My 11 minutes commentary on Cyprus and communism. I come on at the 30 minute mark.
http://host1.cyberears.com//18871.mp3
My view of the world through personal experience, 30 years of teaching Economics and Foreign Languages, travel in Europe and North America, research, and living 20 years under communism.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
"We've Become Rich Plundering the Planet"
I
do not watch TV much anymore. There is too much propaganda and re-engineered
information to advance the progressive agenda. Historical facts have fallen
victim to political correctness and the war on truth is waged on all fronts by
progressive liberals from academia, the main stream media, and Hollywood.
Channel
surfing one day, I found a “documentary” produced in 2011 that captured my
attention. The breathtaking photography, the music, the powerful narrative, and
the clever editing would have made a convert out of me, had I been a low-information
American who believed everything MSM said, factoids repeated at nauseam and
coated with a veneer of veracity. When Hollywood hypocritical elites are the messengers
and the pop culture icons speak, millions follow what they say with blind
devotion and adoration devoid of rational thought.
The
theme was “addiction to money” but the subtle topic was global environmentalism
through U. N. Agenda 21. Economist and author David McWilliams presented the scenario
of reengineering a sustainable
economy and why it was necessary.
The
film starts in Copan, Honduras, panning over the remains of the Mayan
civilization, a city of 27,000 people, a thriving civilization for many years.
“It overstretched,” said the narrator, implying that the west will suffer the
same fate unless globalists intervene and re-engineer it on the path to sustainability. The Australian film criticizes
United States in particular, the thorn in the side of the globalists.
The
Mayans fatal flaw that doomed them was “cutting down the forest.” It would have
been honest to say that the Mayans did not know forest management, ran out of
an important resource at the time, “sowing the seeds of their own destruction.”
Professor
Paul Ehrlich, ecologist and climatologist from Stanford, is quoted throughout
the film, exposing what a former VP termed, the “inconvenient truth.” Here are
some examples:
-
“Eastern
Islanders did the same thing, cut down all the trees and wound up eating each
other”
-
“For
the first time with globalization, we are facing collapse of everything”
-
“We
are done with fossil fuels, we are done with automobiles, most Americans may
have bought their last car”
-
“If
we continue on the long range energy course that we are on, sooner or later we
will melt the polar ice caps and we will be swimming around, at least in the
coastal areas” (Sydney, 1971)
-
“What
do we do about the current economic problem so that it does not lead to a
social collapse?”
-
“How
do we move to a sustainable civilization?”
If
one explores other statements by Paul Ehrlich, it is evident what he considers
social collapse, sustainable civilization, and who decides the definition. For
example, “Giving society cheap, abundant energy would be the equivalent of
giving an idiot child a machine gun.” Another example, “A cancer is an
uncontrolled multiplication of cells; the population explosion is an
uncontrolled multiplication of people. We must shift our efforts from the
treatment of the symptoms to the cutting out of the cancer. The operation will
demand many apparently brutal and heartless decisions.”
Could
we suffer the Mayans fate, since “the system that sustained us is in ruins?” The
camera pans cleverly over pumping oil wells, assembly line cars in Detroit, and
Wall Street. He blames the principal “architect” Alan Greenspan, for creating “an
economic philosophy that has completely failed.”
Never
mind that this failed system has created wealth beyond anybody’s dreams, millionaires,
billionaires, and has improved the standard of living of billions around the
globe. Yet the insatiable greed of six billion people who want to live better is
going to destroy the planet. “The environment is under unsustainable assault.”
The
financial crisis caused the wealthy endowments of many Ivy League schools to
lose billions of dollars. “They were not wise, they were in fact, quite
stupid,” said Robert Reich. Oxford lost more than 100 million pounds.
Economists, bankers, regulators were wrong and “did not see this coming.” This
is not true, most knew this was coming.
The
technocrats of EU have moved to salvage their union by allowing the largest Cypriot
bank to collapse and by confiscating 40 percent of everyone’s deposits
exceeding 100,000 euros. What rights do socialist technocrats (bent on re-engineering
the economies of 27 nations) have to the depositors’ money in order to salvage
the poorly run socialist Cypriot economy is a very good question.
“The
future is going to look very different from the past.” True, but the question is, will the future be
“fundamentally” altered by globalists’ re-engineering intervention, or will it
be a future resulting from normal change.
The
future will be violent and angry when jobs disappear. Robert Reich said, “The
blame game can be very attractive when people are hurting.” Did we not lose
millions of jobs in the U.S. in the last four years and none are being created
in the foreseeable future except “green jobs?” I did not see any anger and hurt,
just 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.
The
price of energy has gone through the roof, especially oil, as China and India
are buying more cars. Did the current administration not stop the Keystone XL
pipeline that would have brought cheaper oil from the tar sands in Canada? Did
they not put a moratorium on domestic drilling in the Gulf of Mexico while
allowing Brazil and other foreign countries to drill? Did the EPA not reject
the building of new refineries and nuclear plants in the U.S.?
We
are going to fight in the future over food and water since it reached its
limits. “The global economy cannot grow in this model.” We have to adopt the
environmentalists’ model of sustainability to save ourselves. We are running
out of everything because there are too many people on the planet, “60 million
more each year,” McWilliams said.
In
Malthusian fashion, the narrator warns that the most “terrifying’ of all future
prospects is a “climate that is changing so rapidly that we have no time to
adapt to it because we are pressing against the limits of the planet to sustain our civilization.” Climate and
weather are two different things, not interchangeable, but low information
viewers are easily persuaded.
Professor
Robert Solow describes how “we did not run the society very well” in the 20th
century and thus we must rethink how we do things – “that is the advantage of a
crisis that we do not want to waste.” Where did we hear that before, a crisis
is a terrible thing to waste? Is it not the modus operandi of the current
administration?
“A
crisis gives us the reason to change everything, we cannot continue as before.”
The common denominator of all our problems is energy, cheap energy that fuels
our economy. We burn too much oil, a giant supertanker every twenty minutes.
“We have to redesign our economy around people, not around automobiles,” said Ehrlich.
Who gave him the mandate to redesign the economy and why does it need to change
to suit his opinions?
