As I write this I am thankful to have the opportunity to be watching the Jon Stossel documentary on Health care in America. LOVE IT!!!
It's exactly what I've been saying for 2 years now.
Everyone in America's caught this "Government healthcare like in Canada/Europe" fever. Everyone in America now thinks it's the government's job and our right to free health care.
Well, free is a misnomer folks. People in Europe and Canada pay taxes up the rear end. You think our taxes are high now? Just you wait.
And if we do get that system, the "Medicare for all" as Ralph Nader and Ted Kennedy call it, then you'll have the opportunity to see just how much longer Europeans wait in line for a routine doctors visit or how many more weeks or months they have to wait for a procedure/surgery.
Watch C-Span on Wednesday night. You'll see British Prime Minister Gordon Brown get hammered by the other parties over wait times for doctors and lack of hospital beds. That's what government health systems bring you. Long wait times and poor quality of care.
Our quality of healthcare is the highest in the world. No doubt in my mind.
And let's stop having health insurance through our jobs. Does it really make sense? If you lose your job, you lose your coverage.
Again, the solution is this: Individual health insurance, which will drive down the costs because the companies will have to compete for your business. And only have insurance for serious health issues. Anything other than surgery should be paid for by funds in a health savings account which would roll over from year to year.
Don't let Michael Moore and Hillary Clinton turn us into Europe.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Energy Crisis Solutions Part II
I would like to add to my most recent posting that I say what I say about alternative energy solutions because I hear it day after day, people who are either democrats or independents complaining about either how Bush won't do anything to lower gas prices or how the oil companies are gouging unnecessarily and making "record profits."
On the other side, Republicans whine about how we should drill in ANWAR and Florida and the California coast. And that we need to build more refineries. And that Canada better pick us over the Chinese for the oil shale deal.
First, the oil companies are not gouging, at least not anywhere near people think they are. I love reminding these people that government makes 3 time the tax revenue than the profits EXXON makes. And yes, I concede, the $400 million severance package for that former CEO was excessive.
See, in the 90's, we in America were in the middle of a perfect storm for low gas prices. Iraq's oil was allowed back onto the markets in 1996, Russia started selling their heavy crude, and the Asian tigers crashed which lowered global demand relative to supply. So with all that extra supply from Iraq and Russia, and the reduction in demand in the Asian market, we in America enjoyed low gas prices.
Well guess what folks? Them days ain't comin' back. The ONLY way we could possibly go back to those days is (1) ever-increasing subsidization of gasoline/oil which would be a complete farces because we'd just be making up the difference in taxes, or (2) build 10 new refineries in America next year and drill in ANWAR and the Rockies, and Florida coast at the same time. What are the odds that that is gonna really happen? I have a better chance of boning J-Lo.
And fossil fuels like crude oil keep ruining the ozone layer, anyway.
So let's look to the future. Crude oil is in the past. The future is cellulosic ethanol (and yes, corn and sugar ethanol), used restaurant grease for bio-diesel, and eventually hydrogen cars that produce nothing but water.
You want gas prices to go down? Quit crying and do something about it on your own.
On the other side, Republicans whine about how we should drill in ANWAR and Florida and the California coast. And that we need to build more refineries. And that Canada better pick us over the Chinese for the oil shale deal.
First, the oil companies are not gouging, at least not anywhere near people think they are. I love reminding these people that government makes 3 time the tax revenue than the profits EXXON makes. And yes, I concede, the $400 million severance package for that former CEO was excessive.
See, in the 90's, we in America were in the middle of a perfect storm for low gas prices. Iraq's oil was allowed back onto the markets in 1996, Russia started selling their heavy crude, and the Asian tigers crashed which lowered global demand relative to supply. So with all that extra supply from Iraq and Russia, and the reduction in demand in the Asian market, we in America enjoyed low gas prices.
Well guess what folks? Them days ain't comin' back. The ONLY way we could possibly go back to those days is (1) ever-increasing subsidization of gasoline/oil which would be a complete farces because we'd just be making up the difference in taxes, or (2) build 10 new refineries in America next year and drill in ANWAR and the Rockies, and Florida coast at the same time. What are the odds that that is gonna really happen? I have a better chance of boning J-Lo.
And fossil fuels like crude oil keep ruining the ozone layer, anyway.
So let's look to the future. Crude oil is in the past. The future is cellulosic ethanol (and yes, corn and sugar ethanol), used restaurant grease for bio-diesel, and eventually hydrogen cars that produce nothing but water.
You want gas prices to go down? Quit crying and do something about it on your own.
Energy Crisis Solutions
Time now to read my thoughts on the gas prices situation in this great nation of ours.
