Thoughts on Social Security

October 30, 2009

Some conservative commentators have remarked that since government employees are to receive a 2% pay increase, Social Security recipients should be receiving a COLA increase.

Of course I don't approve of the increase in federal employee salaries at this time. However, as to Social Security, if it worked like any other pension fund into which a person and his or her employer pays, there would never have been COLAs. An individual (and the employer unless the individual is self-employed) would pay a given amount or percentage into an account each pay period. That account would be held in trust in the individual's name and invested in (hopefully) a conservative, prudent way. When the individual retires, he or she could draw out ONLY the amount that he or she (and the employer if applicable) contributed plus what the account earned through investments. Payments would not be adjusted for inflation, just as private pension accounts or annuities are not adjusted for inflation. People could not draw out any more than they (and the employer) put in plus interest earned on the account. If a person did not pay into Social Security, he or she would have NO account to draw from on retirement. The Social Security fund would NOT be used to fund other programs.

Unfortunately, the Social Security (so-called) trust fund was a disguised welfare plan from, I believe, its inception and subsequent legislation has taken it farther and farther from what people understood its original intent to be: an individually funded pension plan. The name "Social Security" should have given citizens a clue, but then in the 1930s I think that people were not yet aware of the trend toward a socialization of our government.

My point of view, though I believe accurate, will not be popular with many, especially those who refer to themselves as "senior citizens," setting themselves apart as a group from the general population. I totally respect our elders for their experience, the wisdom they have gained through the years and because it is part of my cultural tradition to respect the "old ones," the grandfathers and grandmothers. It is sad that many of our elder citizens today fail to show respect for themselves, mock themselves and one another with tasteless jokes, and all too often play into a media promoted stereotype which sees them as dependent, and by implication a burden.

It is also sad that more and more groups within our American society also see themselves in a similar way. This is one of the very unfortunate consequences of the socialization of America and the growth of government programs that make once proud citizens either actually wards of the government or makes them perceive themselves in that way.   ~~~   S. Lane

Senate on Verge of Health Bill With 'Public' Plan - Political News - FOXNews.com

Just read this headline at FOX breaking news online. During the past week, other news has taken precedence on the networks and in many of the blogs, but the Obama health care bill is still very much top priority. With a Senate vote nearing, it is even more important that we make our opinions known by phoning, emailing, and faxing our Senators and also our Representatives. ~~~ S. Lane

Senate on Verge of Health Bill With 'Public' Plan - Political News - FOXNews.com

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Read more here and click on link for entire article at The Wall Street Journal:


Senate on Verge of Health Care Bill

Measure With Stiffer Penalties on Employers and Public Plan Could Come This Week

By JANET ADAMY and GREG HITT

WASHINGTON -- Top Senate Democrats are close to finalizing their health bill and could unveil a measure as soon as early this week that would include stiffer penalties on employers who fail to provide health coverage.

Senate leaders plan to submit the bill to the Congressional Budget Office for a cost estimate as soon as Monday, and make the legislation public as soon as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

View Full Image

Associated Press

Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer, left, Harry Reid, center, and Patrick Leahy head to a news conference on health insurers on Capitol Hill last week.

Details of the legislation could change, but its broad outlines are becoming clear. Employers with more than 50 workers wouldn't be required to provide health insurance, but they would face fines of up to $750 per employee if even part of their work force received a government subsidy to buy health insurance, this person said. A bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee had a lower fine of up to $400 per employee.

The bill to be brought to the Senate floor would create a new public health-insurance plan, but would give states the choice of opting out of participating in it, a proposal that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada backed last week.

The bill is expected to expand health coverage to tens of millions of Americans by giving low- and middle-income Americans subsidies to offset the cost of insurance, and expanding the Medicaid federal-state insurance program to cover a broader swath of the poor. Most people would be required to buy insurance or pay a fine, though exceptions would be made for those deemed unable to afford it.

Also expected are new rules on insurers to prevent them from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions and from dropping customers' insurance once they become ill.

Mr. Reid spent the weekend shoring up support for the bill from Democrats in the chamber. But some key moderate Democrats signaled Sunday that they remain uneasy about main planks of the legislation. "I certainly am not excited about a public option where states would opt out," Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) said on CNN's "State of the Union."

