Good Intentions

Congrats to my nephew and a little historical context for current FCC actions

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 13:26:00 +0000

Sitting on flight back home from Orlando. Attended my nephew Michael's HS graduation at the Amway arena. He overcame some serious adversity to finish high school. He's now off to FAMU to pursue an engineering degree. I am so proud of him. He's going to do great things.

Halfway home and reading "A Patriots History of the United States". Came across an interesting passage on the impact of the early 1800's railroad boom on mail distribution and political power that provides some interesting context for the recent moves by the FCC to protect "real journalism".

Largely due to the growth in railroads and the appearance of special mailing privileges, the distribution of political newspapers grew dramatically in the early 1800's:

"Congressman shipped speeches and other election materials to constituents free, thanks to franking privileges. Partisan concerns also linked post office branches and party-controlled newspapers by reducing the cost of distribution through the mails. From 1800 to 1840, the number of newspapers transmitted rose from 2 million to almost 140 million at far cheaper rates then other printed matter...if the newspapers had paid the same rates as others mails, the transmission costs would have been 700 times higher.

The meeting party system, by 1840, had thus compromised the independence of the mails and a large part of the print media, with no small consequences. Among other defects, the subsidies created incentives to read newspapers rather than books. This democratization of the news produced a population of people who thought they new a great deal about current events, but who lacked the theoretical grounding in history, philosophy, or politics to properly ground their opinions."

It's no wonder the decline of the "mainstream media" causes palpable sense of fear amongst amongst the leftist political elite. They need to control the message lest people discover the true impact of their destructive agenda. The FCC's motives with respect to net neutrality and so-called journalistic integrity has nothing to do with fairness and the public good. They have everything to do with keeping the masses numb and malleable.

bon jovi

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Sun, 30 May 2010 02:26:00 +0000

At Bon Jovi concert... he stops action to say "this should no longer be the decade of me...this will be the decade of we!"

Such pathetic collectivist bullshit. I honestly don't think BJ is a serious thinker but, man, can you please give me a break.

Shut up and sing!

Big Brother Coming to a Health Clinic Near You

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Your health information will never be private again. Hidden in the healthcare bill we find a provision for the implantation of RFID chips. How long will it be before monitoring what you eat in your own home becomes a national healthcare crisis requiring government surveillance? Hope and Change, baby!

Required RFID implanted chip

Sec. 2521, Pg. 1000 – The government will establish a National Medical Device Registry.

What does a National Medical Device Registry mean?

National Medical Device Registry from H.R. 3200 [Healthcare Bill], pages 1001-1008:

(g)(1) The Secretary shall establish a national medical device registry (in this subsection referred to as the ‘registry’) to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data on each device that— ‘‘(A) is or has been used in or on a patient; ‘‘(B)and is— ‘‘(i) a class III device; or ‘‘(ii) a class II device that is implantable, life-supporting, or life-sustaining.”

Then on page 1004 it describes what the term “data” means in paragraph 1,

section B:

‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘data’ refers to information respecting a device described in paragraph (1), including claims data, patient survey data, standardized analytic files that allow for the pooling and analysis of data from disparate data environments, electronic health records, and any other data deemed appropriate by the Secretary”

What exactly is a class II device that is implantable? Approved by the FDA, a class II implantable device is an “implantable radio frequency transponder system for patient identification and health information.” The purpose of a class II device is to collect data in medical patients such as “claims data, patient survey data, standardized analytic files that allow for the pooling and analysis of data from disparate data environments, electronic health records, and any other data deemed appropriate by the Secretary.”

See it for yourself:http://www.fda. gov/downloads/ MedicalDevices/ DeviceRegulation andGuidance/ GuidanceDocument s/ucm072191. pdf

This new law – when fully implemented – provides the framework for making the United States the first nation in the world to require each and every one of its citizens to have implanted in them a radio-frequency identification (RFID) microchip for the purpose of controlling who is, or isn’t, allowed medical care in their country.

Don’t believe it? Look it up yourself. Healthcare Bill H.R. 3200:

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/111/AAHCA09001xml.pdf

Pages 1001-1008 “National Medical Device Registry” section.

Page 1006 “to be enacted within 36 months upon passage”

Page 503 “… medical device surveillance”

Why would the government use the word “surveillance” when referring to citizens? The definition of “surveillance” is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people and often in a secret manner. The root of the word [French] means to “watch over.”