Apparently,
we have reached the point of no return, oil supplies are going to decline and,
according to a BP oil executive and activist, we are going to run out of oil in
30-40 years at the current levels of oil use. China and India will have more
cars than America and oil is going to be very expensive. How can a low-knowledge
person argue with such a definitive and scary statement? Yet huge sources of
oil have been discovered around the globe.
We
are such “resource junkies,” that we are craving one last hit from an ever more
scarce resource that has been polluting our environment and destroying Mother
Earth.
Electric
cars will “save us from an addiction to oil, for which we are mortgaging all of
our assets.” But changing to electric cars is not enough, says the documentary.
We
have to re-engineer agriculture as well, the next item on the environmentalist
agenda because it is not sustainable.
We use too much fuel, too much fertilizer, “we are effectively eating fossil
fuels.”
We
consume more grain than it is produced, reducing stockpiles of rice, wheat, and
corn by 40 percent since 2002. The documentary fails to describe how droughts
and the use of grain as biofuels have reduced the supply of food in poor
countries. Riots took place as a result of doubling of rice and corn prices.
Environmentalists are responsible for pushing the use of grains as biofuels.
“We
have a world in which you have a relatively few incredibly rich people and huge
numbers of poor people, getting more hungry and desperate and we must do
something about that,” says Ehrlich. Rich people again are at fault that
starvation resulted from an ill-designed biofuel energy policy by the very
groups who claim that fossil fuels are not sustainable.
“We’ve
spent billions bailing out banks and car companies, but peanuts securing food
supplies,” laments McWilliams. Do we not give food aid to third world countries
all the time?
As
China loses more land to urban development, food prices will go “through the
roof.” If China changes its tastes from rice to meat, the price of meat would
double, the narrator predicts. Meat is also not sustainable because animals pollute the environment and use too
much water.
China
is building 3 gorge dam projects, rivers around the world are running dry, and
by “2025 three billion people will suffer water shortages.” Which is it, are
our shores going to flood and water will cover islands around the globe due to
polar ice caps and glaciers melting, or are we going to have a severe manufactured
water shortage?
The
world’s finite resources will cause unstoppable migration, wars over land,
food, and water. Parading a throng of low information citizens, the common cause
identified for all the ills enumerated is GREED, the greed of the rich who
stole everything from the rest of us.
We
have to fundamentally change. Capitalism is bad, unregulated markets are bad,
governments are financially and morally bankrupt and not trustworthy. FDR was
the only president who had the courage to confront the banking oligarchy.
American taxpayers saved the banks from the “huge losses they made.”
Actually,
Carter’s Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 had a lot of to do with the
worthless mortgages – it changed the dynamics of lending and borrowing. Realtors
were eager to sell to people who did not qualify for loans, buyers were eager
to buy what they could not afford but felt entitled to, and banks bundled good
loans with bad loans to reduce losses and then sold them to unsuspecting
investors.
There
are 41,000 lobbyists in Washington who force the agenda of the U.S. government.
Nothing happens in D.C. without lobbyists. “The threat to democracy by business
and financial lobbyists is profound,” said Robert Reich, former Labor
Secretary. I believe that out of control spending (generational theft),
resulting in the increase of the national debt by $6 trillion in four years, is
the biggest threat to our national security.
The
documentary suggests that the resolution of problems, the ageing population,
migration issues, global warming, the coming wars over oil, water, and food
rests with the merging of the “Mean and the Green,” forcing Wall Street to
support the environmentalist cause (global warming) and to finance the “green
economy.”
There
is a potential $10 trillion electric car industry, with China’s BYD as the leader
and the largest car maker in the world by 2025. How do they propose to generate
electricity for these cars since wind and solar power are not enough? A
different type of nuclear power plant will be the solution if the Chinese are
successful.
Our
“addiction to money” and a better standard of living will put the planet in
peril unless we fundamentally change. Professor Ehrlich has been warning us
since 1971 and we have not been paying significant attention. Unfortunately, globalists
will re-engineer us on the path to sustainability.
It may require the reduction in global population to a manageable size of 1
billion because the existence of the other 5 billion is unsustainable and inconvenient to the resource environmentalist
planners.
I
have described in my book, “U.N. Agenda 21: Environmental Piracy,” (http://www.amazon.com/U-N-Agenda-21-Environmental-ebook/dp/B009WC6JXO/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364404317&sr=1-1&keywords=un+agenda+21+environmental+piracy) all the ways
and venues by which globalists will fundamentally change every facet of our
lives but the question remains, will the low information citizens pay attention
and learn quickly that everything they like to do and cherish is going to be
labeled unsustainable?
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Poplars and Nostalgia
I
parked the rented beige Jetta under the tall tree that I had planted as an 8
year old, a life time ago. The entire street was shaded by poplars, painted
white half way up the trunk to prevent insect invasions. The lush green trees
have grown taller than the five story buildings surrounding them.
This professor’s national debt explanation makes for an interesting conspiratorial theory. The powerful western bankers cowed by a “maverick” defiant dictator who stood in their way to control the world financially. God forbid Ceausescu’s move would be copied by other dictators and turn into a contagion around the globe, robbing the bankers of their fortunes acquired by shameless interest charged to poor countries. Did someone force his hand to sign on the dotted line? Did the dictator with an elementary school education not become a wealthy billionaire from these loans, and lived a life of luxury while his people starved? Did I miss something here?
On
a regular schedule, the Marxist community and street organizers would show up
and corral everybody to a day of volunteer work, sweeping the streets, picking
up trash, mowing the grass, planting trees, shrubs, pick up garbage, rocks, and
pull weeds. Adults would work quietly, fearful of saying something that would
be reported downtown, but the kids laughed and ran carefree in their exuberant playfulness.
The
hill where I used to run sleds in wintertime was now occupied by 9-story
apartment buildings, so clustered together that one could touch a neighbor’s
hand in the other building through the bedroom window.
Near
the stairs leading to another housing project below, there was a patch of
heaven where I ran my sleigh many winters ago, laughing, falling, and rolling
in the snow. It was now strangely covered in asphalt on a 30 degree incline.