As you all know, gasoline prices have been high for well over a month. The reason for this is because gasoline prices always spike up at the end of March and last until mid to late May, and the reason for that is because in March the petroleum and other such producers shift from heating oil to regular oil. This slows down the production process somewhat, thus shortening supply, and we all know the rules of supply and demand.
But the solution to our energy crisis is as simple as the restaurants we eat at and the grass in our prairies. Confused? Allow me to explain: Individuals in the state of Oregon have already begun to collect used (that's right, used) frying oil from restaurants, take it home, put it through a machine they bought for $2000, mix it with regular diesel, and voila, you have biodiesel. This is not a new concept. The inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel, designed the first ever diesel engine to run on pure PEANUT OIL. In fact, actress Darryl Hannah has a car that runs on pure recycled restaurant grease. Henry Ford designed the Model T to run on ethanol. And that was a century ago almost. Many people have started talking up the hype regarding ethanol made from corn cobs, but the fact is researchers and scientists have discovered how to derive ethanol from the stock and the stover of the corn. Researchers have also found that a certain type of grass called switch grass has a natural ethanol component in it, and more efficiently yields ethanol than corn cobs. In Sweden they already use a form of ethanol derived from wood chips. A major university in Virginia last year built green houses to grow genetically modified switch grass which has a higher ethanol yield than even naturally occurring switch grass. Brazil has been mixing ethanol and gasoline together for the past 30 years. Every gallon of gasoline at the pump in Brazil is 20% ethanol, derived from sugar cane.
Not every part of the United States is behind the curve. In Minnesota the state government as well as the governor have had in place E10 laws, meaning that all gasoline sold in the state must be 10% ethanol, no more, no less.
There's no reason that my Governor Rick Perry cannot do the same thing in the Texas legislature.
So there you have it -- two cheap inexpensive fuels that would provide protection to our economy from rising crude oil prices, and would create jobs because of the increase in refineries built. Why can't we do it?
As you all know, gasoline prices have been high for well over a month. The reason for this is because gasoline prices always spike up at the end of March and last until mid to late May, and the reason for that is because in March the petroleum and other such producers shift from heating oil to regular oil. This slows down the production process somewhat, thus shortening supply, and we all know the rules of supply and demand.
But the solution to our energy crisis is as simple as the restaurants we eat at and the grass in our prairies. Confused? Allow me to explain: Individuals in the state of Oregon have already begun to collect used (that's right, used) frying oil from restaurants, take it home, put it through a machine they bought for $2000, mix it with regular diesel, and voila, you have biodiesel. This is not a new concept. The inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel, designed the first ever diesel engine to run on pure PEANUT OIL. In fact, actress Darryl Hannah has a car that runs on pure recycled restaurant grease. Henry Ford designed the Model T to run on ethanol. And that was a century ago almost. Many people have started talking up the hype regarding ethanol made from corn cobs, but the fact is researchers and scientists have discovered how to derive ethanol from the stock and the stover of the corn. Researchers have also found that a certain type of grass called switch grass has a natural ethanol component in it, and more efficiently yields ethanol than corn cobs. In Sweden they already use a form of ethanol derived from wood chips. A major university in Virginia last year built green houses to grow genetically modified switch grass which has a higher ethanol yield than even naturally occurring switch grass. Brazil has been mixing ethanol and gasoline together for the past 30 years. Every gallon of gasoline at the pump in Brazil is 20% ethanol, derived from sugar cane.
Not every part of the United States is behind the curve. In Minnesota the state government as well as the governor have had in place E10 laws, meaning that all gasoline sold in the state must be 10% ethanol, no more, no less.
There's no reason that my Governor Rick Perry cannot do the same thing in the Texas legislature.
So there you have it -- two cheap inexpensive fuels that would provide protection to our economy from rising crude oil prices, and would create jobs because of the increase in refineries built. Why can't we do it?
My views on Healthcare and government's role
Well folks, time to read my opinion on healthcare.
I am against a national healthcare program, or universal healthcare, as it is often referred to by its proponents.
Those who want to nationalize the healthcare industry in this great nation of ours often say, "America is the only nation in the industrialized world that does not provide healthcare to all of its citizens." Ok. And??
Health insurance is often what they are referring to when they say healthcare. And for some in the Democratic party, people having health insurance isn't good enough. They say premiums and deductibles are too high. The solution: Get everyone in a government program for it. Raise taxes through the ceiling to do it, too.
For one thing, health insurance is not a God-given right. The only right you have vis-a-vis health insurance is to work at a job so you can afford the monthly premiums. If it means an extra 4 or 5 hours a month to pay for it, you do what you gotta do.
