Are the media and politicians calling these critics terrorists, anarchists and unpatriotic?

“Leaders of labor unions provided the political muscle that got Obamacare through Congress. They furnished the troops at the grassroots level and in the nation’s capital to block efforts to repeal or reform the program. They declared that Obamacare is the law of the land and must not be altered or abridged.

Today some of those same union officials say that Obamacare is a disaster that will harm working people in general and union members in particular. Now—surprise!—they want Obamacare changed in ways to benefit their unions.”

https://www.capitalresearch.org/2013/11/labor-watch-the-obamacare-oops-unions-got-the-healthcare-program-passed-now-want-to-exempt-themselves

Why I switched to butter

In my living room I have a ceramic butter churn, patented in 1910 that was my grandparents. It looks like a small cement mixer and was run by a generator, or by a crank handle. My grandmother would make 5 lbs of butter in it, and they used it in a week (family of 6), but ate very little meat.

Due to advertising my mother switched to "oleo" around 1948 because she was convinced it was healthier. It was the children's job to squeese the package of white glop with the yellow dye button, because the dairy lobby prevented selling margarine that looked or was packaged like butter. But my parents lived to be 88 and 89, so I guess it didn't gum up the works too much. Just high blood pressure, colon cancer, prostate cancer and heart disease. Whether that was the margarine or the genes, we will never know.

Tastes good and contributes to ego

This morning I had a Bolthouse Farms Mango Protein Plus protein shake. I must say, it was quite delicious, and probably woke up my taste buds, which I don’t like to do. It has a lot of sugar. It claims to have 3 3/4 servings of fruit and vegetables, 30 g. of protein, 120-200% of vitamins A, B & C, 40% of dv of calcium, it's gluten free, has no preservatives, no artificial flavors, and no GM products. If I return the bottle in California, I'll get a 5 cent refund to save the environment. I am feeling strong and very self-righteous.

47 times the president promised and lied before October 1, 2010

Democrats and media complain that Republicans kept throwing up road blocks the last three years. One Republican, Mike Enzi, tried to amend that part of the law that covers Obama's lie "if you like your health plan you can keep it period," (so he wouldn't be lying). Unlike Pelosi and Reid, he had actually read the law and the regulations (about 34,000 pages) and realized how many people would lose their coverage in the federal take over. Even in 2010, the administration expected 51% of all employer plans to be terminated as a result of Obamacare. That is the mid-range estimate; the high-end estimate was 69%. So as of 2010, the Obama administration planned that most Americans with employer-sponsored health care plans would lose them, whether they liked those plans or not. Mike Enzi tried--he was called names and demonized. Even by Sept. 2010, President Obama had promised 47 times that Americans would be able to keep their health plans; perhaps the biggest lie ever perpetrated on gullible citizens.http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/11/lies-of-obamacare

More scary stuff

Brick by brick by David Robertson

Maybe a Christmas idea?

Can he stop? Can he be stopped?

What's scarier than President Obama lying about "You Can Keep Your Plan" and then yesterday saying he didn't say it? He is either a sociopath who enjoys deceiving people, even his staunchest supporters, or he is a compulsive liar who can't stop. There are at least 24 occasions capture on video (now in a montage circulating the net) of the lie he told for 3 years, and absolutely zero record of the claim he told yesterday (except when he tells the lie).

These are not the run of the mill lies or "he misspoke" we've come to expect from politicians. He makes Nixon look like a beginner. LBJ who was far more clever would be proud. Is it his abandonment as a child? His community organizer experience where he learned to lie to the poor? His abortion beliefs (what's one more life in the big picture)?  Does he have a moral core? Is there no there there?

I heard a Democrat call in to a conservative show yesterday morning to blame the Republicans for the mess Obamacare has made. His reasoning was that single payer is what everyone really needed, but they were afraid it wouldn't pass so they pushed for ACA (which only passed with one vote and no votes from Republicans). The individual mandate was Hillary's talking point in 2008, and was rejected by Obama during the campaign, edging her out. He claimed he wanted to just insure those who didn't have insurance, about 10% of the population. Another lie.

Eventually, everyone loses with Obamacare

No background check for “Navigators”

A navigator is a federal employee who helps those wanting to get insured navigate the paperwork of the new healthcare system.  It is disturbing to go to the CMS page and read about the 100 community groups with volunteer navigators, none with any background checks or the organizations with no way to do it. $67 million in grants announced 6 weeks before roll out. How were they supposed to get this set up in that time frame? In July 2013 the navigator requirements and training were still being reviewed—try searching the Federal Register and word search for "background checks."  Although it was discussed, it was not required.  http://www.gpo.gov/.../pkg/FR-2013-07-17/pdf/2013-17125.pdf

http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Republican-Staff-Report-on-Navigators.pdf

And although I haven’t made it through to the sign up screen on Healthcare.gov, for the lowest level of insurance, I have heard/seen the Navigator will also help the applicant register to vote, but not at the higher levels. I’ve looked for comment on this by Democrat state or federal elected politicians, but couldn’t find any.  Only Republicans seem to know about identity theft and the security of personal information. http://imwithmary.com/navigators.html

Our guest room TV antenna reception

I have antenna (indoor) TV in the guest room, and moved the antenna last night and rescanned. Here's what I get, but don’t know how this lines up with what others have--because each time I rescan, it is different. Also depends on the weather.