I
walked down trying to retrace my steps but I froze at the bottom of the hill. A
large pack of street dogs was approaching, barking and growling. I went uphill
quickly, regretful that I could not continue my exploration. The street below,
with 40 or so homes still standing, was familiar – three of my school mates
lived there with their families. I was surprised that these homes had not been
demolished to make room for more high-rise ugly concrete block apartments.
Utilizing every inch of space to the max was a primary goal of city planners.
My
former home, a tiny match box sized apartment on the fifth floor, still painted
the same dirty sea foam green, was oozing decay and pollution stains. Nothing
has changed since 1977 when an earthquake damaged many buildings but somehow
left ours with cracks and a bathroom window dangling chunks of concrete from
the reinforced steel bars, like a loose tooth.
That was my family’s bathroom window. The concrete bar was still missing
and the window looked odd. Why fix it,
nobody was going to climb to the fifth floor and invade the home through the
gaping hole in the bathroom. The only addition to the old building was a
security entry at the main door. All apartments had been bought for $30,000
each by the former communist era tenants who used to pay subsidized rent to the
Communist Party.
The
sidewalk was cracked, leading to the shopping center where we bought our milk, bread,
bones with meat on them, wilted vegetables, and the few groceries available for
which we stood in line a few hours every day. I was shocked that the building
still stood. Half of it was abandoned in a pitiful state of decay; the other
half did not fare much better but it was occupied. A lone, dingy grocery store
sold a little bit of everything - the shelves were full of food and merchandise.
I don’t know why but tears welled up in my eyes. I remembered the empty, clean
shelves of my childhood, the pharmacy, the bakery, the dairy, the “cofetaria”
selling sweets, the book store, and the pub always full of people who were
trying to drown their sorrow in beer and plum brandy. They were long gone. The
young shopkeeper ignored me after a cursory look at the middle-aged woman in
front of him.
My
old elementary school was still behind the shopping center, surrounded by the
same fence and locked gates. It was freshly painted a happy yellow. The educationally-themed
mosaic created by a commie artist on the left hand side of the building was
still intact. It showed mother education as a goddess of communist learning holding
a book adorned with a hammer and sickle.
I
will never forget the misery and torture the dictator Ceausescu had subjected my
people to during his reign of socialist/communist terror. Some individuals have
short memories though, especially those who try to excuse the horrible
treatment of a nation as a “fatherly,” well-intentioned attempt to rid the
country of the national debt to the west.
A
professor who used to be the communist party secretary to the university system
during Nicolae Ceausescu tried recently to blame Ceausescu’s demise on his
announcement in 1989 that Romania had paid off all its debts to the west; additionally,
Ceausescu allegedly forbade the Romanian government to seek any foreign credit.
In other words, Romania had become such a threat to the one world government
bankers and their ill-gotten interest-based fortunes that they were able to get
rid of Ceausescu and “punish him physically for his insolence.” Perhaps this
professor forgot that Ceausescu did not consult the Romanian people if they
were willing to suffer so much hunger, cold, poverty, neglect, misery, torture so
that Romania would owe no money to the west. He also forgot the brutal abuse,
imprisonment, and swift punishment citizens suffered if they dared to criticize
the communist party.
This professor’s national debt explanation makes for an interesting conspiratorial theory. The powerful western bankers cowed by a “maverick” defiant dictator who stood in their way to control the world financially. God forbid Ceausescu’s move would be copied by other dictators and turn into a contagion around the globe, robbing the bankers of their fortunes acquired by shameless interest charged to poor countries. Did someone force his hand to sign on the dotted line? Did the dictator with an elementary school education not become a wealthy billionaire from these loans, and lived a life of luxury while his people starved? Did I miss something here?
Communism
did not die behind the Iron Curtain in 1989 – it re-emerged in a more nefarious
form around the globe, promoted by the compliant media and hypocritical
Hollywood. McCarthy was right about some of them after all.
The
has-beens of the old communism and total government control are nostalgic for
the good ole days of totalitarianism, romanticizing the past, trying to reclaim
their positions of power and privilege. The global communism of U.N. Agenda 21
is making great stride, using environmentalism, land preservation, zoning, and
care for the planet as a tool. And the Fabian socialists in the west are winning
the hearts and minds of low information voters who believe anything they are
told over and over by the main stream media.
Silvio Canto Jr. Radio Dialog 3-21-13
The Week in Review with Silvo Canto Jr. of Dallas on National Blogtalk Radio. (one hour)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cantotalk/2013/03/22/the-us-economy-in-review-with-dr-ileana-johnson-paugh
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cantotalk/2013/03/22/the-us-economy-in-review-with-dr-ileana-johnson-paugh
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Butler on Business, WAFS 1190, Atlanta's Premier Station
My 10 minute commentary on immigration reform. I come on at the 30 minute mark.
http://www.cyberears.com/audio_temp/18812.mp3
http://www.cyberears.com/audio_temp/18812.mp3
Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Disguised Amnesty
Politics
and court decisions are driving the immigration debate. It is no longer considered
illegal to cross the border into our country, it is economical, moral, and
“socially just” to inhabit a country that you have no legal claim to, a country
that gives you the title of “undocumented, in the shadows” citizen, with all
the benefits and no responsibility, a country whose language you have no desire
to learn, whose history, traditions and culture you reject.
Every
time I enter a store or my local bank, I am greeted by signs in Spanish. If I
go to my local hardware store, every isle is labeled in Spanish. It is a resume
enhancement if you seek a job and speak Spanish, other languages, not so much.
“A house divided cannot stand” and neither does a nation without a common
language.
Bill
Clinton made it easy for illegal immigrants to take up shop in our country,
vote, and work illegally by signing Executive Order 13166, “Access to Services
for Persons with Limited English” on August 11, 2000.
The
order was designed “to improve access to federally conducted and federally
assisted programs and activities for persons who, as a result of national
origin, are limited in their English proficiency (LEP).” Was the order intended
for legal immigrants? Perhaps the intentions were to help the old who could not
learn English although they may have tried. The order assured that the
recipients of federal financial assistance with limited English proficiency
(LEP) could not be discriminated against.
All
health care providers had to comply with
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, or national origin,” if they received federal funds. They had to
provide translators to patients with LEP at no cost to the patients. President
George W. Bush reaffirmed this order on October 26, 2001.
