Palin Enamored by Herself

When Sarah Palin she was picked by McCain in his desperate attempt to resuscitate his presidential run, it was a desperate move. For a period, she was refreshing. Mainly in the sense that she introduced some core conservative principles that McCain failed to grasp. However, it did not take too long for her game to get stale.

Her announced resignation as Alaska governor 16 months prior to her term ending obviously sets her up for something she think will be bigger, namely a presidential run for 2012.

She is already over-exposed. She has surrounded herself by 'yes' people, telling her how great she is and how she'd make a great president.

This is not a gender thing; never was. During her VP run, she quickly turned off independents, especially women. There may be some Republicans that think she's the real deal, but I for one am not.

Her best days as a politician are behind her. She's not a business person. She's not a lawyer (which is a good thing). She's a journalist by education. She's not amazingly bright, well-read or gifted. She might do okay behind a new desk or as a reporter. I can't see her as a successful talk show host.

Palin is polarizing figure. She is enamored by herself. She's one in a long list or Republicans that I'd just as soon would disappear from the public eye. Palin is not the the savior of the Republican Party. Those who think so will continue to see loss after loss.

Obama's Favoritism Towards Communists & Chavismo

It is clear that Obama is a socialist to the core. The question is: is he also a true-blooded communist? If is Latin American stance is any indication, then yes.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was removed from power by his own political entities as he tried to amend the constitution to lift term limits.

The power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had [Hugo] Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The [Honduran] Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.

Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday [6/25/09] he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

The Hondurans, rightly so, are resisting demands by the Organization of American States to restore Mel.

By normal accounts, the law is being followed. Yet Obama and his commies associates want Mel to have the right to usurp the law.

Look at who's siding together: Obama, Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina) -- all extreme leftists and lovers of Chavism.

Obama and the OAS are wrong. They are the ones violating the sovereign laws of Honduras, all in the name of allowing one of their ideological cronies to establish himself as a dictator, king and all powerful czar of everything.

This is all about ideology, nothing about rule of law. This is part and parcel for Obama, communist at the core and dictator wannabe. He has embraced Chavismo with open arms.

Wal-Mart Now in Favor of Company-Mandated Healthcare

The headline on today's WSJ is Wal-Mart Backs Drive to Make Companies Pay for Health Coverage. "We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage," said Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke in a letter to President Obama. Why?

About 52% of Wal-Mart's 1.4 million U.S. employees are covered by company-provided insurance, up from 46.2% three years ago. The retail industry average is 45%, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation 2008 study.

Wal-Mart isn't changing its policies. The company says it supports the employer mandate because all businesses should share the burden of fixing the health-care system. Wal-Mart also said the mandate will only work if it is accompanied by a government commitment to rein in health-care costs that is guaranteed.

This is nothing more than an attempt to put out of business all of the smaller retail firms trying to compete against Wal-Mart. It will also force many other businesses that supply Wal-Mart products either out of business or to raise prices. The firms that build its buildings, handle its leases, clean it parking lots must raise their prices to cover this added cost.

Wal-Mart says everyone must share the burden of fixing the health-care system. I am not sure it is broken. It is more expensive for the average user but what he is getting is the best in the world, and it improves every year. Quality health care is a luxury -- an income-elastic expense. Of the 45 million that don't have it, many don't need it or want to pay for it; e.g., the young and/or single. Do we destroy it all because 15 percent don't have health care?

Neil Trautwein, vice president with the Washington-based trade group National Retail Federation (retail industry lobby) said

an employer mandate is "the single most destructive thing you could do to the health-care system shy of a single-payer system," under which the government handles health-care administration. The mandate "would quite possibly cut off the economic recovery we all desperately need."

Wal-Mart is looking out for itself -- a lesser of two evils -- avoiding the national system but embracing a employer-mandate health care pay system that will eliminate a great deal of its competition.

Obamaism Has Failed in Three States

Friday's WSJ Review & Outlook piece "The Albany-Trenton-Sacramento Disease" provides excellent insight into Obama's socialism plans.