In theory, the intent to streamline healthcare and to eliminate fraud via “health chips” seems right. But, to have the world’s lone superpower (America, for now) mandate (page 1006) a device to be IMPLANTED is scary!

Microchiping included in Healthcare Bill?

http://www.dailypaul.com/node/105079

Coverage under Obamacare will require an implantable microchip?

http://current. com/items/ 90842279_ coverage- under-obamacare- will-require- an-implantable- microchip. htm

The Healthcare Bomb

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:03:00 +0000

The healthcare bill has some good things but at what cost. The whole issue of cost is what has kept most people out of the insurance market in the first place. This bill does nothing to address cost and adds millions more to a broken system. Spending will skyrocket eventually. The ultimate effect will be either rationing (See Canada, UK, etc.), more tax increases, and/or massive debt.

So, at some point we will be left with the dilemma of sacrificing either the quality of care we are accustomed to or the economic opportunity of our children. We might feel better about the "moral implications" in the short run, but in the the long run, the bill will eventually come due and someone will have to pay.

And, let's not forget about the unfunded liabilities of Medicare and Social Security. We're talking tens of trillions of debt that has to be paid back with those two programs alone.

Scary times.

Democratic Healthcare Reform Will Never Work

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

First off, please don't buy the straw man argument that because conservatives are against the current Democratic offering they want to do nothing. This could not be further from the truth. We DO want to improve the healthcare system. The question is how do we do it without bankrupting the country, lowering the quality care, and giving up our right to choose the doctor or plan we want.

Why is that almost all other things we buy come down in price over time except healthcare?

Remember the first time you bought a CD player, cell phone, or HDTV? Remember how rare and expensive they were? Think about how widespread and cheap they are now.

Take a look at laser eye surgery. From Marginal Revolution:

Laser eye surgery has the highest patient satisfaction ratings of any surgery, it has been performed more than 3 million times in the past decade, it is new, it is high-tech, it has gotten better over time and... laser eye surgery has fallen in price. In 1998 the average price of laser eye surgery was about $2200 per eye. Today the average price is $1350, that's a decline of 38 percent in nominal terms and slightly more than that after taking into account inflation.

We are very wise how we spent our money and shop around for the best bargains. Businesses and eye doctors have to compete for our limited dollars. It is this frugality and competition that drives innovation, efficiency, and price declines.

Why is healthcare different?

Milton Friedman observed nobody spends their own money as wisely as their own. In large part, we don't care how much healthcare costs when we receive it because we either pay nothing or only a small fraction of what is actually costs when we go to the doctor's office or emergency room. Our perception is that healthcare is free. There is a perverse incentive to consume more and more healthcare and little to no motivation to seek out the best deal.

The vast majority of payments to providers are made by third parties such as Medicare and health insurance companies. Thus, the success of the physician or hospital depends more on maximizing reimbursement from insurance companies than on delivering quality healthcare at a reasonable cost. Efforts to increase efficiency are focused on administration not delivery.

The only way to truly fix the system over the long haul is to do away with the employer sponsored healthcare plans and give the tax incentive to individuals. From The Heritage Foundation:

The best way to change the current tax treatment would be to replace the existing tax exclusion with a more equitable and efficient system of individual tax relief, leveling the playing field for robust competition among insurers and creating a level of consumer choice that is routine in every other sector of the American economy.

So far, nothing the Democrat's are offering comes even close. If the government is allowed to increase its' control over our healthcare system without fundamental change, we will see continued cost increases and, ultimately, a need to ration care and/or ever increasing taxes to pay for it all.

Judge Reverses Chris Christie on COAH

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:48:00 +0000

Another example of how the government establishment chooses to fight it's battles. From the CourierPostOnline:

Christie had ordered the freeze Feb. 9 to apply while a task force he created to review the Council on Affordable Housing, or COAH, did its work.

The Fair Share Housing Center challenged the executive order on constitutional grounds, questioning whether Christie had the power to do it.

On Friday, Appellate Court Judge Stephen Skillman stayed Christie's order until a full appeal can be heard.

If the people don't agree with their policies then use the courts to get their way.

Government Solution to the Cost of Complying with the Open Public Records Act?

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:15:00 +0000

Why of course.... we should just change the law!!!!!