As
a legal immigrant myself, I learned English and had every intention of assimilating
into American society, learn about its history, culture, traditions, respect
its flag, the national anthem, and its leadership. Is English hard to learn? It
depends on the willingness, determination, and the age of the learner. If you
have no intention to learn and reject it outright, yes, it is very hard. Is it
harder to learn than other languages? As a speaker of several European languages,
I can answer easily, no.
What
are we going to do with 12 million illegal aliens who are now in the country,
may or may not speak English, may or may not be willing to assimilate into our
American society, and may or may not accept our American values and culture?
We
know that the Democrat Party wants to give everyone blanket amnesty because
those in the 12 million pool of illegal immigrants who are of voting age will
become immediate Democrats. If they are Hispanic, they consider government a huge
source of financial success and survival in spite of the fact that they lead
conservative, family-oriented lives.
Republicans,
until recently, were against amnesty.
President Reagan amnestied a couple of million illegals in 1986, with
the Congressional bi-partisan promise of border enforcement which never came.
Republicans were disillusioned – few illegal aliens who were amnestied voted
Republican, and brought with them an even greater wave of illegal immigration.
President Reagan regretted his decision.
What
is the Republican Party’s stance on immigration now? If we are to judge by CPAC
2013, the panel discussion on immigration policy was quite telling. The topic
was, “Respecting Families and the Rule of Law: A Lasting Immigration Policy.”
The title begs the question, which families are respected, the illegal aliens’
families or the families of the hard-working Americans who pay the bill for all
the welfare benefits and programs afforded to illegal aliens?
Phyllis
Schlafly, the founder of Eagle Forum, said at CPAC 2013, “We do not need so
many people on welfare” and “we do not need comprehensive immigration reform, a
code word for amnesty.”
The
moderator of the forum on immigration, Helen Aguirre Ferre, host of “Zona politica,
“a self-described Hispanic American, introduced the discussion as a “topic that
has divided the country unnecessarily.” The “undocumented” as she calls illegal
aliens, “go to the same churches, shop at the same places, our children go to
the same schools, we go to the same hospitals, it’s a deeply personal issue.”
Dr.
Whit Ayres, President of North Star Opinion Research, pointed out that we are
losing the battle against European-style secular socialism and in order to stop
the tide we need more allies, like the hard- working, church-going,
family-oriented illegal aliens. The gentleman next to me in the press pool
shouted, “LEGALLY.”
“Every
single month for the next 20 years, 50,000 Hispanic youngsters will become
eligible to vote,” Dr. Ayres said, Hispanics will be the predominant population
in the United States, and there is nothing we can do about it, change is
coming. “If we want to have a center-right coalition, we have to reach out
aggressively to Hispanic Americans.” We need a different tone and a different
message, Dr. Ayres said.
Since
Hispanics are going to take over the country in the future numerically, let’s
give amnesty to 12 million more Hispanics who will vote Democrat in perpetuity.
Of course, we cannot just be Americans, we have to follow the lead of the
Democrat Party that divided America long time ago into ethnic and race groups
in order to better divide us, control the message, control us, and retain power
over the welfare of the people.
Dan
Garza, Executive Director, LIBRE Initiative, said, “American rugged
individualism is what kept America prosperous for 300 years.” My family became
part of the American dream because they assimilated into the United States.
America needs the work force in order to compete in a global economy. We need a
path to citizenship. We need a bi-partisan compromise that helps the American
economy. We need our hard-working people to come out of the shadows.”
In
spite of the fact that illegals have affected wages and salaries, Garza believes
that our economy has become dependent on illegal cheap labor. “The best
antidote to illegal immigration is smart immigration policy that unites
employers with illegals who are crime-free.”
Helen
Krieble, founder and president of The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation, discussed
the core principles of conservatism and how they related to immigration:
-
limited
government and lower taxes (we can govern ourselves)
-
free
markets based on supply and demand
-
a
vital private sector (we are free to succeed or fail without government
intervention)
-
the
rule of law with limited federal government
-
secure
borders and sovereignty
-
all
men are created equal and should be treated equally under the law
-
no
special deal for special groups
-
a
moral and humane solution to our issues
Any
immigration plan should be based on our conservative core values and our
borders should be secured.
Krieble
proposed a red card work permit, the size of a credit card, with two paths:
-
a
path to work permit (does not need to be a federal responsibility but the
business community’s responsibility)
-
a
path to citizenship
A
guest worker permit must be market-driven, based on the laws of supply and
demand. The unions cannot have input to decide how many workers a company needs
to run its business successfully. The work permit is “job specific” and
implemented by the private sector, employment agencies, driven by the profit
motive.
Data
bases established by employment agencies could be filled with job needs of
employers and potential workers can post qualifications and the types of jobs
they are seeking. Potential foreign workers are fingerprinted and photographed;
the information goes to the national security data base and the terrorist watch
list. If the foreign worker passes the search then a red card is issued within
48 hours for $5, containing the encrypted information embedded in a microchip.
The
red card can be scanned by a machine that costs less than $100, with 99.9
percent accuracy that the person holding the red card is the person to whom it
was issued. Foreign guest workers become legal workers and are treated equally
to American workers, pay taxes, and are covered by workman’s compensation.
Fees
must be paid on both sides of the employment process. Krieble believes that
employers would hire Americans first in order to avoid paying fees for foreign
guest workers. What if the wages offered to and accepted by foreign guest
workers are lower?
“Undocumented
workers” currently in the United States can go through the same process and
prove that they have a job and no criminal record. “This process should be the
cornerstone of any immigration plan.” She concludes that “sixty percent of
people who come to work in the United States do not wish to be American
citizens.” How many of the 40 percent who stay wish to become Americans who
assimilate into our culture?
Jenny
Korn, Executive Director, American Action Network, said, “the immigration
system is broken at every level and we need to fix it.” She believes that
immigration reform entails:
-
Overhauling the
legal system -
“There is no line for immigrants to get in line.” It is disingenuous to say
that there is no line for immigration – tell that to the legal immigrants who
have been waiting for years to have their applications for visa or permanent
residence heard. “The legal system turns away low skilled workers.” Could that
be because we already have enough low skilled workers in this country?
