Jane Van Ryan of API Shares Her Thoughts
September 6, 2009
Defending the American Dream - by Jane Van Ryan, API
We all know what Astroturf is on the gridiron, but what does it mean when it’s applied to a series of very successful Energy Citizens rallies?
Based on what I’ve seen at six of the rallies, it is a misapplied term that demeans the spirit and the passion of the people who participated. Simply put, it disses them. And those who disrespect them apparently don’t understand the depth of their feelings about the misguided Waxman-Markey bill.
Read more here.
Daily Rant – September 5, 2009
September 5, 2009
I was rehashing last week’s Kennedy funeral and memorial service. I heard one of the children of the Kennedy clan actually talked about health care as being a right during one of the invocations. First of all, they had a child do it because it’s hard to criticize a kid at a relative’s funeral. Imagine had someone gotten up during Reagan’s service and invoked something like, “Ronald Reagan was a champion of lower taxes all his life and so we pray that congress create a constitutional amendment saying the government shall not take more than 2% of a person’s income.” Lord hear our prayer!
Just this side of the Wellstone memorial, Kennedy’s supporters did tone it down, but only a little. Just because the guy worked hard for single payer health care does not mean it’s a good idea. What if he thought slavery was a good thing? We should bring it back just because he worked for it? Ridiculous.
Tax the wealthy. How has that been working for you? The rich still seem to be rich and the poor still seem to be poor. The worst of it is, none of the problems that were supposed to be fixed have been. So why do you dummies keep voting for politicians who espouse this nonsense?
Lawyers are some of the wealthiest people in the United States, yet Democrats and some Republicans refuse tort reform. Lawyers are one the biggest lobbying groups in Washington and give a lot of money to both parties, I would assume, but mostly they support Democrats. They are the biggest problem we have with affordable health care. It’s not the insurance companies who are to blame. Once again, it is the politicians.
Just as they stood back and pointed the finger during the mortgage meltdown that they caused, so they keep accusing the insurance industry of causing the problem. Get government out of the business of overregulating them, and we will really see competition.
People are catching on. I guess we have to thank Obama for that one! Way to go, rookie!
- FedUpEditor
Daily Rant – September 3, 2009
September 3, 2009
My response to Lynn Woolsey’s town hall in Petaluma on Monday, August 31, 2009:
First of all, what is with the hand gestures? When quieting the crowd you look like an orchestra conductor trying to get the woodwinds to tone it down. Okay, so that’s cosmetic and really has nothing to do with the health care debate, but it does indicate a certain arrogance to me that people should be worried about.
Question 1: You talk about the millions of people who are uninsured. How many of those are people who don’t want health insurance for whatever reason and want to spend their money on something else? And how many of those people are illegal aliens who are not citizens? How accurate is your number and where did you get it? Okay it’s questions!
Question 2: How will we pay for this monstrosity which will take over 1/6 of our economy? We are a nation that is over $11 trillion in debt. Where will the money come from? I keep hearing Democrats talk about taxing the rich, but they are some of the richest people in the country. And what about congress? Will you also participate in this health care program with the rest of us?
Question 3: You say Obama has not done a good enough job of explaining what he wants. I think he has done a good job, we are just not buying it. He has been on television and on town halls almost every day pushing this plan, how is that not getting the word out? What needs to be said that hasn’t already been said? And with all that has been said, public support has gone DOWN. Why is that?
I must say, the woman who identified herself as Catherine Bragg is a member of the Marin Conservative Forum and did a bank up job nailing you to the wall. It is obvious the Democrat party is beholden to the lawyers and refuse tort reform yet they talk about insurance companies as special interest groups determined to undermine President Obama. Lawyers are special interest groups as are your unions.
This issue is not just a Republican/Democrat issue. It is an American issue and will not go away. You ignore us at your peril!
- FedUpEditor
Daily Rant – Part 2, September 2, 2009
September 2, 2009
What Rush Limbaugh missed today… was his show. So it was his guest host, Mark Steyn who missed an opportunity when a liberal caller named Jill who was supporting the health care plan said it is a government “option”. It is nothing of the sort. This was a carefully chosen word by the Obama administration pollsters trying to find the right terminology to sell this horrible socialized medicine legislation.