The bill is the culmination of days of meetings between Mr. Reid, other top Senate Democrats and White House officials, who melded two health bills that passed through Senate committees into one piece of legislation.

In both the House and Senate, Democratic leaders are showing determination to bring legislation to floor votes in November, with President Barack Obama saying he wants to sign a bill enacting his top domestic priority before the end of the year. The House is expected to unveil the latest version of its health bill as soon as this week.

The Power & Danger of Iconography

I've shared this with some of you in email, but decided it deserves a wider viewing. This video produced by Pajamas Media provides a very interesting look at how Obama used a sophisticated advertising technique, idonography, or imagery with a subliminal message, to manipulate public opinion during the 2008 election campaign. And is still using it. Illegal? No. Advertisers do it all the time. Effective? Yes, just ask yourself why, without even thinking, you find yourself drawn to certain products at the grocery store. Potentially dangerous? Yes, I think that it is because it's a way of subtly manipulating opinion so that many of us won't realize we are being manipulated. ~~~ S. Lane

Watch and listen:

Pajamasmedia
August 17, 2009

Barack Obama ran an unprecedented Presidential campaign - utilizing the power of design to help secure the seat of the President of the United States of America.

Is There a Swine Flu Emergency? - A Look Behind the Headlines

As we now know, Friday evening President Obama announced that he is declaring a national medical emergency due to the claimed pandemic proportions of the spread of the H1N1 (swine) flu virus. Reactions are ranging from "oh, well" to near panic and cries to arouse the citizenry as Paul Revere did when made that famous midnight ride calling out "the British are coming." Before we all rush to raise the cry like 21st century Paul Reveres, it would be well to consider what is known (and not known) about swine flu. It is in that spirit that I'm presenting the following discussion by medical doctors of an investigative report by CBS. Thank you to David Mumme for posting this informative link and information, which I'm sharing here, at the AmericaC2C forum. ~~~ S. Lane CBS Reveals that Swine Flu Cases Seriously Overestimated Posted by: Dr. Mercola October 24 2009 | 105,125 Address: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/24/CBS-Reveals-that-Swine-Flu-Cases-Seriously-Overestimated.aspx#

I am not a person given to being depressed, scared out of my wits or enraged. I am, I believe, a reasonably logical thinker; however, when confronted day after day, after day, after day by illogical thinking coming from the highest levels of government that threatens the basic rights, liberties and welfare of every American, I am deeply saddened and alarmed.

As Brent Bozell points out in the following video and documentary, the vicious character assassination of Rush Limbaugh clearly shows that no tactic, including broadcasting outright lies, is beyond the audacity of supporters of this government when their objective is to ridicule and marginalize anyone who speaks out to oppose their policies. What is important to me is not who the target of the attack was, but rather the tactics used and the fact that it had its effect in derailing their target's legitimate objective of bidding to purchase a business franchise. If this can be done to a person of major media stature, what could be done to Joe & Jane Public when they speak up? Who would be there to dig out the truth and make it known?

Some may remember and others may have read about the smear campaigns used against liberals (and some who weren't liberals) by the far right during the McCarthy era. Accusations of "Communist" or "fellow traveler" were recklessly thrown about without, in many cases, a shred of evidence or grain of truth, ruining reputations and careers. It was very, very wrong and so is what the other side, the left is doing now.

The important thing, I think, is that we do not allow ourselves to be intimidated or silenced. ~~~ S. Lane