-
Temporary
working program –
“Undocumented people come to work; the “Braceros” program with Mexico was
somewhat successful; thanks to President Obama’s horrible economy, we have net
zero immigration right now.” Because they are afraid to go across the border
back and forth, they stay here, bring their spouse and children, thus becoming
permanent and behind the “shadows.” Where did I hear this terminology explained
before, “undocumented workers,” behind the shadows?” Of course, it is the
terminology invented by Democrats. So now, the GOP is Democrats light.
-
Family
reunification is important (it has always been)
-
Secure the
border (it
is the law)
-
Track our
entry/exit system
(people overstay their visas and nobody tracks them)
-
Worker
verification
by employers (I have e-verify
already in place)
-
Earn legal
status
(“People should be able to come out of the shadows, register, pay back taxes,
pay a fine, pass a background check, learn English, get a provisional visa, fix
the legal system that we have, secure the border, and provide a tough but fair
system for “undocumented” - getting not
at the end of the line but in line.”) Did she not say that there is no line for
immigration?
If
there was anything more infuriating out of the entire forum, it was certainly
this speech, throwing our legal system, our laws, and the anti-amnesty stance
of most Americans under the bus in order to please the Hispanic voting block
that will never vote Republican.
Raul
Labrador, U.S. Representative from Idaho concluded the forum on illegal
immigration. He believes that our prosperity is threatened because our
immigration system is broken. With all due respect to the Congressman, our
prosperity is threatened by our huge national debt, the quantitative easings
that the Federal Reserve has been engaging in, the devaluing of the dollar, the
out of control spending in Congress, the crony capitalism, the general gross
mismanagement of the economy, continuing spending resolutions, and the lack of
a budget for the past four years.
Jenny
Korn lectured us that the harsh tone and rhetoric for the last years from a
“few elected officials and a few groups have turned off Americans and
immigrants of all backgrounds.”
I
wonder why would conservatives suggest that we allow foreigners to cross our
borders illegally, which is a crime, offer them a lavish welfare system, free
medical care, free housing, WIC, free hospital care, free education for their
children, in-state university tuition, Pell grants, and then turn around and
reward them with amnesty for breaking our laws?
We
are a nation of legal immigrants but we immigrated legally, jumped through many
hoops, thousands went through weeks of quarantine at Ellis Island, and others
waited patiently for years for visas, green cards, and naturalization papers.
Americans
approve of legal immigration and would like to see our current immigration laws
enforced and the border protected. There is no such thing as an “undocumented
worker,” or “working in the shadows.” Everybody knows who the illegal
immigrants are, where they congregate to get work, and they do have documents
from their countries. Illegals are smart; they take advantage of our golden welfare
system while Americans work like slaves to pay for it all, a redistribution of
wealth sanctioned by our government.
We
are subjecting the military to financial sequestration and furloughing
civilians in order to have enough money for the military to operate the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, but we have money to advertise food stamps in Mexico and
the process to obtain them. We also have $250 million in financial aid to
Egypt, a country that is run by the Muslim Brotherhood whose citizens chant
“death to America” while burning our flag and attacking our citizens. We are so
generous with those who want us harm and do not wish to assimilate into our
culture, but are ungrateful recipients of our largesse, biting the hand that
feeds them.
Note:
The statements were quoted directly or indirectly from the immigration forum
speeches and panel debate on March 14, 2013 at CPAC 2013.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Cyprus and the European Union Excess
For
the past two years, the EU has struggled to keep its tenuous union intact, a
union based on a common currency adopted by some of the members. As Italy,
Spain, Greece, and Portugal economies downturned, it did not surprise many
because their admission into the EU was questionable at the time – there is a
reason why they were called the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) -
they never ran their socialist economies responsibly, spending on social
welfare with abandon.
Cyprus
is the first chip to fall in the confiscation of private property initiated by
the socialist government as directed by EU although Germany denies that claim. The
government devised a plan to levy a 10 percent tax of all citizens’ savings in
order to bail out the struggling nation. This ill-advised plan sparked panic across the
globe, causing stock markets to fall sharply.
The
government of Cyprus made the decision to contribute to EU’s bailout package 10
percent of all citizens’ bank deposits, savings and checking, punishing the
savers and rewarding the careless spenders, thus forcefully redistributing
wealth to salvage the overspending of the Cypriot government.
The
euro fell in value against the dollar and a justifiable fear grew that citizens
across the Eurozone might start withdrawing their funds from various banks
causing runs.
Stunned
Cypriots found out on Saturday morning that their parliament in Nicosia would
levy a tax on bank deposits, 10 percent across the board and possibly less for
smaller savers. The ATMs were emptied quite fast. Bank holidays were declared
on Monday and Tuesday in order to prevent citizen from withdrawing all their
money. Electronic transfers were also stopped.
According
to Reuters, the original proposed levies were 9.9 percent for those with deposits
of 100,000 euros and 6.7 percent on lesser amounts. (Michele Kambas, March 17,
2013)
The
Eurozone finance ministers have decided to lend Cyprus a 10 billion euro aid
package if Cypriot savers would give up a portion of their deposits. This came
as a surprise to many investors since the Euro zone has not attached such
conditions before to any of the previous bailouts to other member countries.
Why Cyprus? The small island has been affected financially by its exposure to
the financial mismanagement of its neighbor, Greece.
It
is worthy to mention that all of these nations that are in trouble financially,
Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain, and Cyprus are run by socialist governments who
cannot control their spending on lavish social programs, citizens do not like
to pay taxes, many participate in the underground economy, and the unemployment
rates are quite high, especially in Spain with a whopping 25 percent. It is
also rumored that Italy may pursue the same venue, confiscating people’s
savings in order to save their struggling economy, without making any changes
to its out-of-control spending.
The
troika of lenders, European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and
the European Central Bank asked for a percentage of deposits which would raise
6 billion euros, but it had to be ratified by parliament. Since there is no
clear majority of any party, if the parliament does not ratify the confiscation
of wealth, President Nicos Anastasiades warns that Cyprus’s two largest banks
will collapse, including the Cyprus Popular Bank. Is this an American style “too
big to fail” bailout?
Euro
zone officials said that it was the only way to salvage Cyprus’s financial
sector. They were not going to pony up any more money without serious
collateral and the government is broke.