New York, New Jersey and California are on the brink of financial collapse. After drunken spending of the 90s, the social policies based on rubbish logic have come home to roost.

All three states have some of the highest government spending per resident, embrace the 'tax the rich' liberal mantra, are buried in stifling unions, and have some of the highest health care costs per person in the nation. Add to this some whacked out climate and social laws, and you have fiscal nightmare.

When government takes over for the private sector, a la Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), it embraces ineptitude, corruption, huge costs and poor results. What government has been forced to turn a profit?

These three progressive state governments are based on heavy taxation and massive public-employee unions, have experienced huge job losses, booming deficits and debt, wage stagnation, out-migration and laughing-stock legislatures. They have all failed at astonishing levels.

We have three examples of Obamaism. As the op-ed state, those that live in these state can move out of these joke-of-a-states, but when Obama implements this antigrowth model across the entire country, what real options do we have?

Climate Bill -- Trojan Horse or Snake Oil

With regrets, the House passed the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill, 219-212. Mostly along party lines.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act has as its stated objective to create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy. Seems worthy but like just about everything the federal government does will be a massive failure at a huge cost.

Although last minute compromises helped tame the legislation, it will be an enormous burden to businesses, cost the average American more than was anticipated, and will do nothing to control climate.

I am all for good stewardship over our country. We should be concerned about pollution. I want energy Independence and security. But the whole man-made global warming is "the worst scientific scandal in history." It is based on a "new religion," not of traditional divinity rather environmental paganism.

Whereas other countries are re-evaluating the science and backing aways from massive legislation, America is steaming forward, based on erroneous information. The politicians in power have never allowed facts to get in the way of some doing-something-about-it-legislation.

Another sad day for America as we drift quicker and quicker into mediocrity.

Iran Demonstrating Past vs. Future

I was a was college freshman in Southern CA when the so-called Iranian revolution took place. It was the catalyst in my interest into global politics. I subscribed to and read faithfully the LA Times (oh how they have fallen) and watched Ted Koppel as he began Nightline. There were many Iranians in So. Cal., including a few at the Orange Co. community college I attended.

The hard line religious zealots won. America became the great Satan. Ayatollah became part of the vernacular and the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's face recognized by most.

Fast forward 25+ years and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has assumed his populist position and forced us to listen to his ranting diatribe. He operates under the direction of Ayatollah Khamenei.

Now nearly 30 years later, we have a second uprising; again lead by the young.

If the rebels on the street win, however winning is defined, they, being more modern and moderate than the ruling government, will likely have a moderating influence on their government. If the rebels on the street lose, however that is defined, this fact remains: Something has been unleashed, and it won't be going away. A thugocracy has been revealed as lacking the support and respect of a considerable portion of its people, and that portion is not solely the most sophisticated and educated but, far more significantly, the young. Half the people in Iran are under 27. When the young rise against the old, the future rises against the past. In that contest, the future always wins. The question is timing: soon or some years from now?

Time is on the side of the uprising, not on the side Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his incumbent politicians.

The real facts of what Khamenei and Ahmadinejad are doing with their militia are clear. They are murderous thugs. They are beating and killing for power. Defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi has said he is ready for martyrdom. See photos (viewer discretion advised) and videos: Photo 1, Photo 2, Video 1, Video 2.

Meaning of Conservatives As Largest Ideological Group

Gallup released a poll on 15 June 2009 entitled “Conservatives” Are Single-Largest Ideological Group.

Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s.

So what does this mean? The fact that the Republican Party leaders and elected officials -- the traditional and should be ideological home to conservatives -- have no idea who their constituency is.

Many conservatives have abandoned the Republican Party for fringe parties that never win elections or belong no party as all (that'd be me). They have done so because the Republican Party has abandoned them on most issues.

As I recently visited with some relatives in Tennessee, we all concluded that if the Republicans ever want to resume power nationally and set the national agenda, they must embrace all of the conservative values.

If the Party can win back most conservatives, many of the moderates will have to choose between liberalism, socialism, communism, authoritianism and fascism, that being the current Democrat Party leadership -- not the Democrat Party as a whole, just their leaders and key policy wonks (the lowest ideological base in the nation).