Bozell Grassroots Message: Attacks on Rush Are Attacks on All Conservatives

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?v=Gd6UuzVrnz

The Chronology of The Lie Excerpts from MRC's Special Report "A Rush To Ruin" On October 7, the demonization began with St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer Bryan Burwell, whose column demonized the entire country, as he claimed these words were Limbaugh’s: “I mean, let's face it, we didn't have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: Slavery built the South. I'm not saying we should bring it back. I'm just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.” Burwell then added: “I know how those words play out in Idiot America. They are embraced as gospel.” But NFL players wouldn’t tolerate them, he said. No one asked them to tolerate them, and no one in the media seemed to ask Burwell to actually verify them with an airdate or an audio clip. When the Post-Dispatch backed away from the claim, Burwell was completely unashamed of his recklessness: “So what are we left with? Well, essentially, I think we just threw a deck chair off the Titanic. There is still a huge pile of polarizing, bigoted debris stacked up on the deck of the good ship Limbaugh that he can’t deny or even remotely distance himself from.” The Post-Dispatch found the quote came from a book by liberal author Jack Huberman called 101 People Who Are Really Screwing America (a concept and title ripped off from author and former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg, whose original was 101 People Who Are Really Screwing Up America). Huberman has also written the books Bushit and The Bush-Hater Handbook, edited the book The Quotable Atheist, and has titled his weblog “Well to the Left of Attila the Hun.” But he was an agreeable source for the liberal media. The national onslaught began on Monday, October 12, when MSNBC welcomed Dave Zirin of the radical magazine The Nation to spread the quote that Limbaugh believed “slavery had its merits.” Zirin, who was described only as a “sportswriter,” charged that players “don’t want an owner who has said slavery was a good thing because it made the streets safer.” Anchor Contessa Brewer accepted the claim as true, wondering about Limbaugh’s bid: “Is there anything the NFL commissioner, or anybody else for that matter, can do to stop it?” Zirin added that NFL players “don’t want to see a swine owning a Ram.” He closed the interview by deriding the radio host as someone who has an “open, publicly-stated contempt for people with dark skin.” MSNBC didn’t ask him why Limbaugh has often used black professor Walter Williams as a substitute host on his radio show. Later that day, MSNBC’s David Shuster repeated a version of the fabricated quote. “An NFL spokesman says the Rams have not agreed to sell to anyone and that there are other bidders. Meantime, the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Farrior says Limbaugh should be denied the privilege of owning an NFL franchise for comments like ‘slavery had its merits.’” The on-screen graphic ran the fake quote “Slavery Had Its Merits” and the source was “Cited by James Farrior, Pittsburgh Steelers.” CNN anchor Rick Sanchez joined in on Monday afternoon: “Limbaugh's perceived racist diatribes are too many to name. Here’s a sample. He once declared that ‘slavery built the South. I'm not saying we should bring it back. I'm just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.’” The on-screen graphic offered this incredibly vague footnote “Rush Limbaugh On The Radio.” On Tuesday afternoon, Sanchez returned to the subject, not to retract the quote or offer any evidence of its authenticity, but merely to note that they had run the quote the day before and read Rush Limbaugh’s denial that he ever uttered the quote. Sanchez dismissed the idea of accuracy as germane, as long as black liberals remained offended: “Obviously, that does not take away the fact that there are other quotes which have been attributed to Rush Limbaugh, which many people in the African-American community and many other minority communities do find offensive.” MSNBC merely repeated the phony quote on Tuesday. Anchor Tamron Hall said NFL players “cite Limbaugh’s litany of racially charged remarks over the years and those include, quote, him saying this, ‘Slavery has its merits.’ That is a quote.” Hall then had the audacity to claim that “David [Shuster] and I are very careful about this, because you do not know a person’s heart. You cannot speak for a person’s motivation. But you can use their words in defining their character.” Hall’s guest, Karen Hunter, compounded the fake quotes: “He even said that Dr. Martin Luther King, his killer, James Earl Ray should have a medal given to him, a medal of honor given to him. He says, ‘We miss you, James.‘” The absurd charge that Limbaugh praised the convicted killer of Martin Luther King also emerged from Jack Huberman’s 101 People book. On June 4, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow also used the fake quote: “When you get called racist by the guy who says the assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. should get the Medal of Honor, consider yourself honored. Also, nauseated.”

Make Mine Freedom (video)

A blog reader sent the following to me in an email this past week. As I commented back, while this was film was made in 1948 and, reflects a more simplistic production style than we are used

to; however, the message is as relevant today as it was then. Whenever any"ism" promises that

the government will solve all our problems by making our decisions for us and taking care of us,

the hidden agenda is that the government will also restrict our Constitutional rights and the

freedoms those rights secure and will assume ever greater control over our businesses, our

properties and even our personal lives. ~~~ S. Lane

Posted by AnimationStation
June 06, 2006
Fun and Facts About America, John Sutherland Productions. Creative Commons license: Public Domain. This Cold War-era cartoon uses humor to tout the dangers of Communism and the benefits of capitalism. For more great vintage animation check out www.animationstation.info and subscribe to our podcast.