The
anti-bailout Syriza party leader of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, was quick to blame Angela
Merkel’s “criminal strategy.” Tsipras wants the German Chancellor to forgive
the debt in a pan European debt conference, thus forcing German citizen to foot
the bill for the rest of the Euro zone irresponsible spending.
The
President of Cyprus, Anastasiades, a socialist elected three weeks ago,
promised that savers will be compensated by shares in banks guaranteed by
future natural gas revenues. Cyprus may be sitting on vast amounts of natural
gas worth billions but the results of the offshore drilling appraisal will not be
made public until later in the year.
The
IMF director, Christine Lagarde, approved the deal and asked the IMF board in
Washington to contribute to the bailout. If the law is approved, any depositor
who fails to pay will receive up to three years in jail and a 50,000 euro fine.
Europeans and rich Russians, who live on the island and would be subjected to
the levy, are livid, standing to lose a lot of money. The British military
personnel on the island will be compensated by their government.
The
blame game has already started, and fingers are pointing at Germany because
they have benefitted the most from the European Union by being the main
exporter to the EU. Germany has a relatively low unemployment rate thanks to
its large exports. However, these countries with socialist governments forget
to point fingers at their own problem – socialism gone amuck. As Margaret
Thatcher so aptly said, “the problem with socialism is that eventually you run
out of other people’s money.” The French
are not wising up either. Instead of reducing their welfare spending and
reducing the heavy tax on the rich, they are blaming unemployment on their
socialist “darling” President, Francois Hollande, whose approval rating has
dropped to 37 percent.
There
is another twist to the European Union saga. While ordinary citizens are asked
to adopt austerity measures and they should, the powers that be across the 27
member states are fighting hard and dirty to join the EU administration in
Brussels. Why? The technocrats have voted a law to pay themselves lavish
pensions. Every EU technocrat can now retire at the age of 50 with an average
pension of 9,000 euros a month.
Here
are some examples of technocrats and their lavish pensions paid by hapless
member countries:
-
Giovanni
Buttarelli, who was the Assistant Supervisor of Data Protection is going to
receive 1,515 euro a month after only one year and 11 months of service with EU
-
Peter
Hustinx, with a 5 year renewed contract, will receive 9,000 euros a month upon
retirement from EU service.
-
Roger
Grass, Justice Court clerk, 12,500 euros per month
-
Pernilla
Lindh, Judge of the Court, 12,900 euros per month
-
Damaso
Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, attorney, 14,000 euros per month
A
list in French shows the names of some EU technocrats/bureaucrats, their
titles, the EU body they work for, the length of service, and the pensions they
receive when their terms expire. (http://www.kdo-mailing.com/redirect.asp?numlien=1276&numnews=1356&numabonne=62286)
The
maximum time these technocrats are required to serve, after which they can fully
retire, is 15 years, pensions are huge, and they contribute nothing to the
pension fund, it is provided by the rest of the European Union members.
At
the same time, while presiding over the collapse of the retirement systems in
the 27 member countries, the one world EU technocrats/bureaucrats recommend
longer employment for ordinary citizens - 37 years, 40 years, 41 years (in
2012), and projected 42 years in 2020. Assuming that a person starts their working
career at 21, European retirement age is still earlier than the American
retirement age of 65.
Le
Point.fr gives more details about the EU bureaucrats’ retirement system. It is reminiscent
of our Congressmen who receive full benefits after serving one term, vote
lavish benefits for themselves, including a separate Cadillac health care plan,
while asking the rest of us to tighten our belts and to accept the destructive
Obamacare. (http://www.lepoint.fr/economie/les-retraites-en-or-de-l-europe-19-05-2009-344867_28.php)
Monday, March 18, 2013
The Last Day at CPAC 2013
The
third and last day at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2013 had not
lost any of the initial steam and enthusiasm. The music, the robust energy, the
youthful excitement were vibrant and bursting at the seams. The speeches were fiery
and motivating.
The leitmotif of every speech was the loss of the GOP’s core principles of conservatism in the eager race to pander to and win the hearts and minds of various voting blocks that self-segregated long time ago from the population at large. Orators agreed that the GOP has become a miniature Democrat party in their haste to please and earn the trust of voters who are now used to the Democrat promise of more government dependency and helplessness.
Dr. Carson ended his speech with the wish that we end the war on faith, the war on God. We have freedom of religion and the PC police must stop imposing their beliefs on the rest of America. Likewise, the political class and the media must stop “creating friction and chasm” between Americans, creating problems and crises when none exist. Values and principles are important for our nation’s survival under God.
The leitmotif of every speech was the loss of the GOP’s core principles of conservatism in the eager race to pander to and win the hearts and minds of various voting blocks that self-segregated long time ago from the population at large. Orators agreed that the GOP has become a miniature Democrat party in their haste to please and earn the trust of voters who are now used to the Democrat promise of more government dependency and helplessness.
The
first speaker of note, Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin, remarked how he had
never thought that he would run for office twice during the same term and that
he would win the second time with more votes in spite of the national unions’
and the Democrats’ opposition and the disruptive and destructive moves by
Wisconsin legislators who ran away instead of doing their jobs to protect the
interests of the people who elected them.
He
reminded people that the federal government did not create the states, the
states created the federal government, and real courageous reforms happen in
the states by creating economic prosperity at the small business level and
citizen level by cutting taxes and creating jobs.
By
eliminating union seniority, tenure, changing health insurance plans, he has
saved taxpayer money in his state, creating a surplus. He believes that
able-bodied adults should not receive welfare and food stamps. His 75,000
Wisconsin residents on food stamps have to work or sign up for employment
training in order to receive food stamps.
The
second speaker was Newt Gingrich, introduced by his wife Calista. She
emphasized their foundation’s work, the many projects and books that celebrate
the greatness of America, and the children’s books she writes to promote our Founding
Fathers’ principles with the help of a “time-traveling pachyderm named Ellis
the Elephant,” the true history of our nation, American values, and capitalism,
the only way to lift people out of poverty and create long-lasting prosperity
for our large middle-class. Newt is currently working on “God Loves You, The
Life of Billy Graham,” a book about the life and legacy of our most beloved and
influential spiritual leaders in America.