From NJ.com:

Every year, state senators and assemblymen propose laws that would diminish OPRA’s powers. None has been passed, but they keep popping up.
Meanwhile, pressure is coming from the local level: West Milford, after losing a costly OPRA lawsuit, has become the latest in a string of towns that want to repeal a provision that forces municipalities to pay plaintiffs’ legal fees. Two other towns want to rewrite OPRA so they can decide what information to release or not.
And one of the governor’s transition team reports recently suggested that the price of providing documents to citizens should include the cost of labor. In other words, after already paying the salary of the municipal clerk, and after buying the copier and the paper, taxpayers should pay again for the clerk to make a copy of a meeting agenda. That extra cost will discourage healthy inquisitiveness.

I guess putting records online for everyone to see at their leisure is just crazy talk! This is why we need to take back the country at the local level. Gotta love New Jersey.

Join your local Tea Party!

Taking Our Country Back One Step At A Time

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:24:00 +0000

All is not lost. Tea party protests are only the beginning.

But protesting has its limits, said Darla Dawald, national director for a conservative social networking site, ResistNet.com, that is directing people to local party contacts. The protests were a way to "catapult people off their couches. But then we needed to give them something to do, a way to get engaged."

Dawald took a look at her own precincts in Arizona's Pinal County. She said only 40% of precinct committee positions were filled. In Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, only 30% of the positions were occupied, she said. Dawald, who owned a gift shop that had closed in the recession, said it looked to her like no one was minding the store.

"It's not like we're going in and replacing people. We're going into positions that are open, things nobody is doing," she said. "It was clear that a small group of people within the party were making decisions for everyone."

After several months of organizing, Maricopa County now has 50%, or about 3,000, of its precinct committee positions filled.

We will take this country back and return the power to the people one precinct/township/county at a time.

Christie Forcing Teachers to Choose Different Career Paths

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Or so Steve Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, says in today's Star Ledger:

Steve Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, which represents almost 120,000 teachers, said he’s worried new people will be discouraged from teaching careers.
"Everything that’s done changes the calculation for whether this is a good career choice," he said. "At some point, people cross the line and say, I can’t afford to do this.

Give me a break! Here's what the average salary of a teacher in Bergen county makes according to Salary.com.....$84,072 per year! And this doesn't take into account retirement benefits such as generous pension benefits (from the Press of Atlantic City):

The median pension payment for teachers in 2008 was $43,200.

Or generous health care benefits that most teachers pay nothing toward.

I'm not against teachers making as much money as they can but at what point do I, as a taxpayer have a right to say how are tax dollars are spent. When do I get the right to say that good teachers should be rewarded and bad teachers should be let go. When do I get the right to say that those in the public sector benefits should at parity with the private sector?

Watching Senate Budget Committee Meeting Last Night

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:57:00 +0000

The economist panel's consensus is that unless we get our medium to long term house in order, we are going to end up with higher interest rates, low growth, huge tax increases, and draconian cuts to Medicare and Social security.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/292015-1

This view was parroted by both the Dems and Reps on the committee.

Why are we not seriously considering Paul Ryan's plan?

http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/

Ever-Changing Nature of "Tax Cuts"

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:34:00 +0000

Penn and Teller Share Their Thoughts On Obama's Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:58:00 +0000

They Would Never Take Our 401K's..Would They?

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:19:00 +0000

Democrats in the House are thinking over killing 401K's and replacing it with a government system.

James Pethokoukis at US News and World Report writes:

House Democrats recently invited Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor at the New School of Social Research, to testify before a subcommittee on her idea to eliminate the preferential tax treatment of the popular retirement plans. In place of 401(k) plans, she would have workers transfer their dough into government-created "guaranteed retirement accounts" for every worker. The government would deposit $600 (inflation indexed) every year into the GRAs. Each worker would also have to save 5 percent of pay into the accounts, to which the government would pay a measly 3 percent return. Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, said that since "the savings rate isn't going up for the investment of $80 billion [in 401(k) tax breaks], we have to start to think about whether or not we want to continue to invest that $80 billion for a policy that's not generating what we now say it should."

So instead of allowing people to choose how their Social Security dollars are invested, the Democratic left wants to take our private investments and nationalize them.

Where does it end?

Freedom of Speech? It Depends on Your Definition of "Freedom"

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:19:00 +0000

Here's another of example of what we have in store for us with an Obama victory. We can expect to see the revival of the fairness doctrine. No longer will the free market decide what should be broadcast over the airwaves. Rather, we'll have someone or some committee within the halls of Congress responsible for deciding what "fairness" is. Add another brick to the road to hell.