Secondly, there are good reasons why healthcare costs are high: (1) People do not prioritize with their finances. I see it everyday in my line of work. They'd rather have a plasma tv or a new car with $400 a month payments than have life insurance, so if they die then their kids and spouse are screwed. So of course health insurance isn't much higher up on the priority list for such people. (2) We in America have become addicted through "Jobs with benefits." I have a full time job, and I do not utilize the health insurance they offer me. I have my own plan through Humana outside my work. It is a zero prescription deductible with a high everything-else deductible, so my premiums are low ($90 a month) and I save a little in a money market account that pays 5%, so when something comes up, I'll have enough for the $2500 deductible. Which brings me to my last point: (3) Nobody saves in this country for ANYTHING. In 2005 the national savings rate fell to - 0.5%. Nobody saves independently to pay for health expenses. So they use low-deductible health insurance plans for every possible thing that goes wrong. That's what's wrong with the health system in this country. People get cheap insurance through their work, they don't shop around and compare plans, and they don't save a dime for anything.
It's like Jon Stossel of 20/20 pointed out: Imagine if you had grocery insurance, and you used grocery insurance to buy your groceries every week. You'd be eating steak and lobster everyday. And of course costs keep going up because you just say, "well, my insurance will cover it." So what do you think the doctors do? Raise the costs and charge what they want. After all, it has no huge impact on your wallet, so you don't care. Isn't the point of insurance to protect you in case something adverse happens to you? Not to be a budget/treasury for routine things. But that's exactly what people use health insurance for. It's not in case some infection or disease or cancer comes about. It's so they can pay only $20 for a routine doctor visit.
My solution: Take the employer OUT of the healthcare system. Americans need to start shopping around for insurance on their own. Then the companies would really have to compete on price to win your business. And you would make more conservative decisions on things. You'd actually ask yourself, "Do I really need to have this done?" You'd get on a higher deductible plan, which would save you on premiums per month, and you'd save in a separate savings account for the times when you need to pay that deductible. And you know what the greatest thing about having health insurance outside of your job would be?? If you changed jobs, you wouldn't have to wait to be eligible for health benefits. You'd always have insurance no matter what.
I am against a national healthcare program, or universal healthcare, as it is often referred to by its proponents.
Those who want to nationalize the healthcare industry in this great nation of ours often say, "America is the only nation in the industrialized world that does not provide healthcare to all of its citizens." Ok. And??
Health insurance is often what they are referring to when they say healthcare. And for some in the Democratic party, people having health insurance isn't good enough. They say premiums and deductibles are too high. The solution: Get everyone in a government program for it. Raise taxes through the ceiling to do it, too.
For one thing, health insurance is not a God-given right. The only right you have vis-a-vis health insurance is to work at a job so you can afford the monthly premiums. If it means an extra 4 or 5 hours a month to pay for it, you do what you gotta do.
Secondly, there are good reasons why healthcare costs are high: (1) People do not prioritize with their finances. I see it everyday in my line of work. They'd rather have a plasma tv or a new car with $400 a month payments than have life insurance, so if they die then their kids and spouse are screwed. So of course health insurance isn't much higher up on the priority list for such people. (2) We in America have become addicted through "Jobs with benefits." I have a full time job, and I do not utilize the health insurance they offer me. I have my own plan through Humana outside my work. It is a zero prescription deductible with a high everything-else deductible, so my premiums are low ($90 a month) and I save a little in a money market account that pays 5%, so when something comes up, I'll have enough for the $2500 deductible. Which brings me to my last point: (3) Nobody saves in this country for ANYTHING. In 2005 the national savings rate fell to - 0.5%. Nobody saves independently to pay for health expenses. So they use low-deductible health insurance plans for every possible thing that goes wrong. That's what's wrong with the health system in this country. People get cheap insurance through their work, they don't shop around and compare plans, and they don't save a dime for anything.
It's like Jon Stossel of 20/20 pointed out: Imagine if you had grocery insurance, and you used grocery insurance to buy your groceries every week. You'd be eating steak and lobster everyday. And of course costs keep going up because you just say, "well, my insurance will cover it." So what do you think the doctors do? Raise the costs and charge what they want. After all, it has no huge impact on your wallet, so you don't care. Isn't the point of insurance to protect you in case something adverse happens to you? Not to be a budget/treasury for routine things. But that's exactly what people use health insurance for. It's not in case some infection or disease or cancer comes about. It's so they can pay only $20 for a routine doctor visit.
My solution: Take the employer OUT of the healthcare system. Americans need to start shopping around for insurance on their own. Then the companies would really have to compete on price to win your business. And you would make more conservative decisions on things. You'd actually ask yourself, "Do I really need to have this done?" You'd get on a higher deductible plan, which would save you on premiums per month, and you'd save in a separate savings account for the times when you need to pay that deductible. And you know what the greatest thing about having health insurance outside of your job would be?? If you changed jobs, you wouldn't have to wait to be eligible for health benefits. You'd always have insurance no matter what.