This pole should open up the eye of the Republican Party leaders. Conservative ideology is what will win national elections, not middle of the road, fence sitting moderates. America is not ideologically liberal. They were hoodwinked by a fascist -- a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Authoritarianism Is Almost Impossible to Reign Back

The WSJ is one of the few MSM outlets that is examining the consequences of federal government intervention into the economy. The Obama administration claims the cure is worth it. I doubt it.

Hundreds of billions for money market guarantees through the Fed, mortgage-based securities holdings through Treasury, bank guarantees through the FDIC, equity investments in banks by the Fed, commercial-paper loans to companies, life insurance company owner, two car company owner, credit source for car buyers, the list goes on and on.

Government spending is often evaluated as percent of GDP:

-- at or below 10% prior to WWII
-- over 40% during WWII
-- around 20 percent since WWII
-- around 30 percent now, heading upwards.

What's wrong with this analysis is that GDP has increased year by year, more or less. If government becomes too burdensome, especially at the levels we see, GDP will not continue like it has. Fifty, 75, 100 percent governbment spending to GDP, a la Japan, is realistic with this leadership and direction.

The drastic and rapid actions Obama and his Democratic Congress have taken since January, all in the "best interest of the American people," have been done under the auspice that "the cure is better than the disease" and there are "some entities that are too big to fail.

Obama and the Presidency has been given broader powers as if the 'king' knows what's best for his subjects. We have seen this through 200 years of fascist history. We see it today in Venezuela, Russia, and Argentina. Authoritarianism in the USA has been ramping up for years, regardless of the party in control. Obama is just ratcheting it up to out-of-control levels.

Once power is yielded to the executive branch, regardless of why, it is tough to get back. It is unlikely this will ever be reigned in. America has embraced socialism, against the will of the people. The reason is that most have no idea what this means -- there are not enough informed voters to change this fact. Obama won on the backs of the ignorant and the self-absorbed, with a little help from idiotic Republican insiders. The freedom we have known for over 225 years, is gone, never to return in most of our lives.

Rising Gas Prices...All About Inflation

Prices at the pumps continue to increase. Demand continues to be down, flat at best. Oil barrel production is stable. Oil refining is a down. The dollar is weak and will continue to weaken. The USA's credit risk increases.

The Obama/Geitner monetary policies over the past 5 months are inflationary. $3 per gallon will be here in a couple of months; $4 per gallon in 2010; $5 gallon after that.

When you spend trillions you don't have and print money like there's no tomorrow, inflation is the reality.

For all the goodwill associated with Obama, his disastrous monetary and fiscal policies should sink him. It is sinking America. It is making America just another big country with a crappy government. Sad to witness. But Americans apparently want mediocrity; they voted for the posser.

MLB All-Star Ballot

Participated in my annual MLB all-star voting today.

They make it easy to vote...up to 25 times with your email address. You can actually vote 25 times with each unique email address. I keep mine on the up and up.

Most of my picks are solid (see right). I did pick Votto over Pujols -- my lone Reds pick (my favorite team). They'll both make it; Pujols, the best player in baseball, getting the start.

The MLB all-star game, scheduled for 14 July, is the only professional all-star game I actually set aside time to watch.

Two Sides of the Abortion MD Slaying

Not my favorite topic but I have not yet heard the MSM discuss the motivation behind the slaying of Kansas abortion MD, George Tiller. They are all afraid of discussing how the accused murderer, Scott Roeder, justified his criminal action by taking one life so thousands of others can live (so the argument goes).

We hear the detectives state how they "will investigate this suspect to the Nth degree -- his history, his family, his associates." Okay. To what end?

The way this is being covered is ensuring all anti-abortion folk are on trial.

Those that perform late-term abortions have always be targeted. They know they are targeted. The government knows they are targeted. What will happen now is that millions and millions will be spent on investigating and infiltrating anti-abortion groups hoping to stop the next possible slaying. Point is, this is very rare. It is not in the best interest of anti-abortion groups.