NBC 4
MeTV 4.2
ABC 6
MyTV 6.2 (THIS)
CBS 10
Antenna TV 10.2 (retro)
WCLL ? 19 (Christian?)
WTTE Fox 28
Fox Spanish 33
EBR? 33.2
SNTV Somali ? 33.3 Dalmar
Afro TV Muslim? 33.4
Guide Us Muslim? 33.5
?? 33.6  (only infomercials when I’ve seen it)
WOSU-HD 34
Ohio Channel 34.2
WOSU Create 34.3
TBN Trinity Broadcasting Network  51 Christian
TCC The Church Channel 51.2
JCTV (Christian) 51.3
? Spanish Christian 51.4
SOAC ? 51.5

I've checked some articles on the internet, but the numbers and station letters don't always match what I have.

In the original conversion, we had 2 boxes, one here and one at the lake house. (You don’t need these with new TVs).  But the one here died.  I bought one at a rummage sale for $5.  I think a lot of people just gave up and switched to cable.

All Saints Sunday

Today is All Saints Sunday at our church (Upper Arlington Lutheran Church) and at each of our 9 services names of our family and friends we want to memorialize and church members who have died during the past year will be read. It's a beautiful service. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus . . ." Hebrews 12:1

“We give thanks to you, O Lord our God, for all your servants and witnesses of time past: for Abraham, the father of believers, and for Sarah, his wife; for Moses the lawgiver, and Aaron, the priest; for Miriam and Joshua, Deborah and Gideon, Samuel and Hannah, his mother; for Isaiah and all the Prophets; for Mary, the mother of our Lord; for Peter and Paul and all the apostles; for Mary, Martha, and Mary Magdalene; for Stephen the first martyr, and all the saints and martyrs in every time and in every land. In your mercy, give us, as you gave them. the hope of salvation and the promise of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 46

Details on how Obamacare became the law of the land

Another thing to remember about the passage of the PPACA, aka Obamacare, is that Obama had a Democrat Congress his first term, and it passed by ONE vote. Not only did it not get a single Republican, but many Democrats saw it for what it was. One more grab of federal power. Also it was reported even before it passed that as many as 10 million might lose their insurance in the grandfather clause, which in fact was then made even stricter through the regulations added after passage of the bill. He still went on the road with the story that no one would lose their insurance or doctor, even though he knew it wasn’t true. That was not publicized before hand or he might have lost that ONE critical vote. And now it has been revealed that the contract for the failed computer system went to a classmate of Michelle Obama, plus is was a Canadian firm. Michelle’s friend,Toni Townes-Whitley, Princeton class of ’85, is senior vice president at CGI Federal, which earned the no bid contract to build the $678 million Obamacare enrollment website. How many times has Obama demonized American corporations for moving business out of the country? http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cfw/commissioners/tonitowneswhitley.htm

Transfer of wealth

Just heard a Social Security defender on Fox News say that for every $1 in benefits, Social Security payments generate $2 in the economy. What about the two workers paying in for every retiree drawing Social Security? Some working for minimum wage at Wal-Mart or McDonald’s.  How would they be spending that money taken from them? This is generational transfer from the young to the old, not drawing on an investment or "trust fund.”

Both the working poor and the upper income rich have their wealth transferred to the middle class, the group that is the beneficiary directly and indirectly of most government policies and taxes, many for the misnamed War on Poverty, (but Social Security is probably the oldest and best example). According to the catalog of federal domestic assistance, there are 2,199 Federal assistance programs and most benefit the middle class either directly, or by employment. HHS has 19 offices and 461 programs; each with its own bureaucracy. Please don't blame Obama for this, or any political party.

Does the federal government really need "To maintain and expand existing markets for dairy which are vital to the welfare of milk producers in the United States." We still have "separate but equal" when it comes to Indians and anyone who is 1/4 Indian, with federal grants galore, including Tribal Colleges and Universities. For 50 years the federal government has been funding "conciliation and mediation services" to local groups to reduce "tensions, conflicts, and civil disorders arising from actions, policies, and practices that are perceived to be based on race, ethnicity, or national origin." Imagine the community organizers who live well on that one! And yet 93% of murdered blacks are killed by other blacks, mostly young with no racial or ethnicity motives.

A tiny percentage of federal grant money goes to the poor; most goes to the middle class in the form of jobs, contracts, conferences, travel, research grants, academic salaries, indirect costs to the institution for utilities, staff, overhead (can be as high as 60% of the grant) and that doesn't even include the buildings that are required and the trades and unions who benefit. One Appalachian grant I read through (about $76,000,000 a year) supposedly was training 20,000 students a year; it’s been going on since 1965—why aren’t they all successful and free of poverty at that rate?  Because the money goes to the teachers, social workers, facilities, grant writers, conferences, etc.