If we hadn't gone to war in Iraq...
then we would have....
-- had more readily sent a couple thousand marines to Liberia during the political crisis in 2004 instead of taking forever to send them due to our military being spread so thin.
-- already been able to put peace keepers in Darfur to stop the genocide there.
-- no budget deficit and a lower national debt.
-- 4000 American soldiers as well as soldiers of Britain, Italy, Australia, Poland, and the UK still alive.
-- lower oil price per barrel of oil.
-- more stable Saudi Arabia not on the verge of an Islamist attack on an oil field.
-- thousands upon thousands of Iraqi civilians still alive.
-- still a viable Chaldean Catholic population in Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul.
-- women being able to walk the streets of Iraq without a veil.
-- more credibility and respect from the international community.
-- had more readily sent a couple thousand marines to Liberia during the political crisis in 2004 instead of taking forever to send them due to our military being spread so thin.
-- already been able to put peace keepers in Darfur to stop the genocide there.
-- no budget deficit and a lower national debt.
-- 4000 American soldiers as well as soldiers of Britain, Italy, Australia, Poland, and the UK still alive.
-- lower oil price per barrel of oil.
-- more stable Saudi Arabia not on the verge of an Islamist attack on an oil field.
-- thousands upon thousands of Iraqi civilians still alive.
-- still a viable Chaldean Catholic population in Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul.
-- women being able to walk the streets of Iraq without a veil.
-- more credibility and respect from the international community.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lebanon
Last week two funerals/ceremonies were held: One, for assassinated terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, who is linked to the 1985 hi-jacking that killed a Navy Seal on board, as well as bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Most of the mourners at this funeral were supporters or members of the group Shi'i Militia group Hezbollah (Arabic for "Party of God"). Most people here were Shi'i Muslims but also a few Catholic/Eastern Orthodox who during the 90s supported anti-Syrian leader and new-found Hezbollah ally Michel Aoun, himself a Maronite Catholic (much like the author of this blog). They want Lebanon to be a free independent nation with the founding premise for a new constitution that Lebanon is an Arab country and an independent country that should be free from undue influence or aggression from Israel, Syria, the U.S., and France. They want new Parliamentary elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
The other, as a commemoration of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed on Valentine's Day 2005. I remember it cuz I walked into a McDonalds after school and saw on the TV a 2002 interview Wolf Blitzer did with the man, with the bottom banner stating, "Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri assassinated." At this funeral, the mourners were supporters of the political party Al-Naqbata (Arabic for "the Future"), and Shi'i were not more than a few. Most people there were Catholic, Sunni Muslim (the group Mr. Hariri came from), or Druze. And most people there want Lebanon to become a stable peaceful place and once again maybe, just maybe, become the "Paris of the East" as it was once known before 1975.
I have read three books on the Lebanese Civil War of the 70s and 80s, and I know people from Lebanon, and I have followed their press for at least five years, and what I find remarkable about this is how many positive changes have happened since the Taif Accords of 1990, and yet how much more hopeless it also seems since 1982.
Allow me to explain: On the one hand, the hatred and rivalry between Christians and the Druze is gone. In the late 1970s the two groups were at each others' throats in the south of Mount Lebanon (where my ancestors were from). The Israeli occupying forces couldn't keep them apart. The U.S. Marine corp couldn't keep them apart. They've been fighting since the 1820s. But now they are once again as unified as they were when the Druze first settled in Mount Lebanon after their flight from Egypt in the 11th century. At that time, the Catholics controlled northern Mt. Lebanon, and the Druze controlled southern Mt. Lebanon, and the two sides had a mutual defense pact between them to protect against Muslim militaries. The other remarkable thing is how unified Christians and Sunnis are. Those two groups fought horrendously in the 50s and the 70s and 80s. In the 1950s Christians abhorred the growing wave of secular Arab nationalism that Sunnis in the country were taking to, and feared Lebanon would be absorbed into the then-U.A.R. which comprised Egypt, Syria, and Yemen. Christians feared losing their "Christian Arab country," which was at that time and still is the only Arab country where Christians comprise more than 15% of the country. (Syria is about 10 to 12% Christian; Jordan 8%, and Egypt 8%).
But in the post-1990 environment, the one common thread Jim Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute has found, is that all Lebanese today, regardless of religious affiliation, identify themselves as Lebanese first and foremost. The days of Sunnis and secular Shi'i wanting to join the secular Nasserist movement of the U.A.R. are gone.