Anti-abortion people see abortion as murder. Pro-abortion people see it protecting a woman's rights and an unborn child's rights are trumped by a woman's rights.

Bottom line is that Sunday was a sad day for two families. This one act is not going to solve the issue, only make polar opposites even stronger in their beliefs.

All crime has motivation, no matter how insane, but let's at least talk about the motivation of the other side. (Wasn't it Nephi that did something similar?)

GM Bankruptcy: What Can Be Salvaged?

GM's failure is a sad day for many. The pain is felt by many...

-- The management team that saw a once great business turn from a car supplier to a health insurance firm is now a failed entity (and team).
-- The tens of thousands of employees who temporarily lose their livelihoods need to start over.
-- The communities that lost a major employer and the flow of cash for homes, services, food, goods, etc. may never recover.

Bankruptcy has its merits but much less with the involvement of the federal government. As citizens, it is a company few would invest in, yet our elected officials have decided it is worthy of the investment. Plants will close. Dealers no longer supported or supplied. Product lines will shrink. Used car market and parts for obsolete brands very limited.

The Bush administration started this bailout with billions. Obama continued it in his first 100 days and now is completing the takeover with billions more. To say GM is a cash devourer is an understatement. The UAW will still see a decent pension (although it fund has all but dried up) and health care deal out of this; the investors get the shaft. How come Congress has had no part in this money pit?

As the new overseers of a car company, will the feds decide to force Americans to buy GM cars with government-subsidized discounts? Will those cars be green cars with lawnmower engines. In other words, will it build cars people want to buy or will it build cars people are forced to drive? How many GM cars will people not buy out of spite?

The Obama administration claims no desire to be a long term GM owner and overseer, but what will force it to get out? Will the government get so ingrained in GM that it will become at part of the Department of Transportation -- Manufacturing Division?

EPL and European Football Was Fun

Another long year of English Premier League and Champions League in the bag. Long being the key word.

It started in August 2008 and ended this week with the Champions League final in Rome with Barcelona dominating Manchester United (a team whose many players and manager I despise) and the FA Cup final on Saturday between Chelsea and Everton at Wembley.

I closely followed the Premier League this year. I did so by playing fantasy soccer, specifically Fantasy Premier League. I did quite well, I think, in the various challenges and overall positioning. Of the 1.9 million register teams, I finished in the top 0.43 percentile (8400th place). Pretty good for one with no cable or satellite TV (though with Liverpool live audio streams and video streams from Asian Web sites).

My favorite team, Liverpool, had a decent season but did not win a single trophy. Nothing in Europe, no FA Cup, no Carling Cup, and second place, behind ManU (whom they beat twice) in the Premier League.

European football, especially English football, has its problems, especially financial. They spend money they don't have, try to stick it to their fans with high ticket and paraphernalia prices, and are loaded with looser, on-the-field shenanigans and personality tirades.

Team relegation and no team salary cap mean the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. One does not need to be a genius to know that ManU, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal will be at the top and qualify for the high-euro Champions League. The only real questions are a) which teams will qualify for the Europa League (the old UEFA Cup) second best grouping, b) which teams will be relegated (West Brom, Newcastle and Middlesborough this year), and c) which teams will be promoted to the Premier League from the second tier Championship League (Birmingham City, Wolverhampton and Burnley this year).

The Premier League finish is very often anti-climatic, unless you feel the battle of the worst is exciting -- who gets related and who get promoted from a lesser league.

I follow the EPL because I think it is the best league in the world. No disrespect to La Liga, Serie A, or Bundesliga. In 2 months, it starts all over again. And you thought Major League Baseball was long.

California High Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban

The California Supreme Court upheld a ban on same-sex marriage, ratifying a decision made by voters last year, despite several state governments moving in the opposite direction.

The constitutional amendment did not dissolve the unions of 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who wed before the measure took effect.

I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I believe in the rule of law. I believe that constitutions help define the law and should not be changed by activist courts.

I feel same-sex couples do deserve many of the same civic privileges as married couples, just not the status of being married. Civil unions, sure.