“The
Republican establishment is just plain wrong about how it approaches politics,”
said Newt. “It is mired in the past and mired in its own stupidity.” In his
opinion, Pat Caddell, famous Democrat pollster, raises the right questions.
“The changes we need are vastly different.” We have to disengage ourselves from
the “consultant culture” of running ads to attack somebody. We do not need new
principles, we need new ideas to implement our principles, to “empower people
to leave poverty,” to create jobs and to get government out of the way.
Channeling
Edison who said, “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will
burn candles,” he juxtaposed Edison’s idea to President Obama’s idea to
skyrocket electricity prices by destroying the use of fossil fuels,
particularly coal and oil.
Newt
recommended Gavin Newsom’s book, Citizenville, recommendations on how to move
out of government bureaucracy and into citizen empowerment in the Toquevillian
model, where “you become the citizen activist in the new world.” I found his recommendation
surprising since Gavin Newsom is the mayor of San Francisco, the most liberal
city in the country with a City Hall that pays for every liberal pet project but
cannot afford to fix its roads. Is this the kind of city we want? Is San
Francisco a model to be emulated?
The
Honorable Michelle Bachmann took the podium next. The most ardent conservative
who stands on principle, Rep. Bachmann supports no debt ceiling and the
unilateral repeal of Obamacare. She opposes any Democrat or Republican who does
not stand on principle.
Welcoming
the enthusiastic crowd to Washington, D.C., “a very unique city where you have
to show a photo I.D. to tour the White House and then they demand you put your
photo I.D. away before you vote for the man standing in the White House,” Rep.
Bachmann defines D.C. with sarcasm as the city of “care and compassion.” She
defines Republicans as the real care and compassion people because they want
everyone to succeed economically; they want cheap gasoline, and second
amendment rights to protect anybody’s sister.
Recounting
Benghazi, Rep. Bachmann described the sacrifice of Tyrone Woods and Glenn
Dougherty who cared enough for their fellow Americans to defy orders and to
fight for 7 hours while saving many American lives. They begged for help and
help never came. She recounted how the President knew about the attack in the
first hour but he did nothing to help these brave men. The very next day, she
said, he flew to Vegas to meet with Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
She
also recounted how our President went to United Nations in New York and told
the delegates that “The future must not belong to those who insult the Prophet
of Islam.” Rep. Bachmann said that the President should have stated instead,
“The future does not belong to the low-life murderers who kill innocent
Americans.” The future belongs to Americans, she said, who will never give up
their right to free speech and the right to bear arms.
The
President is “presiding over a war on the young” by putting their future in
serious debt through the $16 trillion wasteful and out-of-control spending.
Borrowing money from our enemies is “a generational injustice of epic
proportions. It is the greatest transfer of wealth in history from the
young,...to whomever our President wishes to give our money.” How does that
help the poor, she asks. She describes the “imperial presidency” and the
excessive spending to maintain it. Yet a disabled veteran can no longer take a
White House tour.
Caring
is exemplified by individuals like Dr. Jonas Salk who teamed up with a private
group to develop the polio vaccine in order to save millions of lives.
Developing cures for diseases like Alzheimer, diabetes, and cancer represents
caring. “It is our duty to pay it forward for the next generation,” not
bankrupt it, she concluded.
Millie
Hallow introduced Dr. Ben Carson and Eric Metaxas as “President Obama’s
(Prayer) Breakfast Club” to the roaring crowd and thunderous applause. Dr.
Carson, in his gentle professorial tone, lectured on the importance of common
sense and the message to government that it works for the people.
Many
“nasty grams” later, received after his famous breakfast prayer speech, Dr.
Carson explained that he refuses to talk about race because “he is a
neurosurgeon.” Neurosurgeons operate on the interior, after removing the
exterior scalp and the dura. It is this interior who makes us who we are, not
the exterior.
Emphasizing
the importance of turning off the TV and reading books, he recounted his hard-working
mom telling him, “Benjamin, you are too smart to bring home grades like this.
And I brought them home anyway.” Education was so stressed in his home through
discipline that it changed him from the “dummy” in 5th grade into
the kid to whom all other kids came for help with math problems. “Education is
so fundamental to the success of America.” Our system of governance was based
on a well-educated and informed populace and we are no longer so, we are on our
way to a different country.
“If
I were trying to destroy this nation, if you were to magically, so say, put me,
you know, into the White House [long applause], … what would you do?” Let me
tell what I would do. First of all, I
would create division among the people, I would have everybody pitted against
each other because a wise man by the name of Jesus once said that a ‘House
divided against itself cannot stand’ and then, I would encourage a culture of
ridicule for basic morality, and the principles that made and sustained the
country, and then I would undermine the financial stability of the country and
drive it so far into debt that there was absolutely no chance that it could
recover, and I would weaken the military, and destroy the morality of the
military.” It appears coincidental that this is exactly what is happening right
now, and can we stop it? It has happened for a long time and education is the
key.
Dr.
Carson continued, “Socialism started as a reaction to America” against its
tremendous success. Redistribution of wealth in a fair way did not and does not
work, but a mechanism and an infrastructure to create jobs and opportunity to
enable people to succeed has created the largest middle class in the history of
the world. Nobody starves in the streets, churches take care of the poor, the
wealthy give a lot to charity, more than anybody else in the world. It is not
the government’s responsibility to care for its citizens and everybody must
have “skin in the game” and pay taxes.
Dr.
Carson said that if the government controls health care, one fifth of our
economy, “they can control everything.” Good health care can be provided by
other more efficient ways. In his opinion, 80 percent of our care can be
provided with the help of health savings accounts without the “need of a
bureaucracy that sucks out at least a third of the money.” As a neurosurgeon,
Dr. Carson understands Economics, it is certainly “not brain surgery.”[pun
intended] “Corporations are not in the business of being social welfare
organizations.” And that includes health organizations and doctors that provide
medical services. Corporations are our friends, not our enemies.
Dr. Carson ended his speech with the wish that we end the war on faith, the war on God. We have freedom of religion and the PC police must stop imposing their beliefs on the rest of America. Likewise, the political class and the media must stop “creating friction and chasm” between Americans, creating problems and crises when none exist. Values and principles are important for our nation’s survival under God.