But today, there are two forces at opposite ends of the spectrum at work in Lebanon, and they are in large part the reason a census has not been taken in the country since1932. On the one hand you have the Shi'i who are the poorest group income-wise in the country, yet probably make up the largest of all four major groups. They feel that since they are numbers-wise the largest group that they should have a lot more power than they do in government, yet still today the highest position a Shi'ite Muslim can have is Speaker of Parliament. On the other extreme you have Christians who are generally speaking at the top of the income-wealth ladder in the country, not trying to expand their power from current levels, but rather, just trying to hold onto what they have, for fear of the demographic realities which would show them to be nowhere even close to the numbers they had even in the early 1980s. It gets messier when you consider intermittent Israeli bombings in the south and intermittent assassination attempts and bombings by Syria.
Hopefully Hezbollah will not attack Israel and face another July 2006 situation in the south. Hopefully Syria will stop their targeting of Parliamentarians. Hopefully, a president whom most people in the country can be elected within the next month or two.
But all anyone can ever say of Lebanon's fate is hopefully....
The other, as a commemoration of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed on Valentine's Day 2005. I remember it cuz I walked into a McDonalds after school and saw on the TV a 2002 interview Wolf Blitzer did with the man, with the bottom banner stating, "Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri assassinated." At this funeral, the mourners were supporters of the political party Al-Naqbata (Arabic for "the Future"), and Shi'i were not more than a few. Most people there were Catholic, Sunni Muslim (the group Mr. Hariri came from), or Druze. And most people there want Lebanon to become a stable peaceful place and once again maybe, just maybe, become the "Paris of the East" as it was once known before 1975.
I have read three books on the Lebanese Civil War of the 70s and 80s, and I know people from Lebanon, and I have followed their press for at least five years, and what I find remarkable about this is how many positive changes have happened since the Taif Accords of 1990, and yet how much more hopeless it also seems since 1982.
Allow me to explain: On the one hand, the hatred and rivalry between Christians and the Druze is gone. In the late 1970s the two groups were at each others' throats in the south of Mount Lebanon (where my ancestors were from). The Israeli occupying forces couldn't keep them apart. The U.S. Marine corp couldn't keep them apart. They've been fighting since the 1820s. But now they are once again as unified as they were when the Druze first settled in Mount Lebanon after their flight from Egypt in the 11th century. At that time, the Catholics controlled northern Mt. Lebanon, and the Druze controlled southern Mt. Lebanon, and the two sides had a mutual defense pact between them to protect against Muslim militaries. The other remarkable thing is how unified Christians and Sunnis are. Those two groups fought horrendously in the 50s and the 70s and 80s. In the 1950s Christians abhorred the growing wave of secular Arab nationalism that Sunnis in the country were taking to, and feared Lebanon would be absorbed into the then-U.A.R. which comprised Egypt, Syria, and Yemen. Christians feared losing their "Christian Arab country," which was at that time and still is the only Arab country where Christians comprise more than 15% of the country. (Syria is about 10 to 12% Christian; Jordan 8%, and Egypt 8%).
But in the post-1990 environment, the one common thread Jim Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute has found, is that all Lebanese today, regardless of religious affiliation, identify themselves as Lebanese first and foremost. The days of Sunnis and secular Shi'i wanting to join the secular Nasserist movement of the U.A.R. are gone.
But today, there are two forces at opposite ends of the spectrum at work in Lebanon, and they are in large part the reason a census has not been taken in the country since1932. On the one hand you have the Shi'i who are the poorest group income-wise in the country, yet probably make up the largest of all four major groups. They feel that since they are numbers-wise the largest group that they should have a lot more power than they do in government, yet still today the highest position a Shi'ite Muslim can have is Speaker of Parliament. On the other extreme you have Christians who are generally speaking at the top of the income-wealth ladder in the country, not trying to expand their power from current levels, but rather, just trying to hold onto what they have, for fear of the demographic realities which would show them to be nowhere even close to the numbers they had even in the early 1980s. It gets messier when you consider intermittent Israeli bombings in the south and intermittent assassination attempts and bombings by Syria.
Hopefully Hezbollah will not attack Israel and face another July 2006 situation in the south. Hopefully Syria will stop their targeting of Parliamentarians. Hopefully, a president whom most people in the country can be elected within the next month or two.
But all anyone can ever say of Lebanon's fate is hopefully....
Expecting the next president to make your life better
As we begin our march toward both the Republican and Democratic (and Libertarian, haha) National Conventions to lead to the presidential debates and eventually elect a new president for the next four years, let us remember that whatever our political belief systems are, the next president, whether it be Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, or in my dreams Wayne Root, your life is not going to dramatically be better or dramatically be worse because whoever it ends up being.
You, and only you, are responsible for making your life better. Don't sit around saying, "Well gees, you know, my income would be higher, gas prices would be lower, that girl/guy I like would finally be interested in me if [my preferred candidate] was president. Everything would just be great!" WRONG!! If you really want to, you can do things to make your life great now. Just get off your lazy butt and do it.