It is a moral issue. Just because people have gay tendencies does not mean they must be acted upon. Unfortunately, as a society, we will see same-sex marriage become the national norm. Societies disintegrate for a number of reasons, loss of morality is always present.

Sonia Sotomayor: A Battle Worth Fighnting?

One must always pick the battles to fight, especially as a minority. Some probably feel the Republicans should go all out against Obama's Supreme Court nominee: Sonia Sotomayor. I don't. Why? Because it is a battle that cannot be won.

She has been confirmed twice: first as a U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of New York and then as for her current role on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York (since 1998). First, nominated by GHW Bush (despite the circumstances) and then by Bill Clinton. Why would senators that confirmed her one or twice before, not confirm her a second time? They wouldn't unless some huge skeleton appears. They don't have the votes to even make it close.

As a Latina of Puerto Rican decent, raised in a Bronx housing project, educated at Princeton and Yale Law School, she'll be a slam dunk.

A similar Republican cannot get away with race, upbringing, education -- there's a long history of that prejudice.

At best, the Republicans would be best served if they spent bulk of the nomination proceedings focusing on the role of the Supreme Court: constructionism vs activism.

Lose the battle this time. Save the ammo for the next one -- one that is winnable.

Liberal Fascism: Obama Taking His Pace in History

Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism is one of the best, non-fiction, political books I have read. It was so good, I read it twice.

It provides an excellent history of fascism starting with Rousseau, Robespierre and the French Revolution, and going through traditional, violent fascists Mussolini and Hitler, and into American fascist icons, namely Woodrow Wilson and FDR.

It tosses out traditional understanding of fascism and the violence that is often associated with them. American fascists are all from the liberal political branch. They espouse the religion of the state. God, family, personal liberty must take a back seat to what is "best for the country."

I could not help think of the position Barack Obama will take in the annals of fascist history. He meets all of the requirements of a true fascist. He might be one of the best when it is all said and done.

Under The Sea 3D: Global Warming Propaganda

Watched Under The Sea 3D at the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City today with a group of family members. Certainly nice photography but with a political agenda.

First there's Jim Carrey narrating and then the whole man-caused global warming message.

Species have disappeared for millennia and new one's are created. Survival of the fittest is a sound principle. If a plant or animal cannot survive warming water or greater acidification, is it one nation's responsibility to fix it, provided it could be fixed? (They blame it on the U.S.)

I get so sick of the propaganda the left spues on the young and ignorant. They get it at school, from Hollywood, from TV, from all over. The earth warms and cools. Man interacts with the environment. He needs to do so in sound ways, not in lunatic ways the left would have us think we need to.

The film maker spends an inordinate amount of time, especially at the end, with the cute, cuddly sea lions frolicking in the kelp as the "if man does not does something, these creatures will no longer exist" message resonates with the viewers.

Save the sea lions. Save the planet. Man is bad, everything else is good. Enough to make one heave. I was thinking Al Gore would be making some concluding remarks. Pure rubbish.

Digital TV Conversion Not Easy for the Elderly

Technology may be second-nature to many people, but for older people (>65), it is a challenge.

I spent a few days this past weekend with my dad in northern Arizona. We were talking about the transition from analogue TV to digital. He does not have cable or satellite TV, just over the air with an outside antenna. He said he was not going to worry about it; says he probably watches too much TV any way and this will be a good excuse to watch less (just VHS and DVD movies now, he says).

His friends have bought the converters but have had problems installing them. He did not want to bother with buying one and installing it. Thought it would be a waste of money as the unit would not actually be installed. He has heard about the $40 coupon federal government option but going on-line and ordering it is not something he wanted to do. The toll-free number option was not much more appealing to him.

We went into his nearest town and stopped at the local Radio Shack. They were helpful, showing him his convert box options and their prices ($60 average). He is now thinking he will get one, with the $40 coupon. They gave him the web site and toll free number but it will not be on the top of his list of things to do. I order him his coupon online and he'll get it in about ten days. (Interesting, the site makes you enter an actual street address -- something he does not have. A P.O. number is not good enough. So I made one up and it was accepted.)