Analysis of Obama's Tax Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:56:00 +0000

The Heritage Foundation has a rigorous comparative analysis of the Obama and McCain Tax Plans.

It's a lengthy read so unfortunately those buying into the Obama myth will get bored. But, it's typical that the MSM has not even mentioned this "inconvenient" research.

Despite the fact that McCain's policies will result in higher job growth, higher GDP growth, higher disposable income, and a higher savings rate, Obama's tax plan is better because it is "more fair".

Oh no, Obama is not a socialist. Right?

Liberal Supermajority?

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 20:10:00 +0000

WSJ lays out what we will be looking at if Obama gets into office.

We are on the cusp of having the most anti-capitalist, pro-union, freedom diminishing government in two generations. Time to wake up and realize what this "government as savior" hysteria is going to do this country. You think things were bad during the Carter administration? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet if Obama wins.

Obama's Education Bill and Bill Ayers

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Liberally Conservative at Agora VOX provides some insight as to why understanding Obama's relationship to Bill Ayers is important.

Obama’s education bill, S.2111, significantly redesigns and amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to allow, in part, for “State...local educational agencies, and schools to increase implementation of early intervention services, particularly school-wide positive behavior supports.”

According to Section 3, “the term `positive behavior support’ means a systematic approach to embed proven practices for early intervening services, including a range of systemic and individualized strategies to reinforce desired behaviors and eliminate reinforcement for problem behaviors, in order to achieve important social outcomes (emphasis added)...”

Section 5 called: “Teacher and Principal Preparation to Improve School Climate,” mandates a new requirement for teachers and principals. It’s described as “an understanding of social or emotional, or both, learning in children...such as positive behavior support.”Obama’s bill also provides for “instructional leadership skills to help teachers” satisfy this requirement.

In Section 8 Obama’s bill creates what’s called the “Office of Specialized Instructional Support Services” which shall “administer, coordinate, implement, and ensure adequate evaluation of the effectiveness of programs ...” via a new “Director” who provides “continuous training and professional development opportunities for specialized instructional support personnel” comprised of “school counselors...social workers...psychologists, and others...” These “instructional support personnel” provide “assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and other necessary corrective or supportive services...” for students.

How are these "desired behaviors" defined? Who decides what they are and when they are to be applied? I thought parents were responsible for providing kids with social and behavioral guidance.

Compare this to the August 20, 1976 FBI summary on Ayers' activity in the Weather Underground:

“The point of the revolutionary youth movement strategy is to move from a predominant student elite base to more oppressed (less privileged) working-class youth as a way of deepening and expanding the revolutionary youth movement... This is part of the strategy to reach the entire working class to engage in struggle against imperialism...it is both important and possible to reach young people wherever they are-not only in the shops, but also in the schools ...to recruit them to fight... A good program mobilizes and teaches...”

The language may be different but the ideas are the same. Liberals, dare I say Fascists, like Obama view governance as one big ongoing social experiment justified by perpetual injustice. The specific injustice, whether it be greed, racism, global warming, poverty, etc. is irrelevant. That it exists is the important thing. And, the only way they can sustain the revolution is by indoctrinating our kids.

Yes, knowing who influences Obama's policies is important.

Obama Mythology: Coming to a School Near You

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:45:00 +0000

Not only do we have Obama sing-alongs and youth rallies supposedly organized at the "grass-roots" level, we now have textbooks in our schools with excerpts from Obama's book. WTF!
Obama lovefest in Racine schools.

Dow Down 733 on Recession Fears - Rejoice on the Left

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:25:00 +0000

A recession will be reason to raise taxes, increase spending, and empower unions with Obama, Pelosi, and Reid in power.

Read The Forgotten Man before you cast your vote.

Are there still questions about Obama's philosphy?

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:15:00 +0000

Michelle Malkin has what I hope McCain addresses tonight. Unfortunately, I'm afraid he doesn't have the will to really discuss what this Marxist in sheep's clothing will do to "the people".

The Second Coming?

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Mickey) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:55:00 +0000

Obama the Messiah Tongue in cheek but for the uninformed masses....SCARY!

UPDATE: If this doesn't say it all. The cult of personality in fine form

The Messiah