I should know--I've made a very nice middle class living on special government contracts funneled through Ohio State or the state of Ohio. I have been employed on USAID funds, FIPSE money, JTPA,  Department of Aging of Ohio; I have published research funded by the state and federal government, which was then purchased by the institutions for which I worked, which were funded in part by the government; I have done some very nice travelling on your dime—Washington, DC, San Antonio, Kansas City, Seattle, Detroit and Chicago.  I also have a teacher's pension which pays far better than Social Security which non-government workers get. Don’t get me wrong--I worked hard, and you got your tax dollar’s worth, however, few poor people were lifted out of poverty.  Primarily the middle class benefited, including me.  Go to this website and type "library" or even something more exotic, like fashion or travel,  into the search window. https://www.cfda.gov/

That attack at LAX

We flew out of LAX on October 13, so the scenes look very familiar.  But apparently, we are much safer in airports than on the freeways taking us there.  "Only 72 terrorist attacks in the United States (2.7%) targeted airports and airlines. The vast majority of the attacks targeting airports and airlines were bombings or attempted bombings (72.2%), 19.4 percent were hijackings or attempted hijackings, and only three of these attacks were classified as armed assaults like the one at LAX on Nov. 1." START Fact Sheet, Nov. 2

Kids today

Party lines were fun, too.  Our number was 59-L.

Meet Sue Klinkhamer

She admitted: “I have now learned that I was wrong. Very wrong.” When voters fired her boss [Bill Foster, D-IL] in the 2010 elections, she had to get another job and that meant she had to shop for health care, too. Three years ago, she got a plan that cost $225 a month with a $2,500 deductible. But then her health care company sent a letter a few weeks ago. “Blue Cross,” she said, “stated my current coverage would expire on Dec. 31, and here are my options: I can have a plan with similar benefits for $647.12 [or] I can have a plan with similar [but higher] pricing for $322.32, but with a $6,500 deductible.” She went on, “Blue Cross also tells me that if I don’t pick one of the options, they will just assume I want the one for $647.  Someone please tell me why my premium in January will be $356 more than in December?”   “And I was excited that previously uninsured people could now get insurance on the open market. But this is not affordable to me.”

”http://www.catholicvote.org/i-spent-two-years-defending-obamacare-i-have-now-learned-that-i-was-wrong/

23 times President Obama promised “you can keep your plan”

And that’s just what’s on tape.  In Boston this week, he explained what he really mean—you can’t.

http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-on-obamacare-if-you-like-your-plan-you-can-keep-it-2013-10

I am the First Amendment

I am a blogger—I support the first amendment.  The democratization of the media is threatened.  http://iam1a.com/   I am protected, and so are you.  I am the First Amendment. To exercise your first amendment rights set up a blog account, but don’t expect me to let you be nasty, insulting and mean here.

Social Security compared to Affordable Care Act

Substitute a few words, and it's a good description of ACA in our era. "We find it hard to conceive of a greater triumph of imaginative packaging than the combination of an unacceptable tax and an unacceptable benefit program into a [health insurance] Social Security program that is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements of [Obama's first term] the New Deal." Milton Friedman, Free to Choose, 1980.

Just in case you think Social Securty actually is a good deal, remember no one can subsist on the benefit it provides, which I think is maxed at about $28,500.  It takes 2 workers paying in today to support one retiree (there were 17 in the 1950s, 42 in 1945), it's regressive--the low income workers are less likely to live long enough to collect what they paid in, spouses who never worked get the same amount as those who did, millions who paid in (like me) will get nothing because of another government pension, or die before collecting like my sister who began working at 14 and died at 57, and won't be able to pass it along to their children.

Yes, it is a wealth transfer program--from the young to the old. From the poor and the rich to the middle class. Another similarity to the Affordable Care Act.

Five days away. . . five years later

I think Obama was in Colorado when he announced America was close  to being fundamentally transformed, with a back drop of beautiful scenery and weather, speaking to a well heeled population, median household income $57,000. They cheered and swooned. Finally, FDR's dream would come true!  Married families with children in that state had an income over $83,000 in 2008.  But of course, the figure was low for single moms with children many of whom were minorities.  Well, duh. Even in paradise, it seems there are rules for living.

But he was going to change all that--or so he promised--by transferring even more wealth than had been moved since the 60s in LBJ’s  War on Poverty.  But this crowd wasn't poor.  They just wanted more. Here we are 5 years later, minorities and women have made the least progress, labor force participation is at a record low, yet they still love him and know in their hearts that it just isn't his fault.  It was Bush, or the GOP, or the Tea Party, or staff who kept him in the dark so he couldn't achieve all those wonderful things he really wanted with other people's money, so of course he needed to play golf more.

And now many in the same crowd, at least if they are self-employed  or are a spouse of a retiree purchasing her own health insurance, are seeing more of their income being taken so others can have more. That’s the focus this week, but whether you’re talking political polarization, energy, race relations, unemployment, education, etc., he’s pushing the whole nation downward in spirit, in morality, in wealth, and in world opinion in leadership.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/10/01/obama_transforming_america_120170.html

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/popp/100206