He'll probably buy the box sometime after the 12 June switch-over, when his picture disappears. He'll probably have to ask a "technically savvy" ward member to help him connect the unit up.

Something that seems simple to some of us is not simple to those who grew up in a different era.

Love you dad.

Two Utah Self-Defense Laws Go into Effect

Two important 2nd Amendment laws take effect in Utah:

Senate Bill 78 will protect your right to lawfully transport and store firearms in your privately-owned locked motor vehicle while parked in publicly accessible parking lots controlled by your employer or a business you frequent.

House Bill 357 will make it easier for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves without the need to obtain a concealed weapon permit. HB357 fixes the clearly unintended aspect of existing law that makes it illegal to carry a concealed firearm in or on a person's residence, property or a business under the person's control without a concealed weapon permit. The bill clarifies and simplifies the currently vague and inconsistent law by allowing law-abiding citizens to choose how they carry a handgun for self-defense (open, concealed, unloaded or loaded) in a vehicle without the need to obtain a permit.

Why Must Michael Savage Fight Alone?

Love him or hate him, Michael Savage is a force for conservatism. When Britain placed him on a national "banned from Britain" list, along with known criminals and racists, one would think fellow conservative would have rallyed to the cause.

I have listened to Savage on and off for the past 7-8 years. I don't always agree with his methodology and his treatment of callers, but he is true to his beliefs. I have read four of his books; all great reads. He sticks to a solid foundation of borders, language and culture. He is not a racist. He has never espoused violence.

His banning has found a welcomed rallying point for British conservatives. With the problems with Labour, this migh help the Tories might find their way back into parliamentary leadership.

However, what really angers me are the other conservative talk show hosts in America. There must be some unwritten rule that say they cannot comment on a "competitor." This issue is core to the freedom of speech argument, assuming there is one.

Where the MSM will spend an inordinate amount of time on Miss California's statement that marriage should be between a man and a woman, they are quite absent with blatant mis-characterization of Savage and attempts to silence the opposition. I am embarrassed and disappointed in Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hanity, Michael Medved, Glenn Beck for lack of coverage.

Each of these conservatives has taken a a step back in my eyes. I have always known that Rush is one of the more selfish men on radio, but I did not think the others would join him.

Way to go Savage. You are not alone. Now we know who are those loyal to the conservative cause.

Social Security and Medicare Bing Drained

I get sick every time I hear about Social Security and Medicare. Bernie Madoff was a criminal for running an investment Ponzi scheme, but the federal government has gotten away with it for decades.

We don't need to read the New York Times to know that the funds going into these massive entitlement programs is going in at a smaller rate. they will run out of money sooner than expected.

Certainly my parents are benefiting from the programs today -- they spent a life time working and contributing. But for me and my children, very questionable if we will get out what we put in.

I get more cynical every day. I just don't know why anyone thinks bigger government is better. They ruin just about everything they touch. I have given up on them years ago.

The sad thing is that in my older years, provided I make it to them, I just may have to select between treatment or no treatment. Better stated: the government will make that decision for me if I cannot pay for it myself. That's the way it works in every other nation in the world.

Socialized health care, by definition, means rationed health care. It becomes second rate.

Domestic Extremism Lexicon

If you disagree with any federal government policy or program, you most likely qualify as a domestic extremist.

A group within the Department of Homeland Security created and leaked a "Domestic Extremism Lexicon" that covers ideologies across the spectrum. If you have strong views on abortion, animal rights, border security, homosexuality, ethnicity, environmentalism, patriotism, gun rights, taxation, war, etc., there's an extremist definition for you.

The report was "retracted" by the Department claiming it was issued by a maverick group within the agency. House Republicans, not to be typically silent on issues like this, asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for details on how and why the report was compiled.

The definitions in the Lexicon are politically slanted to poison the law enforcement community against millions of Americans who might be called out and who might identify themselves as political, social, and religious conservatives (tThough traditional left wing issues are also included).

The government bureaucrats seem to be setting up a government vs the people, not realizing they get their power and positions from the people. Another sign of a government going beyond its constitutional mandate.