the gnat? Answer: What other organization or entity has as much power and clout to affect health care, education, and social agendas?

The dirty little secret is it isn't priests that children need to fear; it's the men their mothers bring home for a night, a month, a year, or a life time. Almost every day I read about a child somewhere in the country so battered and bruised he's dead or comatose by the time good old mom and her boyfriend finally take him to the ER and report he fell out of bed, or down the basement stairs, or accidentally hung himself in a closet, or burned himself with her cigarettes on his buttocks, or just happened to be walking around in 10 degree weather with only a pajama top while mommy and "uncle" party at the neighborhood bar. Little boys seem to be a high percentage of these victims. If Hollywood or TV execs had to produce stories about strangers in mom's bed, they'd have to shape up the twisted sexual values we're force fed year after year and stop the tirades against Christians. Don't send me links about danger from natural father or mother, or domestic violence in general. I've seen them, read them.

I've shared this story before, but it's worth retelling. In 1961 I was working the cash register at the Green Street Pharmacy. One of my co-workers about my age (21) who waitressed at the lunch counter never smiled or talked. I was expecting my first child and probably had the usual complaints about aches and pains, or maybe I shared my anticipation--don't recall why she opened up to me. She took out a photo of her little girl whom her live-in boyfriend had beaten to death. She was pregnant and had to testify during his trial--and permanently lost custody of that baby, too. He went to prison. I can still see her sad face when I read these boyfriend-batters-baby stories.

Explaining it to the grandchildren, guest blogger Murray

"Have you decided how you are going to explain to your grandchildren that their future has already been squandered?

That if they expect the same lifestyle that you had and fortunately still exists today, it's NOT going to happen for them?

That if they work hard to try to make it to the middle class or higher they'll have to do it while carrying someone on their backs?

That we screwed up and allowed Obamaism to dictate that we must share our successes with people who make little or no effort to succeed?

We have already helped them with their mortgage payments, buying cars, appliances, food, and weatherizing their homes. Then there are the bank and auto bailouts, Obamacare, and massive PORK spending all of which our children will have to pay for. Obama has only scratched the surface and he's still itching. Cap and Trade and Amnesty are coming up.

It has become quite obvious that Obama will lie, use deception, props, stage town hall meetings with planted questions and fake doctors, plus present people with hard luck health stories that are only partially true but are molded to sell his agendas. The only interview he has had where hard questions were asked was with Brett Baier of Fox News and it was a bust. Obama refused to answer the questions. Brett was criticized for interrupting the President in an attempt to simply get him to answer the questions. For Obama to answer them honestly, he would have to expose his massive destruction of our Republic.

The Stupak Eleven diversionary tactic on abortion was just to take the focus away from all the ugly things buried deep within the Obamacare bill. It worked. Ask yourself, if Obamacare is a good plan then why does Obama find it necessary to keep running around the country continually selling it after it was rammed through? There is no doubt that Obama will say anything to sell his agendas. Do not listen to what he says, but do pay attention to the results! They aren't the same."




Murray

Happy Birthday

Easter was a two-fer. Sometimes Thanksgiving is a Three-fer, since we have two birthdays that week. It's always the same question. "What shall I get for Dad?" " He wants a Dick Blick gift certificate." "I always get him that!" So I suggested that his summer print knit shirts were getting a bit shabby (probably 10 years old at least). "Oh Mom, the prints are no longer in style--it's all plain or stripes now!" So this summer, Lakeside will be shocked to see my husband in some new shirts! If it weren't for our daughter keeping tabs on fashion trends, we'd both look like yesterday's mashed potatoes.

We're eating apple pie in the photos (sugar free), but the "cake" is in the center of the table--Cheryl's Cookies, Sugar-Free in a wrapped birthday box. They are quite good.

NADA criticizes Obama over president's praise for GM dealer reinstatements? — Autoblog

If he reopens 661 dealerships he can put those on the plus side of the jobs ledger! Now, never you mind how does a dealer rebuild the trust with GM, his sales staff and his customers who have gone else where. Obama's never worked in the profit sector, so why would you expect him to have the answers?

"One of the most contentious aspects of General Motors' 2009 bankruptcy was the forced closing of 1,160 dealerships across the country. GM brass and the Obama Administration Task Force insisted that a smaller dealer body was necessary to make the Detroit, MI-based automaker viable again, while also helping to make the remaining dealers stronger. Opponents of dealer closings pointed to the thousands of dealership employees who would lose a job at a time when jobs are harder than ever to find. Dealers are also often among the most powerful small business owners in small towns, and that meant that the local congressmen were put in a tough spot, indeed."