What we are getting from the White House is propaganda. This is something Obama wants, and he doesn’t care how he gets it. If he has to lie, so be it. Don’t let the facts get in the way. And if Jill had actually read the bill rather than listen to her liberal pals, she would see that carefully concealed in the wording are the specifics which, for various reasons and changes to your current plan, you end up in the government plan or are fined if you don’t participate. Hey, they have to pay for it somehow.
Not only that, but the version I read said it would be illegal to buy insurance other than the government options AND it would make it illegal to pay for health expenses ourselves. How is that an OPTION? Jill is another useful idiot who believes in Obama. With people like her there will always be complaints. Obama gets his bill and then the first time it didn’t work, Jill would say we’re not spending enough money on it… no matter what we were spending.
Jill, I have a suggestion for you; get a job and stop complaining. We are becoming a nation of whiners with entitlement mentality. Problem is some of us have to work to pay for your health care even if you don’t. Shame on you.
- FedUpEditor
Daily Rant – September 2, 2009
September 2, 2009
Have you seen the movie Idiocracy? It’s a silly comedy that actually has some salient points. It is about the dumbing down of America to the point where people are so stupid they can no longer solve their own problems. The most watched television show is a reality show where entertainment is a guy getting hit in the groin in various ways. The government has made it so the only jobs are provided by one energy drink company (i.e. Gatorade) which is being used for everything including irrigation. This kills the crops so the result is a huge dust bowl.
Anyway, take it into today’s world and you see that we could easily be headed toward a similar future. Dumbing down of our schools by letting everyone pass so they will feel good about themselves does nothing to help society. People are not stupid, they are just being allowed to get by with failure.
We have an inept government right now. Look at what has happened since the lame duck session of George Bush. He passed the stimulus bill and Democrats jumped on board. It worked so poorly they want to do it again. We are trillions of dollars in debt and adding to in every moment, but we need to spend more money? At this point, they can stop pointing the finger at the previous administration. Democrats run everything and have nobody to blame but themselves. Besides, when does it become the current administration’s fault? After they are out of office? We were promised Obama would fix everything. He hasn’t. It’s gotten worse… much worse!
Next we had the mortgage meltdown. Barney Frank and his pals told us the sub prime mortgages were not in trouble. I guess that’s why we had to bail out all those financial institutions. Even banks that didn’t need the money were forced to take the handout so that other institutions wouldn’t be at an unfair disadvantage… What? If it’s a disadvantage to borrow money from the government, why are we letting them do it?
Next came the car company bailouts because they were “too big to fail”. This was really unpopular with the public, but they did it anyway. Trillions more dollars down the drain. And what happened? General Motors went bankrupt anyway. What did the bailout solve? Nothing!
Then Congress brought up the Cap and Trade bill which will drive our energy prices through the roof all in the name of stopping global warming… which is not happening. Polar bears are on an increase. Because the ice flows are growing and hunting seasons are longer thanks to global cooling, more cubs are surviving and populations are increasing. What will happen as a result? People may become extinct!
What do we have to say about the Health Care Bill that has not already been said? If this passes, people will be outraged. We’ve made it perfectly clear we want no part of this, so why are they REALLY pushing it? It will cost them the house and senate in 2010 and the presidency in 2012. Republicans better make something of it and not do what they did under Bush.
Cash for Clunkers. This program is a microcosm of the ineptness of government run anything. We are broke as a nation and yet some legislators (most of them from California) think it’s wise to use our money to help people buy cars. But the cars that are considered clunkers are perfectly good and could be given to poor families who can’t keep their real clunkers running. Instead these trade-ins are scrapped. And now car dealers are having trouble getting reimbursed by the government! Good plan!
If things weren’t bad enough in our own country, Obama (remember the guy who didn’t want to interfere in Iran) wants to interfere in the Honduras situation. A thug dictator was elected and refused to leave office under the terms of the constitution so the PEOPLE had him removed from office. Obama thinks he should be put back in office. Maybe Obama is afraid this will happen to him once people find out he is not a US citizen?
The final insult is this swine flu farce. It has just been made public that the government wants to FORCE people to get vaccinated. Wasn’t this a free country?