Want gas prices to go down? Get a hybrid, a flex fuel, or a diesel and use bio-diesel, and VOILA! The gas price pinch will diminish.
Want more money? Apply for a job that you're qualified for and that pays better than the one you're currently in. OR, start up your own business. Or go back to school for a degree. What a novel idea! Can't afford school you say? Well you know there is this thing called state-funded public colleges that are cheap, and then if you work a job that pays tuition benefits, you're in like Zen. Can't start up a business? Sure you can! What do you like? What are you passionate about? Start it small and gradually build it.
Just remember, presidents don't sit behind a desk pulling levers and pushing buttons all day to make the right things happen at the right times. The president's job is to set policy on taxes, spending, military, and other issues. Not making your life great.
You, and only you, are responsible for making your life better. Don't sit around saying, "Well gees, you know, my income would be higher, gas prices would be lower, that girl/guy I like would finally be interested in me if [my preferred candidate] was president. Everything would just be great!" WRONG!! If you really want to, you can do things to make your life great now. Just get off your lazy butt and do it.
Want gas prices to go down? Get a hybrid, a flex fuel, or a diesel and use bio-diesel, and VOILA! The gas price pinch will diminish.
Want more money? Apply for a job that you're qualified for and that pays better than the one you're currently in. OR, start up your own business. Or go back to school for a degree. What a novel idea! Can't afford school you say? Well you know there is this thing called state-funded public colleges that are cheap, and then if you work a job that pays tuition benefits, you're in like Zen. Can't start up a business? Sure you can! What do you like? What are you passionate about? Start it small and gradually build it.
Just remember, presidents don't sit behind a desk pulling levers and pushing buttons all day to make the right things happen at the right times. The president's job is to set policy on taxes, spending, military, and other issues. Not making your life great.
Kosovo Independence and Albanians
To begin this blog, I must say that I have a mild happiness and enthusiasm for the Albanians who live in Kosovo, now that their parliament has unilaterally declared independent statehood.
First let me address the ignorants and the Islamophobes and bigots out there like Michael Savage and Robert Spencer.
-- Albanians are secular Muslims. They are not radicals like in many other Muslim countries. They, like the Bosnians, the Lebanese, the Syrians, the Tunisians, and the Turks enjoy a secular brand of Islam. Women have more rights and more latitude in Albanian culture than in other Muslim cultures. They have a large young population who travel outside Albania and Kosovo to become educated with graduate degrees.
-- The War in Kosovo was not Muslim Albanians vs Christian Serbs. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Stephen Schwartz so eloquently pointed out in his response article in Front Page Magazine in March of 2005, Albanians are predominantly Muslim but they do have a significant Christian minority among them as well, who are no less fervent in their national pride than their Muslim compatriots. There were Catholic and Eastern Orthodox leaders of the K.L.A. (Kosovo Liberation Army) just like there were Muslim leaders of the militia. The group was not arranged among religious lines, nor were there Muslim radicals or Al-Qaeda types going to Kosovo to help their Albanian brethren.
-- Albania and the Albanian people protected the Albanian Jewish community during World War II and the Holocaust. They refused to hand over Jews to Nazis or pro-Nazi regimes during the 30s and 40s.
NOW, having said all that, I think that this can be a good thing or it can be a very bad thing. The rights, respect and dignity of the Serb minority NEEDS to be maintained. That means no more Serbs living in predominantly-Albanian areas having to live behind barbed-wire fences. And no more rocket and grenade attacks at Serb areas. Serbs must be allowed to be equal citizens under the law with rights equal to Albanians, and they MUST have representation in government.
Furthermore, if the remote north of Kosovo, which is predominantly Serb, wishes to secede from Kosovo, they should have the right to a plebescite that is internationally monitored and where they can peacefully join up with Serbia. I do not think, however, that that is in their best interest. I think an independent Kosovo is a good thing if it does not become "Albania Jr." By that I mean it becomes another Albanian state and eventually joins on to Albania. And lastly, Serb refugees from the '98-'99 war must be allowed right of return.
If this new republic abides by these guidelines, then I think an independent Kosovo can be a good thing, especially considering that it currently is a democratic, pro-American, predominantly-Muslim country with a secular tradition, and it can be a good example to other Muslim countries.
First let me address the ignorants and the Islamophobes and bigots out there like Michael Savage and Robert Spencer.
-- Albanians are secular Muslims. They are not radicals like in many other Muslim countries. They, like the Bosnians, the Lebanese, the Syrians, the Tunisians, and the Turks enjoy a secular brand of Islam. Women have more rights and more latitude in Albanian culture than in other Muslim cultures. They have a large young population who travel outside Albania and Kosovo to become educated with graduate degrees.