NADA criticizes Obama over president's praise for GM dealer reinstatements? — Autoblog

Monday Memories--In your Easter bonnet

We served communion at the Easter Sunrise Service at our Lutheran Church. You can't really see the sun in our suburban neighborhood until about 9 a.m., but the windows were all darkened, and as we sang the first hymn, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today," the ushers pulled down the draping, and the lights gradually went up. With the pipe organ, full choir, and the processional it was sort of like a staged sunrise.

When I was in high school the community sunrise Easter service was a big event--I think it was on the athletic field at the high school and we sat on the bleachers. April services were better than March, sun better than rain or fog. I'm sure we ruined our new shoes in the wet grass. It wouldn't be a stretch if I said the girls were in little clutches, giggling and eying the boys. Some things haven't changed much in 55 years. I probably didn't do this more than three or possibly four times, but series of events in childhood seem to be in the "always" category. I can remember my Easter dress of 1955 and 1956, and although I know there are photos somewhere, I can't seem to lay my hand on them. I've been an early riser all my life, so sunrise services are just perfect for my internal clock. In my junior year, however, I overslept. My boyfriend came to the house to pick me up for the event, and the house was dark. So he walked in (no one locked their houses then), walked up stairs, past my parents' bedroom and into mine, woke me up, then went back down stairs to wait. That and my red shoes and noisy crinoline are about all I remember. Don't even recall who was the preacher that day, although the responsibility was rotated among the four churches.

Men and women don't dress up much these days, a little bit more for Easter. I actually saw two hats at church. But the little girls in the urban neighborhood UALC supports get to select lovely dresses which have been collected by members for weeks--with all the accessories, and they've been hanging in the hall at church before they are gathered up for distribution. Beautiful, dainty, gorgeous colors, delicate prints and bold designs. As we returned with family for the 11 a.m. service, the 9:30 (informal) was letting out, and I noticed the beautiful young teen girls almost all were in darling dresses.

Why do young girls get to have all the fun of dressing up?

Use of the word Terror

I subscribe to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) reports. GTD is a project of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror (START) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, START, based at the University of Maryland, College Park. You may think our AG and newspapers don't use the word "terror," "terrorism" or "terrorist" much any more in describing those who would bring down the United States (although I think it's still an acceptable word in referring to Tea Party 70-year olds like Murray who marched on Washington carrying a sign, and groups of 9 or 10 Michigan militia). However, in the recent story I received about the Moscow subway bombing, I counted those words 30 times. So we know they still can use it when writing about other countries.

Speaking of that militia story, last week when I was on blogging break, I noticed that the Wall Street Journal devoted a full page to them on Wednesday. However, that same day within 7 miles of the White House, a drive-by shooter(s) killed or wounded 6 men and 3 women. I didn't see the words brown or black rage in that story (race baiters describing tea parties refer to "white rage" to describe people carrying signs, orderly assembly, and cleaning up after themselves).

Now he wants us to be patient and not rush to judgement!

The President is on the campaign trail again. Sarcastic. Whiny. Complaining. Showing is real face. Fooled them once; OK. Twice the independents wized up and left. Now shame, shame, maybe it will work again? An exodus of Democrats? Thuggery, arm twisting, Chicago goon politics, lies, obfuscation, pay offs to unions, Wall Street, insurance companies, bills too big to read, and Congressional pork. We've seen how they make the sausage. Let's not forget by November. The job growth is in the government sector. 16,500 new IRS agents for starters. Government IT workers to track your health care records--the same gang that can't get the Census right (although they'll find and count the illegals, I'm sure). Now he has to sell Obamacare as payback to those up for election, so he's on the road doing what he has always done best! Campaign. Even as a community organizer his talk was bigger and bolder than his walk--that community is in worst shape than ever. Hurry up and wait, Americans. Get used to it. Especially at the doctor's office.

“For the past year, Obama has been demanding that Congress enact his so-called reform immediately. Last July, it had to be done before the August recess. Then, after Democrats suffered big losses at the polls in November, it had to be done by the end of the year. It was so urgent that the House voted stayed in session late into Saturday night after Election Day, and the Senate actually voted on Christmas Eve. . . Last month, in a process as ugly as it was heedless of public opinion, Obama got what he wanted. Two weeks ago the time for debate was over. Now the president is still talking ObamaCare, trying to sell the public on what he and congressional Democrats have already imposed upon us. And he's insisting that the public owes it to him to be patient.” James Taranto April 2, 2010