- FedUpEditor
Daily Rant – September 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
Now that I am back from vacation, let me ask you a question. Has taxing the rich ever worked? I mean, the rich are still rich and the poor just keep getting poorer. The worst part about it is, none of the problems politicians say they are going to fix ever works. But the American people just keep on buying it… Democrats in particular.
Over and over again, they spout the liberal lie and for some reason history doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that they have been promising to fix things forever. So what happens when Republicans get in power? Nothing gets fixed either. I heard it said, the job of a politician is to keep getting elected. You would think that was hard to do if problems never got fixed. But look at Ted Kennedy.
Kennedy was in the Senate 42 years! Although he promised to fix education and poverty with hundreds of bills, not one of those things has been fixed, let alone been improved! Every year they need more and more money for programs that don’t work, and conservatives are bad guys if they suggest their being cut. So why would we EVER consider listening to Ted Kennedy on health care?
Even liberal Marin County, California where I live is beginning to wake up. It is hard for me to believe that only Republicans are the ones showing up protesting Lynn Woolsey’s or Nancy Pelosi’s offices. Frankly, I didn’t think there were that many conservatives in California. But people are showing up from ALL parties and speaking up about this travesty called health care.
Will they listen? Hard to say. I’m sure Woolsey, Pelosi. Boxer and Feinstein feel pretty secure in their seats, but that could change if they push this unpopular legislation. Remember, Californians did elect Ronald Reagan.
- FedUpEditor
Daily Rant – August 28, 2009
August 28, 2009
Is the Obama administration losing steam? The problem with trust is, once you lose it, it’s harder to get back than it is to keep it in the first place. Look at all the programs we have been “given” that Americans do not want.
We started off with the stimulus. Yes, Bush got the ball rolling, but remember he had a majority of Democrats in the House and Senate. He was essentially a lame duck and the legislation would have passed anyway. Democrats have always said that Roosevelt was right to spend his way out of the depression; it’s just that he didn’t spend enough soon enough to make a difference. So now we have, and what was the result? Operation Enduring Stupidity brought to you by the Obama administration. They plan on doing another one to “jump start” the economy. Remember my bath tub reference? Taking money out of one end and pouring it into the other does not raise the level of the water. Taxing one segment of the population takes money out of the economy and drops it back into another. Result? No increase in the economic level.
While we are on the topic of stupidity, let’s take one out of order but along the same lines as the bath tub explanation. Cash for Clunkers. Instead of giving a tax break to everyone which would really help our economy, they decided to take money from one group and give it to another group to buy new cars. The program was so mismanaged the government ran out of money within a few short weeks. Some dealers still had not been reimbursed at the time of this writing. But let’s look at it this way. Months ago we used our tax money to bail out a couple of car companies. So just because these people who bought a new car from the Cash for Clunkers program were saving money at the time of the transaction, they paid on the front end with their taxes to bail out the car companies in the first place! So how much did that new car really cost? Unfortunately this is how the health care program will work.
How much in taxes will we have to pay in order to get that FREE medical exam? My guess is thousands of dollars. I guess I am going out of order again. Very few people want this legislation. The only ones who do are liberal Democrats (socialists) and Obama sycophants. Once again it’s the entitlement mentality. If I can get someone else to pay for my health care, then good for me. Problem is, there is not enough money coming from taxes to pay for all the programs we already have; thus the deficit. The national debt is ticking away (look at the ticker on the TAXES tab), and there is little chance we will ever see it at zero again. It used to be said the national debt was no big deal because we owed it to ourselves. Not true anymore. The Chinese have been buying our debt which puts us in danger of losing our country.
Back to health care. Democrats are ready to pass this no matter what. Politicians, in jeopardy of losing their seats, are still pushing the bill. Angry mobs (their word, not mine) are filling town halls and airing their displeasure, but do they care? It seems not. Rationing, death panels, health czar making sweeping bureaucratic decisions and spending more money when we are already out of it has not stopped the Democrats from pursuing this course of action. Why would that be? It is more insidious than I originally thought. Health care will put politicians in charge of… everything!