-- The War in Kosovo was not Muslim Albanians vs Christian Serbs. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Stephen Schwartz so eloquently pointed out in his response article in Front Page Magazine in March of 2005, Albanians are predominantly Muslim but they do have a significant Christian minority among them as well, who are no less fervent in their national pride than their Muslim compatriots. There were Catholic and Eastern Orthodox leaders of the K.L.A. (Kosovo Liberation Army) just like there were Muslim leaders of the militia. The group was not arranged among religious lines, nor were there Muslim radicals or Al-Qaeda types going to Kosovo to help their Albanian brethren.
-- Albania and the Albanian people protected the Albanian Jewish community during World War II and the Holocaust. They refused to hand over Jews to Nazis or pro-Nazi regimes during the 30s and 40s.
NOW, having said all that, I think that this can be a good thing or it can be a very bad thing. The rights, respect and dignity of the Serb minority NEEDS to be maintained. That means no more Serbs living in predominantly-Albanian areas having to live behind barbed-wire fences. And no more rocket and grenade attacks at Serb areas. Serbs must be allowed to be equal citizens under the law with rights equal to Albanians, and they MUST have representation in government.
Furthermore, if the remote north of Kosovo, which is predominantly Serb, wishes to secede from Kosovo, they should have the right to a plebescite that is internationally monitored and where they can peacefully join up with Serbia. I do not think, however, that that is in their best interest. I think an independent Kosovo is a good thing if it does not become "Albania Jr." By that I mean it becomes another Albanian state and eventually joins on to Albania. And lastly, Serb refugees from the '98-'99 war must be allowed right of return.
If this new republic abides by these guidelines, then I think an independent Kosovo can be a good thing, especially considering that it currently is a democratic, pro-American, predominantly-Muslim country with a secular tradition, and it can be a good example to other Muslim countries.
Sub-prime mortgage crisis
So this morning I'm watching CNBC, as I usually do in the A.M. just to see how the markets are doing before I switch it over to Maury to find out who the father is, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are taking questions from the Senate Committee on the "Hope Now" program.
For those that don't know, the "Hope Now" program consists of a national hotline 1-800-Hope-now, where people who bought houses at sub-prime loans where the interest rates are about to adjust can call and if they meet certain conditions, they can be saved from their house being eventually forclosed on.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) told the two men that the administration wasn't being aggressive enough to solve the problem. Well, Bobby, I would just tell you that the people in sub-prime mortgages are lucky that they even have a program that will help them out. They're the ones who signed the docs and bought the houses. They chose to buy houses they could not afford. They chose to agree to an A.R.M. that they knew damn well could adjust and make their financial lives unbearable. It's not the mortgage industries fault.
Hey consumer: Here's a tip. Don't borrow more than you can pay back.
When consumers borrow 110% of the value of the house, they have nobody to blame but themselves. When they buy a larger house than they know they can afford, the have nobody to blame but themselves.
Maybe I should have the government save me and bail me out of my student loans. Maybe people who buy a car on debt that they can't afford should have the government bail them out of their car payment.
NO! Let's start addressing the problem. The problem is people having to have everything NOW! I want it NOW! Like a bunch of children. So everyone's gotta have the latest 50 inch plasma tv hanging on their wall. Everyone's gotta buy a car with little down payment, then trade it in and get into even more debt. Everyone's gotta push their kids to the best school possible so they can graduate with a shit load of debt afterwards, rather than getting the basics out of the way at a junior college first. Stop getting into debt for everything you want or need. Here's an idea: pay cash. Save up overtime in an interest bearing account, then when you have at least a quarter or half the money, then maybe you can go shopping.
If someone needs help and needs to get out of their A.R.M., they can give me a call on my cell or at the office, and I'll refinance their house at a fixed rate with bi-weekly payment and get that house PAID OFF.
There is a real problem with people expecting government to solve their problems or make their lives better.
Newsflash: John McCain isn't going to make your life better. Barack Obama isn't going to make your life better or solve your problems. YOU will solve your problems. YOU will make your life better.
For those that don't know, the "Hope Now" program consists of a national hotline 1-800-Hope-now, where people who bought houses at sub-prime loans where the interest rates are about to adjust can call and if they meet certain conditions, they can be saved from their house being eventually forclosed on.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) told the two men that the administration wasn't being aggressive enough to solve the problem. Well, Bobby, I would just tell you that the people in sub-prime mortgages are lucky that they even have a program that will help them out. They're the ones who signed the docs and bought the houses. They chose to buy houses they could not afford. They chose to agree to an A.R.M. that they knew damn well could adjust and make their financial lives unbearable. It's not the mortgage industries fault.