Make Mine Freedom (1948)

Fun and Facts About America, John Sutherland Productions. Creative Commons license: Public Domain.

"HONEST SPEECH" by ROBERT REICH

Interesting comments by Robert Reich in a speech at University of California Berkley in 2007: Also, I'm going to use the bargaining leverage of the federal government, in terms of Medicare, Medicaid -- we already have a lot of bargaining leverage -- to force drug companies, and insurance companies and medical suppliers to reduce their costs, but that means less innovation, and that means less new products and less new drugs on the market, which means you are probably not going to live that much longer than your parents. -- Robert Reich Note especially Reich's reverence to "bargaining leverage" and his statement that "You're not going to live that much longer than your parents." Thanks to blog reader "Bren" for calling my attention to the video of Reish's speech which she located at the following site: Who Is John Galt

Fwd: Philip Morris may have to fund tests for smokers

The friend who sent me a link to this article, commented "Stupid-people have known the risk." I might not have put it quite that way, but I agree. Its hardly like these risks haven't been known for a very long time. What's next? MacDonald's being forced to pay for bypass surgery because customers voluntarily have chosen to buy and eat cheeseburgers and fries? .... Not out of the realm of responsibility. Does this judicial trend perhaps represent another way to punish free enterprise thus leading to further governmental controls over private business? Not out of the realm of possibility. ~~~ S. Lane

____________________________________________________________

The following appeared on Boston.com:
Headline: Philip Morris may have to fund tests for smokers
Date: Oct 20, 2009

"The high court said yesterday that cigarette maker Philip Morris USA may have to pay for diagnostic chest exams so smokers can get early warning they have developed lung cancer, possibly opening a new front in tobacco liability lawsuits."
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To see this recommendation, click on the link below or cut and paste it
into a Web browser:


http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2009/10/20/sjc_rules_philip_morris_may_have_to_pay_for_smokers_chest_exams/?s_campaign=8315

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CNSNews.com - NYT Environment Reporter Floats Idea: Give Carbon Credits to Couples That Limit Themselves to One Child

You may find this hard to believe despite all that is coming out of this administration and the Congress. While not an officially proposed Obama administration policy or bill before Congress (yet?), we know the way in which "the environment" is being used to manipulate public thinking and to gain greater control over industry, farmers and the behavior and choices of all American citizens. For that reason, I believe this ideal of "carbon credits to couples that limit themselves to one child" is something we should take seriously and watch out for. ~~~ S. Lane

CNSNews.com - NYT Environment Reporter Floats Idea: Give Carbon Credits to Couples That Limit Themselves to One Child

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Undercover FBI agent speaks out about William Ayres

Worth watching this former FBI agent who was an undercover operative within the Weather Underground. He knows firsthand what Bill Ayers, one of Obama's mentors, and colleagues were up to and what their anti-American views were and are. Note, I didn't say that Obama is anti-American; I said that the views of his mentor Ayers & Ayers are. Draw your own conclusions. ~~~ S. Lane

If not available at You Tube (apparently had been removed previously), go to this link

America C2C

http://americac2c.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2456870%3ABlogPost%3A337175&xgs=1

CNSNews.com - Climate Change Will Be Its Highest Priority, Says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Farmers and ranchers especially should be keeping an eye on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's newest "highest priority." While I support responsible stewardship of the land and reasonable conservation of resources, I don't support using an unproven theory (climate change, aka global warming) to interfere in the legitimate business of raising crops and live stock on private farms and ranches or engaging in fishing our streams and hunting our wild lands (within established rules and quotas established by the states). Nor do I support the use of this possibly bogus claim of a climate disaster being used to promote behavior modification (such as not eating certain foods) through restricting what our farms and ranches produce.  .... Not sure yet where all this is headed, but if Fish and Wildlife is involved, can the Dept. of Agriculture be far behind?  I'm thinking not and seeing this as a warning flag, meaning pay attention!   ~~~   S. Lane

CNSNews.com - Climate Change Will Be Its Highest Priority, Says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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Climate Change Will Be Its Highest Priority, Says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
By Adam Brickley

Bison, photographed at a National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

(CNSNews.com) – Over the next five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) plans to make climate change its “highest priority.”