If you eat too much saturated fats, smoke or basically don’t live the way they think you should, you could be denied treatment. If Republicans are in office, Democrats could be denied treatment for any number of reasons. If Democrats are in office, the reverse could be true. If you choose not to participate you will be fined. If you don’t pay the IRS will come and take the money from you. I have a friend who failed to file taxes for three years and, even though they were supposed to get a refund, the IRS swooped in, charged them penalties and interest and put a freeze on their bank account… all because they hadn’t filed. That person is still paying off the debt at about $250 a month. This person makes less than $30,000 a year. So much for Democrats not taxing the little guy.
Finally, let’s talk about cap and trade! This bill will add hundreds of dollars to our already high energy bills all because our weak legislators refuse to allow us to develop our own energy sources. Not only that, they are going to tax what we already do produce at a higher rate! So much for not taxing the little guy. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, thinks if we just limit energy, everyone will use less and save the planet. Meanwhile she jets from Washington, DC to California and back in her own jet THAT WE PAID FOR spewing carbon along the way. Even though she and her husband are rich, they have been living off our dime for as long as she has been in office. USE YOUR OWN MONEY, NANCY! You friggin’ elite snob! I don’t have a problem with her using a jet, I have a problem with her using OUR jet while she goes on and on about saving the planet! Hypocrite!
I could go on, but I’m not… I’m supposed to be on vacation!
- FedUpEditor
McCain – Retire Already!
August 26, 2009
Senator McCain is up for re-election in 2010. After listening to his most recent town hall I am convinced he should retire. People of the state of Arizona, do the United States a favor; SEND McCain home and elect a NEW Republican to replace him. If the Republican Party has any sense, jetison him now or risk losing that seat to a Democrat. People were very upset at McCain’s inability to oppose Obama. To hell with him. Send him home and let’s get a REAL conservative in office instead of this limp-wristed weenie.
This senile old man is talking about saving the public health care plan. If he does this, people of Arizona must know they have to get rid of him!
- FedUpEditor
Daily Rant – Part 2, August 26, 2009
August 26, 2009
They want to pass the health care bill and name it after Ted Kennedy? If he was under the health care plan, he would never have lived as long as he did! What a joke and what hypocrisy! He wanted to pass a bill that he would never have been a part of.
We didn’t want it when Hillary was working on it, and we don’t want it now! I don’t care who has died for them to try and get it through. So what if one person dies when millions will be saved if we defeat this bill?
- FedUpEditor
Daily Rant – August 26, 2009
August 26, 2009
So Ted Kennedy has died. Not to be disrespectful, but it was time for the old blowhard to go. If death is the only way to get a new person in that senate seat, so be it. The guy grasped to power like few other politicians have. Of course, there have been Republican hangers on as well. But this guy was so full of himself, I have no doubt had he fallen into a coma, he would have had instructions to stay on life support in order to keep his seat. Egomaniac.
Kennedy’s socialist policies have hurt Americans more than they know. It was his education bill, “no child left behind” that the liberals were constantly bashing because they associated it with Bush. WRONG! It was a Ted Kennedy bill and no one else’s. He is the one to blame. Arrogant.
Go through the list of legislation he passed or was part of and you will see a constant of socialism, if not facism in all of his bills. As one who has always sat atop the political landscape passing bills for you and me, he has always been one of the ruling class and better than most. He was never one of us. If it was about ENERGY, ENVIRONMENTAL EXTREMISM, ILLEGAL AMNESTY, EDUCATION, TAXATION, Kennedy was always on the left side of things… count on it.
Remember the windmills Kennedy kept from being built offshore from his property? Even though he wouldn’t have been able to see them, he didn’t want them in his neighborhood! Hey, I thought he was for alternative energy. Guess it just depends on whose back yard it’s in that matters. Hypocrite!
Now that Obama is going for offshore accounts and Kennedy is dead, will he look into the Bermuda and Cayman island accounts that the Kennedy family has? What about Fiji? I heard he has some money stashed there as well… to avoid taxes. Remember, those are the things we Americans need to pay to be patriotic!
Ted Kennedy was too powerful for too long and it’s about time it came to an end. I am sorry it was as a result of his death, but could it have happened any other way?
In closing, Pelosi will try and push this health care debacle in Kennedy’s name as it was one of his life’s dreams. Forget it, Nancy. We will not forget what a jerk old Kennedy has been and are not fooled by the propaganda. Our next goal is to get you out of the speaker’s chair! 2010!
- FedUpEditor