Hey consumer: Here's a tip. Don't borrow more than you can pay back.
When consumers borrow 110% of the value of the house, they have nobody to blame but themselves. When they buy a larger house than they know they can afford, the have nobody to blame but themselves.
Maybe I should have the government save me and bail me out of my student loans. Maybe people who buy a car on debt that they can't afford should have the government bail them out of their car payment.
NO! Let's start addressing the problem. The problem is people having to have everything NOW! I want it NOW! Like a bunch of children. So everyone's gotta have the latest 50 inch plasma tv hanging on their wall. Everyone's gotta buy a car with little down payment, then trade it in and get into even more debt. Everyone's gotta push their kids to the best school possible so they can graduate with a shit load of debt afterwards, rather than getting the basics out of the way at a junior college first. Stop getting into debt for everything you want or need. Here's an idea: pay cash. Save up overtime in an interest bearing account, then when you have at least a quarter or half the money, then maybe you can go shopping.
If someone needs help and needs to get out of their A.R.M., they can give me a call on my cell or at the office, and I'll refinance their house at a fixed rate with bi-weekly payment and get that house PAID OFF.
There is a real problem with people expecting government to solve their problems or make their lives better.
Newsflash: John McCain isn't going to make your life better. Barack Obama isn't going to make your life better or solve your problems. YOU will solve your problems. YOU will make your life better.
Congress grandstanding photo-opping with Roger Clemens
Ok, so we're in a war in Iraq that we shouldn't have gotten into and don't know when we'll be out, we've got a ballooning national debt to the tune of $9 trillion (yes, that's TRILLION, with a 'T), and a social security system that will be insolvent in less than 4 decades, and the most important thing our congress can do is hold hearings on steroids in baseball, AGAIN.
It wasn't enough that they already wasted time on this crap in 2005, now they have to go at it again, and get their worthless mugs in front of the cameras so they can look like "heroes of the American people" by dressing down doctors and baseball players.
It is not the role of the federal government, or any government for that matter, to be regulating sports. I don't remember the Founding Fathers putting in the Constitution anything about making sure cheating doesn't occur in sports.
As far as I'm concerned, these congressman deserve to have their worthless asses voted out next time they're up for election.
It wasn't enough that they already wasted time on this crap in 2005, now they have to go at it again, and get their worthless mugs in front of the cameras so they can look like "heroes of the American people" by dressing down doctors and baseball players.
It is not the role of the federal government, or any government for that matter, to be regulating sports. I don't remember the Founding Fathers putting in the Constitution anything about making sure cheating doesn't occur in sports.
As far as I'm concerned, these congressman deserve to have their worthless asses voted out next time they're up for election.
For those who still think Arabs/Muslims are the problem...
.....I would just ask you a few questions:
(1) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up Northern Illinois University today?
(2) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up the mall in Nebraska last November?
(3) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up Virginia Tech last year?
(4) Did Arabs/Muslims blow up the abortion clinics in the early 90's?
(5) Did Arabs/Muslims bomb the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta?
(6) Did Arabs/Muslims send bombs to people in the mail from a shack in Montana?
(7) Did Arabs/Muslims blow up the building in Oklahoma City in 1995?
(8) Did Arabs/Muslims try to blow up Congressman Darrell Isa's office in 2002?
(9) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up Columbine High School in 1999 (or any of the other highschools
that got shot up in the 90's)?
(10) Was the BTK killer Dennis Rader an Arab or a Muslim?
(11) Was Jeffrey Dahmer an Arab or a Muslim?
(12) Did Arabs/Muslims drag James Byrd to death in Texas?
I rest my case.
In the words of one of my favorite comedians Chris Rock, "I ain't scared of Al-Qaeda. I'm scared of Al Cracker."
(1) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up Northern Illinois University today?
(2) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up the mall in Nebraska last November?
(3) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up Virginia Tech last year?
(4) Did Arabs/Muslims blow up the abortion clinics in the early 90's?
(5) Did Arabs/Muslims bomb the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta?
(6) Did Arabs/Muslims send bombs to people in the mail from a shack in Montana?
(7) Did Arabs/Muslims blow up the building in Oklahoma City in 1995?
(8) Did Arabs/Muslims try to blow up Congressman Darrell Isa's office in 2002?
(9) Did Arabs/Muslims shoot up Columbine High School in 1999 (or any of the other highschools
that got shot up in the 90's)?
(10) Was the BTK killer Dennis Rader an Arab or a Muslim?
(11) Was Jeffrey Dahmer an Arab or a Muslim?
(12) Did Arabs/Muslims drag James Byrd to death in Texas?
I rest my case.
In the words of one of my favorite comedians Chris Rock, "I ain't scared of Al-Qaeda. I'm scared of Al Cracker."
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