In
106 days Dr. Carson will be retiring and plans an active role in educating the
next generation. Joking that he did not answer the question about politics,
Metaxas said that Dr. Carson obviously entered politics by not answering the
question. Dr. Carson is going to be 62 years old in September and would like to
retire at the pinnacle of his career. “There is a reason why they retire pilots
at 62, to keep them from crashing airplanes.”
Senator
Ted Cruz introduced the next speaker, Governor Sarah Palin. A wiry, fearless
momma Grizzly, size zero ball of energy, Governor Sarah Palin bounded onto the
stage in skin tight pants and a smile to light up the room. The energetic hockey
mom from Wasilla was definitely in the house. She talked about our second
amendment rights and background checks that should have started “with yours,
Mr. President.” She complained that “We don’t have leadership from Washington,
we have reality television.” Everything from Washington seems like a con, she
said, a scripted calculation, it is no longer about leading and serving.
She
asked pointed questions. How does punishing the job creators create more jobs?
What about the cost of living, the price of gas? What about inflation? Why does
Congress refuse to pass a budget for four years in violation of our
Constitution? Why does it not tell the American people what it intends to do
with the taxpayers’ money? “Barack Obama promised the most transparent
administration ever. Barack Obama, you lie,” said Governor Palin.
The
audience went wild when Governor Palin brought out a Big Gulp soda and took
several sips. He advised young Republicans to think Sam Adams not drink Sam
Adams.
She
demanded a stop to the pandering to different groups of voters, who are promised
goodies and special perks. “We are all created equal, there are no Hispanic
issues and no African American issues.” We are all Americans. We must believe
in American exceptionalism. “Nobody is guaranteed success but everyone is
guaranteed an equal opportunity at success.”
Governor
Palin believes that crony capitalism must end, including the free Obama phones,
green energy, and free prophylaxis. “If you don’t have a team of lobbyists in D.C.,
or a canceled campaign contribution check, well, you are not at the table, you
are on the menu.” She urged politicians “to put a stake in the heart of too big
to fail.”
She
told Alaskans and Americans that “God’s resources are owned by the people,
don’t let corporations own you, you have a right to those resources for our use.”
She
emphasized that “our challenges are so big and our leaders are so small.” Our
country is desperate for leadership, it is tired of campaigning, and it is
tired of those in power creating and exploiting crisis after crisis. “You won,
step away from the teleprompter and do your job.” We need leadership to stop
government waste, to provide national security, to stop spending our money
recklessly, to provide cheaper sources of energy.
Governor
Palin told Washington to “get over yourself.” America belongs to we the people
and it is high time that we take our country back by demanding accountability
from politicians.
Mrs.
Phyllis Schlafly, founder of Eagle Forum, took the podium to urge Americans to
guard against voter fraud, pick winning candidates, and stop trying to create a
third party. Nominate and elect the right candidates, she urged. She believes
that the GOP wants candidates who vote the way they are told to vote,
candidates who only discuss economic issues, not moral and social issues. “The
social issues are the cause of our economic issues, issues like life and
marriage.” We cannot win elections if we call GOP candidates “moderates.”
Spending money on ads is wasteful since most people don’t watch TV anymore.
The
breakdown of the family is costing us dearly financially. According to the
Heritage Foundation, there are 79 welfare programs. “I have not figured out
which agency hands out free cell phones yet.” We do not need so many people
dependent on government.
President
Obama wants a “baby-sitting service,” national education core standards, and
comprehensive immigration reform, a code word for amnesty. Interestingly, the
panel on immigration recommended comprehensive immigration reform. I will write
a separate article detailing that panel discussion.
Mrs.
Schlafly also described the challenges the country faces in regards to
confiscation of guns and zero nukes policy. She reminded the students of the
bumper sticker that says, “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have
guns,” and “when nuclear weapons are outlawed, only terrorists will have
nukes.”
She
concluded, “We need your help to take back the Republican Party for the grass
roots. We want candidates that we nominate instead of those who follow the
dictates of the establishment.”
Senator
Rick Santorum personally introduced a 53 minute documentary, Our Sacred Honor,
“a journey into our past that explores the meaning of our founding documents.”
Newt
and Calista Gingrich made a brief, live introduction to the 90 minute movie,
America At Risk: The War with No Name. They asked the question, “How do we win
a war with an enemy the Obama Administration refuses to identify?”
A
screening of the 75 minute film, Occupy Unmasked, starring Andrew Breitbart and
directed by Stephen K. Bannon, was followed by a panel discussion on the legacy
of Andrew Breitbart.
The
visual entertainment was provided by some attendees dressed in colonial attire,
a Transformer robot, and other colorful characters. Young people everywhere
were excited and applauding, cheering, and agreeing with speakers’ points quite
loudly.
In
the media pool, the numerous liberal bloggers and reporters were easy to spot
by their displeased concentrated demeanor, lack of direct eye contact with the
people around them, and irreverent attire.
A
tall retired police detective from Colorado, dressed in a Texas cowboy outfit
was standing in a strategic corner wearing a t-shirt that said, “Cops Say
Legalize Pot, Ask Me Why.” A Washington lobbyist, Howard ‘Cowboy’ Wooldridge
was representing “Citizens Opposing Prohibition” of drugs. A libertarian,
Howard gave an interview in German to a reporter from Bavaria on the follies of
chasing pot smokers when real criminals such as pedophiles escaped unpunished.
“It is hard to fight crime from a helicopter,” he said. He was bemoaning the
thousands of innocent foreign nationals killed as they came in the crosshairs
of drug lords.
A
liberal group from Jackson, Wyoming was advertising their initiative “to bring
together Americans from disparate political backgrounds to partner on projects
that advance the common good, both nationally and in our communities, and
restores civility and cooperation in our discourse.”
One
of the booths advertised “MarriageMarch” on March 26 in Washington D.C. to
support “marriage, religious liberty, and the right of every child to both a
mom and dad.” The organizers promised that the gathering in D.C. will be a
historic event with nationally-recognized speakers. (www.Facebook.com/MarchForMarriage)
At
the conclusion of the conference, the results of the straw poll were announced.
Rand Paul won out of 23 candidates. The media pool was not allowed to vote.