According to its new “Action Plan” released last month, the branch of the U.S. Department of Interior charged with protecting fish, wildlife and plants will focus first and foremost on the global weather.

“Climate change must become our highest priority,” a fact sheet attached to the plan said. “Consequently, we will deploy our resources, creativity and energy in a long-term campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and safeguard fish, wildlife and their habitats.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service said it plans to “reach out to the larger conservation community to tackle climate change.”

The Action Plan is part of an overall strategic report titled “Rising to the Challenge: Strategic Plan for Responding to Accelerating Climate Change.”

CNSNews.com - Finance Committee Health Bill Includes $507 Billion in New Taxes and Fees

Now we watch what the version of the Obama health care bill which comes to a floor vote will look like -- though it is unlikely that either our Senators, Representatives or we will have an opportunity to read it prior to it coming to a vote. Unfortunately last I heard, Oregon Rep. Greg Walden's petition to require bills to be published on the Internet at least 72 hours before a vote is taken was still stalled in committee, lacking the required committee votes to force it out of committee and before the H of R for a vote. This petition would be at least some benefit to the public even though it applies to the House and not the Senate, from what I've heard, being a change to the House rules.

  

People, let's not let down our guard where this health care bill is concerned. It affects each and every citizen in one way or another and, underneath all the flowery speeches by its supporters, would result in the federal government taking over 1/6 of the US economy and having the power to dictate what kind of health care millions would receive.   ~~~   S. Lane

CNSNews.com - Finance Committee Health Bill Includes $507 Billion in New Taxes and Fees

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Finance Committee Health Bill Includes $507 Billion in New Taxes and Fees
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Matt Cover

In this Sept. 29, 2009 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nev., right, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., left, and newly-named Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, center, listen. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

(CNSNews.com) – The health-care bill that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on today will cost a total of $829 billion over 10 years, with $507 billion of that cost being covered by new federal taxes and fees, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

On Oct. 7, the CBO released a report on the budget impact of the “chairman’s mark” summary of the bill that the Finance Committee is set to vote on today. Based on the document it was given, the CBO found that the bill would reduce the federal budget deficit by $81 billion over 10 years.  That estimate was based on the calculation that, if enacted, the bill would bring in $480 billion in new tax revenues and $27 billion in fees.

Fwd: Lord Monckton: "Is Obama Poised to Cede US Sovereignty?"

Lord Monckton - World Govt via treaty

Treaties. With the "advice and consent" of 2/3 of the Senate, a US President can ratify treaties. The House of Representatives does not, under our Constitution, participate in this process. Thus via a treaty we may have heard little about (or nothing at all), the President can change the law of the land. The only potential check on the process is a well informed public and we know that we cannot depend on major media for our information. The media pays little or no attention to treaties. This is how we've gotten stuck with international agreements in the past that also become US law of the land, agreements that by treaty have established trade policies detrimental to American industry for example. Now, under the Obama administration, "environmental" issues are being and will be used in future to further burden American businesses and farmers. this gets scary.

October 16, 2009

On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton, a noted climate change skeptic, gave a presentation at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. In this 4 minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warni...
On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton, a noted climate change skeptic, gave a presentation at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. In this 4 minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty, scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Lord Monckton served as a policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher. He has repeatedly challenged Al Gore to a debate to which Gore has refused. Monckton sued to stop Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" from being shown in British schools due to its inaccuracies. The judge found in-favor of Monckton, ordering 9 serious errors in the film to be corrected. Lord Monckton travels internationally in an attempt to educating the public about the myth of global warming.

US Cedes Independence to IMF-Dick Morris

Commitments made by President Obama at a meeting of the G20 countries would lay the groundwork for the International Monetary Fund to assume a controlling role of U.S. finance, banking and internal monetary policy. Through a little reported international conference, the President has made commitments that, according to political analyst Dick Morris, can lead to undermining the very principles upon which our country was founded, as set forth in our Declaration of Independence.

Watch this video to better understand the situation. ~~~ S. Lane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbTCmSdHvrk

dickmorrisreports
October 05, 2009

(less info)

Dick Morris discusses how the United States, at the G20 conference, put itself under the guidance and, ultimately, control of the International Monetary Fund even as it succeeded in turning more power in that organization over to debtor nations. The Declaration of Independence is being repealed before our eyes.